Europe must 'move with the times' after Ryder Cup revamp says captain Thomas Bjorn

There is also an increase in points awarded nearer the tournament so more in-form players are picked

Bjorn insisted the changes were not 'knee-jerk' after last year's defeat (Getty)

Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn believes Europe had to "move with the times" after significant changes were announced to the qualification process.

Bjorn will have four wild cards at his disposal instead of three when the home side try to avenge last year's 17-11 defeat at Hazeltine by regaining the trophy at Le Golf National in Paris in 2018.

And the 45-year-old Dane could also have more in-form players in his side thanks to an increase in points for tournaments held towards the end of the qualifying period, beginning with the 2018 BMW PGA Championship.

Players will still have to be European Tour members in order to be eligible for selection, which continues to rule out the likes of world number 16 Paul Casey, who gave up his membership to concentrate on the PGA Tour.

But should Casey wish to rejoin the Tour, he would now only need to play four tournaments - outside the majors and World Golf Championship events - instead of the previous five.

Bjorn, who has stood down as chairman of the tournament players' committee to concentrate on his captaincy, said: "I felt strongly that after doing 10 years as chairman I had to look at certain aspects of what was great for the Tour and what was most important for me, to get the best team possible for 2018."

Asked if the changes were a "knee-jerk" reaction to last year's defeat after eight European wins in the previous 10 contests, Bjorn added on Sky Sports: "I can see why people would say that, but I think every time you lose a Ryder Cup you are going to evaluate your system and look at what you can do differently.

"The world of golf is a moving thing. The players seek to be more worldwide players than three, four, five years ago and you have to move with the times.

"You have to appease the players and give them a possibility of making the team while they still seek - for the other 103 weeks in that spell - to achieve individual things.

"What has been voted through now is the right thing; it appeases the players, it gives you a chance of getting the best possible team and as a captain that's obviously the most important thing. I can go in confidently and present a team that will be the 12 best players in Europe."


 The American Ryder Cup team celebrate their victory at Hazeltine last year 
 (Getty)

With the extra wild card, Bjorn's team will comprise the first four players from the European Points List, followed by the leading four players from the World Points List.

No points will be available from tournaments staged anywhere in the world played in the same week as Rolex Series events, the group of eight tournaments with a minimum prize fund of USD seven million (£5.6million).

In addition, players cannot become a Ryder Cup captain or vice-captain if they decline membership of the European Tour or fail to fulfil their minimum event obligation in any season from 2018 onwards.