Ryder Cup Captain 2014

I read that Lee Westwood is pushing his mate forward for the RC captaincy which is announced in January. Besides Paul McGinlay who has captained the Seve (Vivendi) to 2 wins and been vice captain twice for the RC, who else is there?

Sandy Lyle for some reason has been overlooked, but if the criteria were to be based on tournament wins, then surley Sandy deserves to be in there. Although I suspect that Sandy isn't everyones cup of tea and has had fall outs with Faldo and many more over the years. he is however a Scot and the RC is played on home Scottish soil in 2014.

So Darren Clarke, Paul McGinlay, Sandy Lyle, Monty?, ........ What about the poisened Welsh dwarf?

Surely has to be DC with McGinley an outsider

Lyle has (it seems) never been popular with either the players or the suits and I can't see him being a good captain

By Welsh dwarf I assume you mean Woosie? Well he's already done it so can't see him getting asked again even though he won

I agree it would be nice to see a Scot do it at Gleneagles, but apart from Lyle I don't see a contender there (Lawrie a little further down the line perhaps?)

MAJ could be a good outside bet?

perhaps it should be given to someone who knows how to actually run a team instead of someone who has just won a few tournaments for a change.

I'd take the stuttering Scot Monty again, because I think he got a team performance out of almost everyone. Langer could be in with a shout too maybe?

DC for me though and i'd even even have ken 'on the course' Brown as a VC, but thats just me waiting to be abused

Davie - MAJ would be hilarious ... can you imagine his speeches? No-one would understand a word!

I cannot understand why people are still dragging up the suggestion of Sandy Lyle! He's completely out of touch with the game and the current players and would be awful as a captain. All previous captains, as far as I can remember, have said "once is enough" and so it would have to be someone new and it's amost certain to be one of the 3 remaining VCs. I think DC will get the vote because he seems to have the support of many of the players and that's important when it comes to getting the best out of 12 individuals.

LondonJonnyO wrote:perhaps it should be given to someone who knows how to actually run a team instead of someone who has just won a few tournaments for a change.

Well said.

Langer should get the job again and again and again.

The Scottish weather is very unpredictable, so there's a danger that Sandy could get cold hands at Gleneagles.

Is Clarke popular with the other players (Westwood excepted), I thought that his nickname of The Prince of Darkness was due to his bad moods?

I think it will be Clarke, but would probably opt for Paul McGinley myself.

The well is getting a bit dry though isn't it, and at some stage there won't be anyone left who's recognised as a top European player who would be acceptable for captain. Sandy Lyle was a recognised name I threw in, because on paper he should be on the list, but like everyone else I have reservations about him.

Faldo, Monty, Woosie, Olly, Langer have all done it, plus we had the older boys earlier. Do we need to look at a Scandinavian? but the best ones are still playing, and theres no Italian capable as yet and the rest of the spaniards are still playing. So where do we go before the likes of Lee, Jimenez, Sergio etc are in the frame? Dc would be my pick, followed by Paul McGinlay but in fairness Paul hasn't a big presence/name in the game, but suppose that in 6-years Jimenez would be in the mix.

We can't go down as far as Howler, Roe, Khan can we? without first going to a repeater.

I know that Tony Jacklin was Captain on 4 occasions in the 80's and then followed by Bernard Gallacher who did the job 3 times in the early 90's.

Since then nobody has been Captain more than a single time. Is it now a done deal that it is a once only appointment?

raycastleunited wrote:

LondonJonnyO wrote:perhaps it should be given to someone who knows how to actually run a team instead of someone who has just won a few tournaments for a change.

Well said.

Langer should get the job again and again and again.

Not sure about giving it to a german. Once they take over a place they quickly hand back what they've gained through an aggressive invasion on a beach.

Although they are bloody good when it comes to the penalty shoot-out...

BlueCoverman wrote:Although they are bloody good when it comes to the penalty shoot-out...

Not when facing a full allied team.

I think with the US of A looking at Nelson as captain, then Sandy must have a chance of the job.

However in reality the Committee after Monty stabbed him Sandy in the back for Celtic Manor, he has no chance.

I think DC is a shoe in for it.

Well things seem to be hotting up regarding the new RC captain. Rory has put his spoke in and mentioned Monty would gain nothing by getting it again, as he's won it. Rory wants his NI team mate as he's been vice captain a few times under everyone recently. Would Paul McGinlay be a good shout, or would he not get the respect of the players and the US media.

Monty or Darren for me. Please not Faldo, and even though Sandy should get it, don't think he stands a chance as he's always an outsider with the players.

I think McGinley should get it. He's done his apprenticeship with Ryder Cup teams and in the Seve Trophy plus he has plenty of player support. I think over half of the 2012 team have come out in favour of him and they're the ones that are shoe ins for the next team.

1GrumpyGolfer wrote:I think McGinley should get it. He's done his apprenticeship with Ryder Cup teams and in the Seve Trophy plus he has plenty of player support. I think over half of the 2012 team have come out in favour of him and they're the ones that are shoe ins for the next team.

