The wagons are circling in the battle to be Europe's captain at The K Club in 2006, with the tempo upped considerably yesterday by a candid assertion from Jose Maria Olazabal that it shouldn't necessarily go to an Irishman. "I believe it should come down to the individual merits of the respective captains, regardless of nationality," insisted Olazabal.

Such a view, however, didn't find favour with Des Smyth - one of the Irish players with their applications in for the captaincy - who said he would be "hugely disappointed" if an Irishman didn't get the captaincy while, in an obvious reference to Colin Montgomerie's candidacy, Ian Woosnam remarked: "I don't think it should go to a Scotsman anyway. There are other players ahead of him (in the queue)."

Although a decision on the captaincy for 2006 is unlikely to be made by the Ryder Cup committee for probably another two years, the politicking has started. Last week, at a PGA centenary dinner in England, Michael Smurfit expressed his opinion that an Irishman should captain the team and Bord Fáilte, who have pumped a significant amount of money into tournaments in Ireland, particularly inside the past decade, are also anxious that there should be a home captain.

Damien Ryan, the Director of Golf with Bord Fáilte, said: "It's not our call but, naturally, with the Ryder Cup in Ireland in 2006, we'd like to see an Irishman selected to captain the team. Over the years, we have had a lot of great players who have played and contributed immensely to the Ryder Cup and who have helped make it into the great team competition that it now is."

Olazabal, who has turned down a request from Sam Torrance to be part of his backroom team for this year's encounter with the United States at The Belfry, preferring instead to watch at home on television, was asked if there should be a similar situation in 2006 as prevailed in 1997, when Seve Ballesteros was nominated as captain for the Ryder Cup in Valderrama.

"That's a difficult question to answer," said Olazabal. "Ireland has produced a lot of good players but I don't think many of them were of the level that Seve was at. The only reason we had Seve as captain in Spain was because of Seve and what he did through the years. It would be hard to find another Ryder Cup captain of the stature of Seve in other countries. I believe it should come down to the individual merits of the respective captain, regardless of nationality."

Smyth, along with Christy O'Connor Jnr and Eamonn Darcy, has applied for the captaincy, and when informed of Olazabal's remarks, retorted: "Jose Maria is entitled to his opinion. Irishmen have been on the Ryder Cup team for a 100 years and there has never been an Irish captain and I find that extraordinary. I really feel there should be an Irish captain for 2006. I won't be disappointed if it's not me, but I will be hugely disappointed if it isn't an Irishman. And I think the Irish people will be hugely disappointed.

"Just look at the Irish players who have contributed to the Ryder Cup. There's been Christy O'Connor Senior, Fred Daly, Harry Bradshaw, Norman Drew, Eamonn Darcy, Christy Junior, Philip Walton, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and many others. Then there's the Irish people who have supported it over the years and, don't forget, the Irish Tourist Board has given so much time and money to professional golf tournaments. There has to be an Irish captain."

Meanwhile, Woosnam, who is expected to take the captaincy when the Ryder Cup is played at Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010, said: "It would be lovely if it went to an Irishman (in 2006). That would make everybody happy - and, then, I think a German or an Englishman should get it next."

Meanwhile, Argentina's Angel Cabrera, had the biggest win of his life yesterday when he captured the International Open at The Belfry.

Cabrera had a closing 69 and took the title by one shot from Barry Lane, with Colin Montgomerie, Padraig Harrington and Michael Campbell joint third after each of them bogeyed the last.