• Former captain praises form of Rahm, García and Fleetwood • ‘Thomas Bjorn must be thrilled with the state of European golf’

Endorsement of European Ryder Cup claims has arrived from one of the team’s most celebrated former members. Colin Montgomerie, who was never defeated in the Ryder Cup’s singles and captained Europe to victory over the USA in 2010, believes this year’s event will be far closer than many think.

The US are odds-on to retain the cup in France but recent events have boosted European confidence. Jon Rahm, Sergio García and Tommy Fleetwood all recorded tournament wins on Sunday. Rahm has now been elevated to world No 2.

Tommy Fleetwood defends Abu Dhabi title after holding off Rory McIlroy Read more

“I think that the Americans fancy themselves – as they always do – as favourites coming in with success recently,” Montgomerie said. “But I tell you what, that will be a game in France.

“Two years is a long time in sport and it’s moved on greatly in those two years. The likes of Fleetwood, [Tyrrell] Hatton, Jon Rahm, have appeared really from nowhere onto this world stage and Paul Casey, thank goodness, has rejoined the European Tour.

“Thomas Bjorn [Europe’s captain] must be thrilled with the state of European golf right now, as we all are.”

Pat Perez, who like Montgomerie will compete in this week’s Dubai Desert Classic, used his pre-tournament media duties to have a swipe at the US Ryder Cup qualifying process. Perez won the CIMB Classic – a PGA Tour event – in October but the tournament was not valid for the Ryder Cup points list. Perez’s recent run has lifted him to 17th in the world.

“I won in Malaysia and I finished fifth in Korea and I didn’t get any points for the American side,” Perez said. “That upset me a little bit. I’m 13 on the list, but I should be probably three or four.

“So it kind of put a bitter taste in my mouth; the fact that you win on the PGA Tour, you beat some good players and yet you don’t get any points because of whatever our committee has decided to do.

“In my opinion if you win the same year of the Ryder Cup, you should get the points. If you win the same calendar year as the actual cup, they should count. I don’t know why they wouldn’t. But I’m sure they are not really interested in my opinion.”