Probably a good shout grumps, because he's been in and around it for years now. If PM gets it, it must be a shoe in for Darren next time, but that could be the end for Monty unless he intends being around for a few years. The Scandinavians and Spaniards and even an Italian could be in front of Monty by this time. So if Monty doesn't get it this time I reckon he would be better retiring gracefully

With DC withdrawing yesterday; a straight fight between Monty & McGinley.

I hope McGinley gets it. Mrs Doubtfire has had his chance.

Fingers crossed for McGinley.

With the number of potential RC Captains on the horizon, I think that it should be a once only gig until quality dictate otherwise.

I agree Mary, hope that Paul gets his chance, just got a feeling that Monty might get the nod again.

We will know for sure very soon now!

Yet again Rory is sticking his nose in. He spouted off yesterday and today is now saying Paul should get it without a doubt and is the only candidate the players will accept. Well Rory are you saying nobody will play for Monty??? Why can't he just stick to playing golf, being a sweet kid with talent, screwing his bird and doing his hair. he's not bright enough to get involved in sports politics as he should have learned a couple of weeks ago, when spouting off about the Olympics. his management need to slap him

There is a real danger that Rory will alienate a lot of his fans, just like Tiger did with his off-course antics.

They seem to have an unwritten rule that the captaincy is a one and done job so that should bar Monty from doing it again. However this is all politics, smoke and mirrors, and BS so they may find a way around their unwritten rule.

Doc, it's not the first time Rory has managed to make himself look stupid; remember he didn't think the Ryder Cup was a big deal at one point. He nearly backed that up by not being able to tell the time properly at the last one. He should remember the old adage: "Better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are stupid rather than open it and confirm their suspicions".

Grumps
1st para: its an unwritten rule, so i guess the way they'll get round it is that it isn't a written rule - simples
2nd para:

1GrumpyGolfer wrote:They seem to have an unwritten rule that the captaincy is a one and done job

Historically that hasn't always been the case though Grumps, Jacklin was Captain on 4 occasions in the 80's and Gallacher 3 times in the 90's

In more recent times it has, of course, been a once only position so hopefully McGinlay will be the choice. It is going to be an interesting decision though, I really wouldn't like to call it at the moment

McGinlay it is then! Right decision made in the end

BlueCoverman wrote:

1GrumpyGolfer wrote:They seem to have an unwritten rule that the captaincy is a one and done job

Historically that hasn't always been the case though Grumps, Jacklin was Captain on 4 occasions in the 80's and Gallacher 3 times in the 90's

In more recent times it has, of course, been a once only position so hopefully McGinlay will be the choice. It is going to be an interesting decision though, I really wouldn't like to call it at the moment

You're right Blue but there seems to have been some acknowledgement that it is now a one and done thing. Time will tell if it changes again.

Good choice - I thought that McGinley came across very well in the Press Conference.

I see that Bjorn said that there is an understanding that it is a "once only" job, but they are not going to change the rules to incorporate that officially as they don't want their hands to be tied in the future.

Had to laugh at the bloke who asked how many of the Committee voted for McGinley - after Bjorn had already said that it was a unanimous decision!

Great decision - I was dreading Monty getting the call again

On some of the other points...

Yes there have been multiple captains in the past but they were in the "old days" of the Ryder Cup when it wasn't such a big deal

I like it being an "unwritten rule" though - and it shouldn't preclude someone getting a repeat performance in future

As for young Coco - mixed feelings about that - on one hand I like it that players come out in support of one or another candidate (remember it wasn't only Coco that supported him but also Luke, GMac and Poulter as well as others) - yet I tend to agree with Doc and Grumps that Coco should be a little more careful in his pronouncements. He has shown a few times already that he opens his mouth before engaging the brain and it has bitten him before and I'm sure will bite him again in the future unless he gets a decent PR assistant behind him

More generally on Coco I think this is a big problem for him - I liked him when he first came on the scene but certain incidents are threatening to turn me off him. The media of course are mostly to blame on this - as he is world #1 they are bound to repeat everything he says and I can foresee a Tiger situation developing with Rory if he's not careful - it's interesting that Luke was #1 for a year or more and never really managed to hit any negative headlines in his time (one misinformed tweet perhaps that put him in a bad light but otherwise he stayed pretty clean). Somehow I don't see Rory's reign at #1 being so smooth for him

Congrats to McGinley though. The perfect choice in my opinion and I'm sure he'll do a great job and retain the trophy for Europe

Doc - I've renamed this thread to more accurately reflect the subject - I realize your original thread was posted back in October 2012 and was a decent title at the time - hope you don't mind!

Just seen a Coco interview on SSN - asked if he knew what influence his tweets would have, he wasn't very modest, basically saying he knew he had influence.

Might be true, but really should he be saying that?

I'm sad to say he drops further in my estimation (not that my opinion will bother him with £150m in the bank)

The unwritten rule is ok, but why wasn't there a call to let Peter Alliss have it again

Too fat to fit into the Captains buggy probably...

Can you imagine if Alliss got it. I can see LJ having to be restrained in a Scrappy Doo manner as he's yelling "letmeattem, letmeattem!"

Don't hear much from LJ these days, must still be up to his elbows in nappies...

He's quite active on Facebook- still being LJ!