McGinley ready for Ryder Cup captaincy

ONE of the mysteries surrounding British & Irish and European Ryder Cup teams is that this country hasnever been honoured with the captaincy.

Great golfers like Fred Daly, Harry Bradshaw, Christy O’Connor Senior and Junior, Des Smyth, Eamonn Darcy and Ronan Rafferty are only some of those who have distinguished themselves in the matches since World War II, but Smyth is the nearest any came to leading the side. He was Ian Woosnam’s vice-captain at The K Club in 2006.

However, that may all change now that Paul McGinley has emerged as a powerful candidate for the job either at Medinah in 2012 or Gleneagles two years later, having been loudly acclaimed for his performance as captain of the Britain & Ireland team that won the Vivendi Trophy over the weekend. Nobody should get carried away by that achievement given that the event contains little or none of the tension and excitement associated with the Ryder Cup and would be regarded in some quarters as something of a glorified exhibition.