What about an Irish compromise?
The German's dignity and professionalism would have adorned the occasion like neither of his likely successors, Nick Faldo or the surprise new favourite Ian Woosnam, could ever hope to.
Langer's decision is understandable even though the temptation to continue was considerable, given that he waited until the eleventh hour before opting out. He is the archetypal German cool, organised and in control of his emotions, something he demonstrated in such magnificent fashion last September.
On the final night of that memorable week I wrote in these pages: "You heard it here first Bernhard Langer will retain the captaincy of the European Ryder Cup team for The K-Club in two years' time. How could anybody in their proper senses discard such a masterly operative after the manner in which he conducted the merciless destruction of hapless Hal Sutton and his unmerry men over the past three days. With every aspect of his work, with every word he spoke, the German demonstrated just what a class act he is. Had the 35th Ryder Cup match been confined to a contest between the two captains, it would have been an absolute rout."
Later that night, he said: "For me to go as captain again is very, very unlikely because I think we have a lot of guys waiting to get the job. Do this again and somebody might miss out."
Those he had in mind were, no doubt, Woosnam and Faldo, and at the time Colin Montgomerie, very possibly Jose Maria Olazabal and perhaps any one of the Irish trio of Des Smyth, Christy O'Connor Jr and Eamonn Darcy. In the interim, Montgomerie, sensibly, decided to wait another two years and to battle for his place as a player. At its most recent meeting, the Tournament Committee went against the Irish trio while sending out a strong message that there should be a direct involvement from this country in the back-up team.
I am reliably informed the job was Langer's for the second time if he wanted it.
For the Tournament Committee, the situation had gone beyond hope to expectation until Bernhard finally pulled the plug last week.
That left Faldo and Woosnam as the front runners, with Olazabal a worthy outsider.
On face value that looked a reasonable scenario until deeper examination of the rival claimants suggested otherwise.
"Consider each individually and you come up with what seem to be a series of unsurmountable obstacles," I maintained in that piece last September.
"Faldo is not particularly popular with a lot of players. Many find him distant and arrogant. Woosie is a great fellow in many ways but has blotted his copybook too often for the liking of the Wentworth blazers."
Woosnam, in fact, is known in some quarters as 'Boozy Woosie'.
Little or nothing has changed in the interim.
The 14-man Tournament Committee, of which Langer is a member, will choose their man just before the Dubai Classic on the first week in March.
They will pass on their recommendation to the Ryder Cup committee and the name will be duly announced on the eve of the tournament.
The chairman of the committee is Englishman Jamie Spence and the other members are his fellow countrymen Roger Chapman, Mark James, Robert Lee and Mark Roe; Andrew Coltart and Colin Montgomerie (Scotland), Joakim Haeggman and Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Miguel-Angel Jimenez (Spain), Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke (Ireland), Greg Turner (New Zealand) and Jean Van de Velde (France).
It is obvious some of the above most notably Montgomerie, McGinley and Haeggman will have plenty to say on the subject. Others, such as Turner, who isn't European, will presumably stay out of the argument. Clarke won't even be in Dubai.
ALL will have the deepest respect for what Faldo has achieved as a player, capping it all with six major championships.
However, through the years, Faldo has alienated himself from many who would have considered him a shoo-in for the captaincy. Having thanked the press "from the heart of my bottom" after his Open Championship victory at Muirfield in 1992, enjoying the support of the Fourth Estate won't be easy. And having been so well served by Langer, it's just impossible to believe Woosnam would have the gravitas for the job or that he would command the respect of all of his team.
And yet, because he has more friends than Faldo on the Tournament Committee, he is now the hot favourite for the job.
You wonder if it's not too late to revisit the possibility of an Irish captain. The three candidates may be somewhat removed from the regular tour nowadays and barely known to some of the younger players, but the fact that the match is in Ireland should play a major part in the outcome of the decisive meeting. It should also be borne in mind that O'Connor Jr and Darcy played crucial roles in the Ryder Cup victories of 1987 and '89, while Des Smyth is one of the European game's most respected personalities.
I concluded that piece on the famous Sunday night in Detroit thus: "Even as the Mark O'Meara bandwagon for the US captaincy at The K-Club clicks into place, Europeans will also ponder as to who is the best man to lead them in 2006.
"After what we have witnessed this week, they need hardly look beyond Bernhard Langer."
O'Meara has since fallen by the wayside and it's a pity. So too, is Langer's withdrawal.
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