Ken Brown - August 30, 2012

• By Morning Drive Team
• Aug 30, 2012 7:46 AM ET

European Tour Analyst Ken Brown is in Crans Montana, Switzerland this week for the Omega European Masters. Nicolas Colsaerts is one of two European Captain’s Picks and the only rookie. A rookie is always under pressure in the Ryder Cup and even more so if you are also a Captain’s Pick. Colsaerts is a long hitter in the style of a Dustin Johnson and is definitely an asset to the team. If the Ryder Cup were to come down to Colsaerts, he will either be hero or the spoiler of the entire match which is definitely a lot of pressure.

When asked about potential partners for Colsaerts, Brown said that he should be paired with an experienced player and Lee Westwood would be ideal for Colsaerts on that basis. However, it is difficult for anyone to predict pairings at this point as that is the job of the Captain and his Assistant Captains but he would expect Colsaerts to be paired with someone with a lot of experience.

He does not see any weaknesses in the European team although he does not think it is as strong as the 2010 team was. The sides will likely be evenly matched and as it always does, it comes down to who is playing well on that particular week. The U.S. team will have the home crowd behind it and just like in 2010 in Wales, the crowd could prove to play a role.

The European Tour is in Crans Montana, Switzerland and the course at Crans-sur-Sierre is a great course and a particularly interesting one because it measures less than 7,000 yards. The course is at an altitude but because the weather is cold, the ball will only fly about 5% farther instead of 10%. It has always been a course that yields low scores and the wet conditions this week may drive the scores even lower.