Barely 48 hours have passed since the celebration party broke up at Gleneagles, but two of Europe’s leading stars are already backing Darren Clarke to be European captain for the next Ryder Cup.
In preparations for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews both Rory McIlroy whose intervention was thought to be crucial in the vote to appoint Paul McGinley two years ago and Martin Kaymer joined Clarke’s close friend Lee Westwood in supporting the 45-year-old 2011 Open champion to skipper Europe at Hazeltine in 2006.
McIlroy, who was supported by Clarke’s foundation in Northern Ireland when he was a teenager, said that his fellow Ulsterman would be “the perfect man” to lead the team in Hazeltine.
“There’s a few names been thrown about there, but with the cup in America, Darren’s especially got a great reputation in the States, he’s got a good rapport with everyone there.
“I think he would be the right man to do the job at Hazeltine.”
Kaymer also threw his weight behind Clarke’s candidacy.
“It’s a tough one, but I believe that Darren is the next one in line. I think Thomas (Bjorn) will be a very good captain as well one day, but for me he’s still playing too good to be captain in just two years’ time.”
The selection process has been changed for 2016, with the three immediate past captains McGinley, Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie forming a panel with an appointee of the European Tour’s executive director and another from the Tour’s tournament players’ committee, which formerly chose the captain.
The new panel are expected to deliberate and make their choice of captain early in the New Year.