With Europe's next Ryder Cup captain to be selected on Tuesday, Philip Reid looks at the attributes required to lead the team at Straffan in 2006.
It's bizarre, in a way, that the Ryder Cup should have so many military connotations given that it is only a golf match.
Before last year's match at Oakland Hills in Detroit, the raising of the flags at the opening ceremony was supervised by the commanding officer of the Theodore Roosevelt US navy aircraft carrier; and, more than once in the interviewing of the respective captains in the build-up to the event, Bernhard Langer and Hal Sutton were referred to as "commanders-in-chief" with their players alluded to as "foot soldiers."
Thankfully, the players from both side were able to put things into perspective. It wasn't a military conflict, just a sporting event, albeit one of enormous significance. As Paul McGinley puts it: "In my view, and the view of most people, it is the third biggest sporting event in the world. You've got the Olympics, and you've got the World Cup soccer. They're probably the two biggest, but certainly the Ryder Cup is third."
As the world and its mother knows by now, the next Ryder Cup will be held in Ireland - for the first time - on the Palmer Course at The K Club in Straffan, Co Kildare, in September 2006. It'll be the biggest international sporting event ever held in this country. We know that Tom Lehman will captain the United States team. But who will captain Europe? One thing is for sure, it won't be an Irishman; and it won't be Langer, the man who oversaw Europe's record-sized win in Detroit.
Next Tuesday, what is known as the European Tour tournament committee will meet in a hotel in Dubai to decide who will captain Europe. On Wednesday, the decision of the 14 men on who will assume the role be announced. There are three main candidates: Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo and Sandy Lyle. Most observers believe that Lyle has very little chance of being selected, and that it will come down to a straight choice between Woosnam and Faldo.
Woosnam is the favourite but, McGinley, who is on the committee, has said that speculation that the Welshman is guaranteed the position (among those to advocate in public that he should be given the job is former captain Mark James) are not accurate.
"I can honestly say there has been no vote (yet)," says McGinley, "and there's no inclination as to who is going to vote for who. The speculation that it is going to be Woosie is well off the mark. I'm not saying it is not going to be Woosie but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge."
One thing is for sure, it won't be an Irish captain although Des Smyth, Christy O'Connor Jnr and Eamon Darcy applied to be considered.
"Me, Darren (Clarke) and Padraig (Harrington) all made representations for an Irish captain. Unfortunately, the timing is not so good from an Irish point of view because you've got major winners lined up, chomping at the bit, who can't wait to be captain," explains McGinley.
O'Connor Jnr has accepted his fate, although he says he "never withdrew my interest (in the captaincy)". There's not a trace of any bitterness, but he doesn't go along with the oft-repeated mantra that he - like Smyth and Darcy - were too long removed from regular tournaments to be seriously considered.
"To me, it's nothing about age," says O'Connor. "I don't see any sport in the wide world where any captain or manager doesn't believe that maturity is not an important attribute to have. It's also been said we weren't major winners. But neither were Sam Torrance, Mark James or Bernard Gallacher and they were all great captains."
His own personal experience of the attributes required of a captain came when O'Connor made his two Ryder Cup appearances, the first in 1975 and the second one famously at the 1989 match at The Belfry when his two-iron approach to the last in his singles win over Fred Couples was instrumental in Europe's win.
On that occasion, Tony Jacklin was captain and O'Connor remembers him as being "a very positive guy. He'd tell you to go out and win your own match, keep your head down and don't fritter away shots, to knuckle in. And that's where Irish players are so good, they don't lose it under pressure. Everyone feels pressure but I think we're proven players in matchplay situations and history shows that.
"This whole Ryder Cup thing is huge for Ireland. It would have been lovely if there was an Irish captain but the more important thing is that we are going to have players on the team and that the event itself is massive for the country," says O'Connor.
"I don't know who is going to get the captaincy, whether it be Faldo or Woosie. Faldo's an extremely able guy and it seems to me that he has come out of his shell a bit more in recent years. I obviously know Ian a bit better because I would have hung around more with him when on the tour . . . but, at the end of the day," adds O'Connor, "it will come down to 12 guys and they are the ones who have to do the job. The Americans are going to come to Ireland badly wanting to win and, you know, they always feel very comfortable playing here. It'll come down to two great players against each other and you know in that situation it is always going to be tight."
Indeed, O'Connor's assertion that it comes down to the players is backed up by Langer's own observations.
Praise was heaped on the German for the way his team prepared for Detroit and, for a time, there was a clamour for him to be retained for The K Club until he made the decision himself that he would prefer to try and make the team as a player. Colin Montgomerie, who had actively pursued the captaincy, also decided - after listening to many of his peers - that he should rather make the team as a player and wait for his turn as captain in the future.
Anyway, this is what Langer said of being a captain.
"I think sometimes the role of captaincy is overemphasised by the public or whatever. I've played in 10 Ryder Cups and have watched what has happened in the past. Whenever the captain loses, he gets kind of crucified. Whoever wins, well, he was the great hero. I disagree with that.
