"A combination of European Tour (petty) politics, his age and the drum beating that has already been set in motion by the well-connected Colin Montgomerie's various media mates..."

John Huggan offers this on the 2010 Ryder Cup Captaincy and Sandy Lyle's chances:

Not for the first time, Sandy Lyle this past week expressed an interest in assuming the role of European Ryder Cup captain when the matches make their first visit to Wales in 2010. This is entirely appropriate. Not only does the former Open, Masters and Players champion command universal respect for the undoubted quality of his playing career – for a brief period in the late 1980s the Shropshire-born Scot was the best player on the planet – he is also one of the nicest people in the game, a man who would easily unite any dressing room.

Sadly, however, the odds are that the likeable Lyle will go down as the only member of European golf's "Big Five" not to fill the role of skipper in the biennial contest with the United States. A combination of European Tour (petty) politics, his age and the drum beating that has already been set in motion by the well-connected Colin Montgomerie's various media mates, will probably see Lyle, who recently turned 50 and embarked on a new career on America's Champions Tour, passed over. Which is a shame, even if – whisper it – the best and most qualified man for the job is actually two-time Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal.

Monty over Olazabal or Lyle?

Wow, Monty really is well connected!  

Comments

[JB]

How about Larry Nelson and Sandy Lyle as captains in 2010.

John

[Tuna]

Many months ago on this forum I suggested Lyle as a RC captain and someone replied saying it would never, ever happen.

The reason it was suggested that it would never happen is because Lyle took himself out of a RC (1989, maybe?) because he was playing badly. That declination on Lyle's part to play was seen as not being tough enough a golfer.

I don't know, maybe that is valid. Anyway, if Woosie can captain a RC team successfully, I don't see why Lyle shouldn't be given his turn.

[Michael]

Stick a fork in Monty

[Hawkeye]

Tuna, that would be me who made that suggestion, and I still believe it. When Olazabal had to withdraw from the 1995 team because he could no longer walk 18 holes, Woosie accepted a wild card and play under the most intense pressure in this sport, despite suffering from a Langer-esque case of the yips. He stood up to the task and in the end holed a 4-footer on the 18th on Sunday for a vital point, but Lyle declined in 1989 for fear of embarrassing himself.
Lyle was a magnificent golfer when he was at his best, but a Ryder Cup captain can not have a "no thank you, I'm not good enough right now" on his resume.