Langer favourite for Cup captaincy

Bernhard Langer is now odds-on to become Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain.

But the official announcement on who succeeds Sam Torrance may not come until just before the start of the 12-month qualifying race in September.

Langer, who formally declared his interest in doing the job last Friday, has been installed as 4/6 favourite by bookmakers William Hill.

Ian Woosnam, vice-captain to Torrance for last September’s win, is 3/1, Sandy Lyle is 8/1 – and Nick Faldo is 5/1 even though he has said he wants to play rather than captain.

“Nick has often done the unexpected in the past, so he’s there just in case he changes his mind,” said company spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Next stage in the procedure is next Wednesday’s meeting of the European Tour’s tournament committee in Dublin, where the Irish Open begins the following day.

But if they agree on a candidate the matter will then go before Europe’s Ryder Cup hierarchy.

Langer said: “Once you commit to be the captain they say you can’t be captain and player, so I guess after many months of thinking it through I’ve committed to the captaincy and I will see who gets the job.

“I hope I get the job and I hope I’ll be good at it.”

Langer, who has an American wife, and Woosnam had talked about both going forward for the next two matches – at Oakland Hills in Detroit next year and the K Club in Ireland in 2006 – and then waiting to see if either of them had a chance to qualify for the 2004 side.

Five years ago Mark James was close to earning a place and then revealed that if he had done he would have stood down and Ken Brown would have taken over as captain in Boston.