"I think most of the time it's not the captain, it's just the players. You know, the 12 guys played better than the other 12 guys. You can have the greatest strategy . . . If the player doesn't play good, he's not going to win, no matter what strategy you have. That's the bottom line. As a captain, you can only provide everything the player needs, that he's relaxed, that he has his thoughts on the game of golf, can concentrate on that. You take care of the rest. But in the end, he has to hit the shots."
These comments from Langer were not the result of hindsight after his side's big win over the United States. They were, in fact, delivered in a media briefing at the UBS Cup in October 2003, all of 11 months before the match itself. All of which would suggest that the bigger factor in whether or not Europe retain the trophy at The K Club next year is not who the tournament committee select as captain next week, but who actually makes the team as a player when the year-long qualifying process gets under way in August.
Cup Captains - Winners and Losers
Loser: John Jacob
1979 The Greenbrier, West Virginia
One of golf's true gentlemen, John Jacobs was the victim of poor spirit from two members of his team - Mark James and Ken Brown.
This match was the first time that continental European players were allowed play and, at the time, the Ryder Cup - won effortlessly each time by the United States - was mostly ignored by the public and the media.
This was no War on the Shore as Kiawah Island in 1991 was to be known, nor was it a Battle of Brookline as the 1999 was called. The only fighting words at the 1979 match came from the disgruntled Brown and James who dressed poorly, showed little respect for the opening flag ceremony and had to be chastised by Jacobs for preferring to wander through the gift shops than attenda team meeting.
Not surprisingly, the Americans coasted to a 17-11 win.
Winner: Tony Jacklin
1985 The Belfry, England
In his second stint (of four) as captain, Tony Jacklin - who had assumed the captaincy for the match in Palm Beach Gardens two years earlier on the condition that he could do things his way - was meticulous in his preparations.
When Jacklin took the helm in 1983, the matches were in danger of being compromised by continued US success. Nobody understood its importance more than Jacklin, who remarked: "The Ryder Cup is more than just golf. It is your country, your team, your tour, your captain (that) you're playing for. It is the ultimate in golf."
Europe nearly pulled off an upset in 1983 (losing 13 ½ to 14 ½) but achieved a first victory since 1957 when winning at the Belfry in 1985. Jacklin was again captain at Muirfield Village in 1987 when Europe won for the first time on American soil, and was again captain when they retained it at the Belfry in 1989.
Loser : Hal Sutton
2004 Oakland Hills, Michigan
How could anyone get it so wrong? On the eve of the match, Sutton sent Phil Mickelson across to the practice ground on the other side of the six-lane highway - while his team-mates practised on the course -- so that he could get acquainted with the ball that Tiger Woods uses. Then, he paired the two together; a bit like trying to mix oil with water. The dream team were to endure a nightmare on the first day, losing both fourballs and foursomes as Europe grabbed the initiative and refused to relinquish it. In the end, Sutton suffered the heaviest ever defeat of an American captain in the Ryder Cup.
The Candidates
Ian Woosnam
Age: 46 . Country: Wales
European Tour career earnings: €9,169,747 (8th).
A two-time winner of the European Tour Order of Merit (1987 and 1990), he has won 46 tournaments since turning professional in 1976. The highlight came in 1991 when he won the US Masters at Augusta National (his only major win). Has played on eight Ryder Cup teams, making his debut in 1983. Was a member of the winning teams in 1985, 1987, 1995 and 1997. Woosnam served as a vice-captain to Sam Torrance when Europe won the 2002 match at The Belfry. With rumours intensifying that he has the overwhelming backing of the committee, he is widely expected to be awarded the captaincy.
Nick Faldo
Age: 47. Country: England European Tour career earnings: €7,828,838 (13th).
Indelibly linked with the Ryder Cup. Has made a record 11 appearances, making his debut in 1977, and holds the record for a European player of the most points and matches won (played 46, won 23, lost 19, halved 4). A winner of 39 titles in his professional career, Faldo has six major titles to his credit: the British Open wins in 1987, 1990 and 1992, and the US Masters victories in 1989, 1990 and 1996. Has all but conceded the race for captaincy to Woosnam, saying, "Like everyone else, I've heard the rumours. But we shall see."
Sandy Lyle
Age: 47. Country: Scotland. European Tour earnings: €3,600,500 (45th).
A teenage golfing prodigy, who made his international amateur debut at 14, Lyle was a prolific winner before turning professional in 1977. Went on to win 28 tournaments as a professional. Lyle's two career high points came with his victory in the British Open at Royal St George's in 1985 and his famous bunker shot to the 72nd hole on the way to winning the US Masters in 1988. Made his Ryder Cup debut in 1979 and was to play in five matches, his last in the 1987 win at Muirfield Village. Not expected to figure.
The Decision Makers: (European Tour Players' Committee): Jamie Spence (England, chairman), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Roger Chapman (England), Jean Van De Velde (France), Darren Clarke (Ireland), Andrew Coltart (Scotland), Joakim Haeggman (Sweden), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain), Bernhard Langer (Germany), Robert Lee (England), Paul McGinley (Ireland), Colin Montgomery (Scotland), Mark Roe (England), Henrik Stenson (Sweden).
