Olazabal hot favourite to lead Europe into battle in Medinah

AFTER Paul McGinley came out publicly yesterday in favour of Jose-Maria Olazabal for the job at Medinah, Chicago, in two years’ time, it is now a virtual certainty that Ireland will have to wait at least another four years before being honoured with the captaincy of the European Ryder Cup team.

For a country of its size, Ireland has arguably done more for the cause than any other. Graeme McDowell became the fifth Irishman after Eamonn D’Arcy, Christy O’Connor Junior, Philip Walton and McGinley to play a decisive role in a European victory and many others have made outstanding contributions to the eight successes of the team since 1987 and prior to that, when the team was confined to Britain and Ireland.

Nevertheless, not a single one of our players has ever been honoured with the captaincy. There were several worthy candidates in the past and McGinley and Darren Clarke are right in the running, having served so nobly as vice-captains at Celtic Manor. They have now fallen in behind Olazabal and not even the most ardent Irishman could disagree with that, given Olazabal’s magnificent record in the event. He and Seve Ballesteros claimed 12 out of a possible 15 points in fourball/foursomes matches between 1987 and 1993 and Olly is also a two-time winner of the Masters at Augusta. However, he has one major reservation about accepting the job. He has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for many years and has made only one tournament appearance this year.