LONDON (AP) — Team Europe captain Luke Donald has named José María Olazábal as his third vice captain for the Ryder Cup later this year.
The biennial contest will be held in what is expected to be a raucous atmosphere at Bethpage Black in New York from September 26-28.
Olazábal said he hesitated at first when Donald approached him.
“I have to be honest, I thought about it for a while because being in New York, it’s not going to be easy," Olazábal said on Wednesday. “But the Ryder Cup is very close to my heart. I have wonderful memories about this event.”
The 59-year-old Spaniard was the last captain to lead Team Europe to victory on U.S. soil, when the European side produced its greatest ever comeback at Medinah in 2012.
“It’s really hard to win away from home in the United States. In New York, we know the crowds are going to be very loud and the golf course will be set up in favour of the US team," he said. "There is not any bigger challenge for a golfer than facing a Ryder Cup away from home and we have to be mentally prepared.”
Olazábal was one of Donald’s five vice captains two years ago when Team Europe defeated the United States 16½ - 11½ at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Italy.
Olazábal will be a vice captain for the fifth time — having also held the role in 2008, 2010 and 2014 __ and rejoins Denmark’s Thomas Bjørn and Italian Edoardo Molinari in the backroom team.
“He is synonymous with European golf and the Ryder Cup,” Donald said. “He bleeds blue and gold like nobody else. His passion for the Ryder Cup is second to none.”
During his career, Olazábal won two Masters tournaments and played in the Ryder Cup seven times from 1987 to 2006.
He won 18 of 31 matches and formed an iconic partnership with his much-loved countryman Seve Ballesteros, who died in 2011. The prolific duo won 12 points from 15 outings.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
FILE - Jose Maria Olazabal, of Spain, watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the second round at the Masters golf tournament, April 11, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, file)
BANGKOK (AP) — Thai officials said Wednesday they seized 238 tons of illegally imported electronic waste from the United States at the port of Bangkok, one of the biggest lots they've found this year.
The waste, which came in 10 large containers, was declared as mixed metal scrap but turned out to be circuit boards mixed in a huge pile of metal scrap, said Theeraj Athanavanich, director-general of the Customs Department. It was found Tuesday in a random inspection.
A U.N. report last year said electronic waste is piling up worldwide. Some 62 million tons of electronic waste was generated in 2022 and that figure is on track to reach 82 million tons by 2030, the report said. It said only 22% of the waste was properly collected and recycled in 2022 and that quantity is expected to fall to 20% by the end of the decade due to higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, and inadequate management infrastructure.
Theeraj said Thai authorities are looking to press charges including falsely declaring imported goods, illegally importing electronic waste and planning to return the waste to its country of origin.
“It’s important that we take action on this kind of goods,” he said. “There are environmental impacts that are dangerous to the people, especially communities around factories that might import these things for processing, then recycling.”
Electronic waste creates huge health hazards. Many components are laden with lead and mercury, cadmium and other toxins. Recyclers are after gold, silver, palladium and copper, mainly from printed circuit boards, but lax controls mean that facilities often burn plastics to release encased copper and use unsafe methods to extract precious metals.
Thailand passed a ban on the import of a range of electronic waste products in 2020. The Cabinet in February approved an expanded list of the banned waste.
Sunthron Kewsawang, deputy director-general of the Department of Industrial Works, said officials suspected at least two factories in Samut Sakhon province, which borders Bangkok, are involved in importing the waste.
In January, the Customs Department said it seized 256 tons of illegally imported electronic waste from Japan and Hong Kong at a port in eastern Thailand.
A Thai official shows samples of illegally imported electronic waste from the United States which they said they seized at Bangkok Port during a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thai officials display samples of illegally imported electronic waste from the United States which they said they seized at Bangkok Port during a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thai officials show samples of illegally imported electronic waste from the United States which they said they seized at Bangkok Port during a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A Thai official shows a sample of illegally imported electronic waste from the United States which they said they seized at Bangkok Port during a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
