Rory reaffirms cup backing for McGinley

Rory McIlroy last night turned up the heat under golf’s great debate by tweeting his backing of Paul McGinley as the ideal captain to lead Europe’s defence of the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September 2014.

In a reaction to yesterday’s appointment of Tom Watson as US captain, McIlroy tweeted: “Congratulations to Tom Watson as US Ryder Cup captain. Would love to see Paul McGinley go up against him as European captain at Gleneagles.”

Fourteen minutes later came another tweet from the world No 1: “For the record, I think Darren Clarke would make a great captain in the US and so I would like to see him do it in 2016. Both guys deserve a go.”