Duo take over from old guard

Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie may be conspicuous by their absence from Valhalla, but Europe's Ryder Cup team has two ready-made replacements according to Sweden's Robert Karlsson.

Their omission leaves Lee Westwood as the most experienced member of the team with five caps, with Sergio Garcia appearing four times. And Karlsson believes the pair are thriving on the opportunity to fill the void the ommitted veterans have left.

"I think a couple of other guys have definitely stepped up to the plate a bit more than before," said Karlsson.

"When I was a rookie last time, Darren and Monty took a big part of sharing their experiences. This year you can see that Westwood and Garcia are taking a lot more of that responsibility. It's good to see guys who have a lot to contribute doing that.

"In the team room, it's always the 12 of us. It is not like you can see in other groups. I know the Swedish football team is a bit like that, where you have sort of separate little groups within the group. We don't have anything like that."

As well as sharing his experiences, the irrepressible Garcia has been installed as the unofficial team cheerleader.

"As a team this week, when you've got Sergio, it's not so much mental preparation, is it? It's just try to have as much fun as you can and enjoy the time," added Karlsson.

"He adds a lot of fun and a lot of sort of, anything is possible. He has a lot of passion, a lot of fun in the rooms, a lot of joking and a lot of energy. He's very, very important. The team would never be the same without him.

"I think he seems to grow when he's not only doing it for himself. He really, really seems to love being around people and he knows that if I win, I win for 11 more people, not only for myself."