Clarke wants Ryder Cup captaincy

Darren Clarke has thrown his hat into the ring to captain the European team in the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

The Dungannon golfer’s decision will come as a shock to fellow Irishman Paul McGinley, regarded as the frontrunner for the job for the past couple of years. Clarke had previously assured McGinley of his support for the job.

However, it seems Darren has had a change of heart and told the Irish Examiner yesterday he was now an official runner for the position that will be filled at a meeting of the European Tour’s Tournament Committee in Abu Dhabi next January.

“If I was asked to captain Europe in two years I definitely could not say ‘no’,” said Clarke. “It’s probably the biggest honour that can be bestowed on a member of the European Tour.”

Clarke, who represented Europe in five consecutive Ryder Cups from 1997 and up to and including 2006, certainly ticks all the captaincy boxes.

“If I was asked I would jump at the opportunity,” said Clarke, “but then I still have set myself the goal of still trying to get back in the side as a player, not as a vice-captain as I have been for the past two matches.

“I still dearly want to make the team and even more so after being present in Medinah as part of Ollie’s (Jose-Maria Olazabal’s) support staff so I would love to play in another Ryder Cup. If I were to be offered the position I would embrace it with both arms and hope I could do just as good a job as Jose Maria did at Medinah.”

McGinley’s claims on the Ryder Cup captaincy are based on his outstanding record of figuring in the winning team on the three occasions on which he represented Europe and then displayed his leadership qualities in leading Britain & Ireland to successive victories in the Seve Trophy after which he received glowing tributes from, among others Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke himself.

The 45 year-old Dubliner has gone out of his way not to be seen to seek the position, stressing that “If I say that, people will turn their backs on me. Nobody has ever gone out and badgered for the job and if they have, they haven’t got it. All I will say is that if it came my way, it would be a great honour not just for me but Ireland as well.”

When the question of his potential rivals was mentioned in an Irish Examiner interview earlier this year McGinley said : “Clarkey is not going for 2014, he has given his support to me. That helps. Everything helps. It’s pretty odds-on that Darren is going to be captain in 2016. But if I get it in 2014 where does that leave Pádraig [Harrington]? You’ve got three Irish guys lined up, one, two, three. The chances of getting three in-a-row are nil.

“By all accounts, Darren is going to be nailed-on for 2016 in America after winning the Open Championship. He has said he’s going to support me. He sent me a hand written letter after the Seve Trophy last year saying how much he enjoyed me being captain, how much I surprised him by how good I was and that beyond doubt I would have his full support for 2014.”

Fascinatingly, Clarke and McGinley are both members of the Tournament Committee, a body chaired by another likely contender, Thomas Bjorn, and also including Colin Montgomerie, who has also been making his interest known having led the side to victory at Celtic Manor in 2010.