European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal will have no issue picking Paul Lawrie for Medinah later this year despite the Scot being in his 40s.
A run of four top ten finishes, including victory at the Qatar Masters, has seen Lawrie climb to fourth in the European Ryder Cup standings and in a strong position to qualify automatically for Olazabal's team.
That could all change depending on the results at the World Golf Championships and the Majors but Olazabal has made it clear the former Opener winner would be a welcome addition to his team.
"I have always seen Paul as a very solid player," Olazabal said.
"He is the type of player who you need to have on a Ryder Cup team - a player who can combine and pair with other players.
"It is going to be very important for Paul to be in the Majors and the WGCs because the Ryder Cup points are huge.
"But then guys like Paul, who have already won over ¤1million in the qualifying period, are already well on the way and, by getting into those events, you only have to play half-decent and you’re going to increase your points."
Lawrie scored three and a half points out of a possible five when he played alongside Olazabal in the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline.
He suffered a dip in form following his Open success and he has failed to feature on the European side since, although he was a member of the team that played Asia in the 2009 Royal Trophy.
Olazabal's side is likely to be made up of Europe's best young golfers but the Spaniard would have no issue selecting Lawrie, who will be 43 by the time his team is finalised in August.
"Age is only a figure. And even with Paul being into his 40s makes no difference," Olazabal added.