Christy Jnr would relish Ryder role

WHILE making no secret of his resentment at being summarily dropped from the list of European team candidates, Christy O’Connor Junior last night insisted that he will do all in his power to ensure the success of next year’s Ryder Cup at The K Club.

Furthermore, should he be offered a secondary role to either Ian Woosnam or Nick Faldo (one of whom will be appointed to the top job in Dubai in two weeks time), he says he would be hugely honoured and would work tirelessly to help Europe retain the trophy.

O'Connor has just been signed by AIB to be their Ryder Cup ambassador up to and including the matches. His contribution to the retention of the trophy in 1989 has been etched indelibly in the history of the event and he also played in the match in 1975.

He will work with the AIB Ryder Cup team on a broad based programme of initiatives and enthused: "what influenced me most was the bank's huge involvement in sport, particularly through club sponsorship in Ireland and helping the youth.

"They also do so much for tourism and are, of course, one of four Irish partners in the 2006 Ryder Cup."

All that said, it is to be earnestly hoped that O'Connor will have an even more hands-on role at The K Club. He feels let down more by how his candidature for the captaincy was handled rather than the actual decision. He told me: "It all happened very quickly. I was told by people in the know that I was in the thick of things where the captaincy was concerned.

"Out of the blue, Des (Smyth) and myself had disappeared. We were out of the running. Nobody has explained why. I know nothing except what I have read in the newspapers."

O'Connor spoke so animatedly on the subject that I inevitably wondered if he was dissociating himself from the tournament altogether. Nothing, he assured, could be further from the truth as he pledged himself to do everything possible to make Ireland the proudest of hosting nations.

"Sure I am annoyed that I was pitched out of the running for I believe I had a lot to offer," he agreed.

"But I also think the importance of the captaincy is being taken out of all proportion. Whoever gets the job will have 12 great players at his disposal. Bernhard Langer proved at Oakland Hills that the most important thing is to get the pairings right by using simple commonsense.

"It's not rocket science. You'd only have to look at them in practice, note their current form, watch their body language and how they got on together. I have no doubt I could have handled that part of the job very well. Nowadays, it seems you can't have the job unless you're the winner of a major title.

"It's not so long ago that Mark James and Sam Torrance were captain and I don't know of any majors they might have won.

"From what I hear, it's all a done deal now and Woosie or Faldo will be appointed in a couple of weeks time. Would I like to be vice-captain? Would I what! Okay, it is a secondary role but it's also a big part of getting the team in the right frame of mind. The Ryder Cup has been a huge part of my life from my earliest days when Christy Senior was an integral part of so many teams. It would be wonderful to win it here in Ireland for him. Doing so would also give Ireland a 20 year advantage for our courses over everybody else. The focus would be on our country like no other. And it's not just the courses that would benefit you'd also have hotels, shops, pubs, restaurants, you name it, all having a real bonanza."

Stressing how he will "fully support whoever is captain", Christy went on to refer to "the 60,000 rooms that have already been booked by Ryder Cup fans, many of whom won't even get to see the matches. Instead, they'll enjoy the afters. Because of the way Irish people do things, the atmosphere will be the best for any Ryder Cup anywhere. Another great thing is that we look like having at least three players in the side. For me, two Irishmen is terrific, three is magnificent and four is simply a dream. Still, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley look a good bet already and Graeme McDowell has the potential to make it as well."

Meanwhile, Christy Junior is as busy as ever with his golf course architecture business. Having designed a succession of superb lay-outs up and down the country, he is currently working on developments at Castleblaney and Trim and also in Spain and Portugal with another four on the planning table.

He believes we need more and more to meet the demand which should become even greater after the Ryder Cup has come and remained in European hands in September 2006!