Thomas Bjorn and his European Ryder Cup contingent remain unmoved by American dominance of the world scene. Perhaps this is just as well; Bjorn’s September challenge will be to topple a USA team widely branded as the finest of all time.

Europe’s Ryder Cup captain provided an early surprise on Tuesday, with the additions of Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell as vice-captains. Confirmation that Lee Westwood and Pádraig Harrington would serve as assistants to the Dane had been widely anticipated and duly arrived. Robert Karlsson was named as a vice-captain last year.

From the captain there was some early advice for his assistants. “The one thing I always prided myself on when I went in as a vice-captain is I left my ego at the door,” Bjorn said. “We all have some sort of ego but, when you go into that week, it’s about 12 players.”

Golfer hits first-ever hole-in-one at age of 93 then retires from game Read more

For now the lofty status of the USA is emphasised by their holding of the Ryder Cup, Walker Cup, Solheim Cup, Presidents Cup, all four major championships and, thanks to Justin Thomas, the No 1 position in the world rankings. “We know what we are up against,” Bjorn said. “We know they have a very strong team. They have extremely strong players. B ut, when I look at my list of 25, 30 players, it’s hard to say that Europe is not in a very good place.

“That we don’t hold the major trophies, is that a coincidence? Maybe and maybe not. But that’s not really what I’m focusing on. I’m focusing on: ‘Can I see us winning with the players that we have?’ Absolutely we can because the margins in the world of golf today are so small. They have a very strong team but so do we.”

Bjorn also shrugged off the status of Jim Furyk’s USA team as odds-on favourites to retain the trophy in Paris which they won rather comfortably at Hazeltine two years ago.

“I don’t think I’ve gone to a Ryder Cup yet where we have not been underdogs in the eyes of the media, in the eyes of world rankings and in the eyes of everyone around,” Bjorn said. “So yes, we are probably underdogs in that way. But when it comes down to it, if you’re a favourite or you’re an underdog, you’ve got to do your job and you’ve got to do everything that you can to be prepared in the right sort of way. I don’t think the Americans will underestimate us if that’s where we’re getting to.

“There is no place in the world like a European team room. There is just no place like it. It’s the best place you can be as any sportsman. It is just the best week you can have and we do it together.”

Colin Montgomerie backs Europe’s rising stars to threaten US in Ryder Cup Read more

Donald and McDowell were equally bullish. “Europe haven’t been beaten on European soil since 1993,” said the Northern Irishman. “I think all the attention is on the US momentum, the fact that they have got the major championships, the world No 1 and all of the above. I think Europe slips nicely into its underdog role going into this one and I think we are all just really excited by the challenge.”

Donald, who has been successful in all four Ryder Cup outings as a player, matched the sentiment. “We know the US team are very strong and they hold the major championships but winning a major individually is very different from playing in Ryder Cup,” said the former world No 1. “We know they are going to field a very strong team and be very confident but I think we’ve proved ourselves over the last 20 years or so that we can compete at that team level in a Ryder Cup.”