United States Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III will try to play his way onto the team he will lead, but European captain Jose Maria Olazabal will not tee it up next year at Medinah Golf Club if he qualifies for a spot.

Marking the one-year countdown to the Ryder Cup, the two captains exchanged memories, extended compliments and sketched out their long-term plans on Monday at a Chicago news conference ahead of the biennial competition that will run from Sept 25-30.

While Love is eager to add a playing role to his duties, Olazabal, who represented Europe in seven Ryder Cups as a player, for three wins and a tie, said he wants no part of the action.

"I will be part of the team, but not as a player," the Spaniard said. "I gave my word that I was going to be captain and with that comes a lot of responsibility, a lot of things you have to do.

"I think the Ryder Cup has become the third biggest sporting event in the world. There are many things you have to do that week and I don't think that you can do both things at the same time. It's as simple as that."

Love has appeared in six Ryder Cups, helping the Americans to victory in 1993 and 1999, but earned his last selection in 2004.

Europe has taken ownership of the Ryder Cup winning four of the past five events and will arrive in Chicago next year as defending champion after a victory at Celtic Manor in Wales last year.

Reuters