Mould-breaker McGinley will be hard act to follow

From getting Alex Ferguson in as a motivational speaker to ensuring only blue and gold coloured fish adorned the fish tank in Europe's team room, the role of captain extended to ticking a lot of boxes for Paul McGinley. And, after waiting 87 years for an Irish captain, the odds are strong that a second will follow very quickly. Straight away, actually.

Darren Clarke – a vice-captain at Medinah in 2012 – is favoured to be invited to assume the responsibility for the next away match, at Hazeltine, in 2016. Indeed, the likelihood is that his main challenger for the role could be another Irishman, with Pádraig Harrington, who got his first taste of vice-captaincy at Gleneagles, also mooted as a future captain. In fact, they're queuing up with Miguel Angel Jimenez also knocking on the door.

New captain That decision to select a successor to McGinley is anticipated to be decided in early 2015, possibly at the Abu Dhabi Championship in January, but the actual process will get under way in the coming weeks with the three previous captains – McGinley, Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie – in a slimmed-down selection committee that also includes the European Tour's chief executive, George O'Grady, and a tournament committee representative. Previously, the decision was made by the 15-man tournament committee.

In the run-up to deciding who would be the captain at Gleneagles, Clarke had in 2011 sent a letter of support to McGinley but later entered the race himself before subsequently withdrawing and then backing Colin Montgomerie. McGinley was awarded the captaincy after a number of players, among them Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald, publicly backed him.

McGinley – who has ruled out any future direct involvement as either a repeat captain or as a vice-captain – has said he will be “very professional in my input” when it comes to the selection process. “I was very much validated by the players . . . I was pushed over the line by the players, and I want to get the opinion of the players.”

Whoever gets the job will have a hard act to follow, as McGinley performed the task with some aplomb.

"I think he rocked the system, from the point of view he probably didn't have the credentials deserving of a Ryder Cup captain and he was picked on the fact he could bring more to the table. He was up for it, intelligent and schooled. He had served his time. He sharpened his blade with the Seve Trophy (captaincy) and (Ryder Cup) vice-captaincies," said Graeme McDowell.

Breaking the mound McDowell added "He kind of breaks the mould in that he is not a nine time Order of Merit champion, he is not a Major champion. That is not really what is necessary to be a great captain. You have to get it. You have to get the man management of 12 individuals in a system, to understand what everyone needs. To me, Europe should follow this template in that it doesn't have to be a great player to be a great captain . . . I can't wait to be Ryder Cup captain. Paul commanded huge amount of respect in the team room. I found myself listening to a very educated, organised guy. He kept talking about everything having a meaning. Every visual, every video, every message had an end game."

McDowell – who made his debut under Nick Faldo at Valhalla and was on winning teams in 2010 at Celtic Manor with Colin Montgomerie and in 2012 at Medinah with Jose Maria Olazabal – stated that McGinley was the best captain he had served under.

All through his own playing career – which he intends to return to with a vengeance next season, when he expects to play a schedule of around 16 events – McGinley had put Tom Watson on a pedestal as his sporting hero, someone to look up to. That the Dubliner faced his old hero as the opposing captain meant parking such worship as he went about his task.

“My plan was not just based on instinct, it was instinct based on a collection of data. I am great believer in the past determining the future and there’s lessons in history,” said McGinley.

Unfortunately for his golfing idol, it will be remembered as a heavy defeat for Watson and one which has brought criticism and finger-pointing. “There’s no tougher competitor in the game of golf than Tom Watson . . . he’s a hard man, he’s a man I respect. And in the last two years, I respect even more.”