Euros Begin The Sensitive Process Of Endorsing Their Next Captain Without Offending The Next Captain

From a lengthy, unbylined account of the Turkey Final where Tiger and Rory lost their opening matches (zzzzzz....), came this far more interesting discussion of 2014 Ryder Cup captaincy.

In a nutshell, Justin Rose thinks Darren Clarke might be better suited to an American captaincy because of his popularity here, while Lee Westwood makes his case for buddy Darren Clarke.

“I think we have three or four good options,” Rose said. “I’m hearing Paul and Darren and maybe Paul Lawrie, but he is in the top 30 in the world and would probably want to play at Gleneagles.

“They (McGinley and Clarke) would both be great, I don’t know if Darren might be more suited to America in 2016 as he is very popular over there.

“Paul will be very strategic and won’t put a foot wrong tactically. He has holed the winning putt before and it means a lot to him. We have good options across the board.”

Well done young Mr. Rose. Your rebuttal, Mr. Westwood?

“There are a lot of good candidates but if I was asked to pick I would pick Darren,” Westwood said. “He’s been a Ryder Cup stalwart for many years.

“The one at the K Club (in 2006) will be remembered for him and his great performance under the stress of what he was going through at the time (his wife Heather had recently died); he’s a major champion, he’s a very good public speaker which I think has to be taken into account, tactically very astute. I think Darren has a lot of good things going for him.

“Paul is good in the team room and makes a great vice-captain. He’s done a good job with the Vivendi (Seve) Trophy (twice a winning captain).

“Paul has played three (Ryder Cups), Darren has played five and got a Major championship and won a lot more tournaments than Paul. You have to have a criteria somewhere and I think Darren just edges it for me.”

Comments

[MacDuff]

Criteria are still plural, aren't they? Criterion is the lonely one.

[Jeremy]

I'm wondering how far down the road we will get a Lee Westwood captaincy.

[Manos]

The Euros crack me up. They elevate Seve to god status and dedicate the entire 2012 Ryder Cup to his memory. But in mentioning the sad little low-rent British-Euro clash, they call it the Vivendi Trophy. They can't even drop the corporate naming rights for 2 seconds to extend a thought to their "hero." Pretty revealing about where their priorities really lie.

[The O]

I'm assuming it would be a Scot. Lawrie, Lyle, Monty (ha, ha) seem like the good choices.

[Ghillie]

So -- is it McGinley for Gleneagles and Clarke for wherever the US next hosts? That sounds reasonable.

No reason to think the Glen will have a Scot. Wales had Monty. Major notwithstanding, McGinley's RC credentials trump Lawrie's (Lyle is a non-starter, and I think Poulter, who has massive if unofficial clout, would buck at Monty). Anyway, Lawrie will be trying to keep up his form for another couple of years -- big ask, but not impossible -- to play rather than captain. THEN he will have sufficient street cred to be considered for a future captaincy, even with time running out.

Westwood's remark about McGinley being a good Vice Captain sounded a bit like damning with faint praise.

[ol Harv]

I get a kick out of Westwood's "he's a good public speaker" comment. I'm a fan of both Love and Olazabal but they may have been the worst public speakers I have ever seen for a captain. They both read right off the teleprompter. Definitely not a prerequisite for being captain.

[Just asking]

Question: would a McGinley/Toms captaincy give us the least-Impressive combined resume of any captain pair in Ryder Cup history? I don't think any other pair is even close. Tom Lehman's was probably the weakest in recent memory, but Woosie more than made up the difference. I suppose John Jacobs and Dave Marr might give them a run if judged solely on playing record, although John Jacobs overall stature in the game undoubtedly elevates that pair -- not to mention the fact that Dave Marr's son hosts Champions Tour Learning Center. At least as far as recent tandems go, McGinley/Toms seems the least stirring.

[chico]

I think Tiger would make a great European team captain.
He's had a few wins and he's contributed more to Europe winning than most players!!