Forgotten Irish as Langer set for Ryder captaincy again

IT’S now official - there will NOT be an Irish captain of the European Ryder Cup team at The K-Club in September 2006.

The players’ committee of the European Tour - which includes two Irish members, Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke - met this week and reduced the number of candidates to three, the present incumbent Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam.

Colin Montgomerie had earlier withdrawn his name and the Irish candidates, Des Smyth, Christy O’Connor Jnr and Eamonn Darcy, were eliminated.

However, it is believed the meeting also agreed there should be a strong Irish role in ’06 and that could well mean that one of the above trio will be nominated as vice-captain or a member of the backroom team at least.

The committee believes that while Smyth, O’Connor and Darcy will be too long removed from the European Tour by ’06, and accordingly out of touch with the younger team members, the presence of at least one in a backroom role would resonate well with the passionate Irish galleries.

The final decision will be made by the players’ committee on the week of the Dubai Classic on March 2-6, 2005.

Langer’s leadership at Oakland Hills last September must weigh heavily in the German’s favour and it is believed the job is his - provided he confirms he wants it.

While Tony Jacklin and Bernard Gallacher assumed the role for several years in a row, the tendency in recent times has been to confine the honour to one term, as with Seve Ballesteros in 1997, Mark James in ’99 and Sam Torrance in 2002.

Like Langer, both Faldo and Woosnam boast creditable Ryder Cup records but doubts surround their man-management skills.

Faldo will struggle to get on with the media, with whom he has had a running battle for well over a decade and famously thanked them from “the heart of my bottom” after his Open Championship success at Muirfield in 1992.

His relations with his fellow pros has also been fraught with tension over the years.

Woosnam is more popular as an individual but may not command the level of respect so crucial for successfully completing the job.

I believe Langer will again be appointed captain, with a strong recommendation from the players’ committee that Smyth should be his vice-captain.

Meanwhile, the Padraig Harrington Charity Golf Show, sponsored by Kartel and O2, at City West Hotel, Saggart, Co Dublin on Friday, January 21 has sold out - but the world No 6 Irish golf star has opted to put on an unscheduled second performance the following day to cater for another potential 1,500 audience.

With all proceeds going to charity through the Padraig Harrington Charitable Foundation, tickets for the second show on January 22 at 8pm, priced €50 and €65 for adults and €30 for children under 16, are on sale through Ticketmaster outlets nationwide, online at www.ticketmaster.ie or by telephone: [phone].