Montgomerie: Clarke favourite
Darren Clarke: Among the favourites for Europe captaincy in 2016
Colin Montgomerie says Darren Clarke is the favourite to be the next Ryder Cup captain but admits there are several candidates for the role.
After Paul McGinley led Europe to a superb 16½-11½ victory over the USA in this yearâs competition at Gleneagles, attention has already turned to who will lead the team in America in two yearsâ time.
Clarke was vice-captain at Medinah two years ago and is the most popular choice for the role, but Montgomerie â" who was a pundit for Sky Sports during this yearâs tournament â" says the Northern-Irishman has to be sure he will not want to feature as a player.
âI think heâs the bookiesâ favourite, if there is one,â the 2010 captain told Sky Sports News. âProvided he feels he isnât capable of playing and adding to the team in a playing performance.
âThis is the problem with Thomas Bjorn, with Lee Westwood, with Padraig Harrington as well â" are they ready to say theyâre not going to play again? Because after youâve captained itâs very rare to come back as a player.
âDarrenâs favourite right now but we will have a think after the next few months and come up with the best candidate.â
The Scot will choose the captain for Hazeltine in 2016 along with McGinley and fellow former captain Jose Maria Olazabal â" something he believes is a good system.
âThereâs a number of great candidates we have in Europe,â he added. âThereâs Lee Westwood, Thomas Bjorn, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez. Thereâs a load of candidates we have and weâll discuss it.
âThe last three Ryder Cup captains select this now, which I do like. It saves the social media playing it out beforehand and I think itâs very good that Paul McGinley, Jose Maria Olazabal and myself will select the captain and then it will be announced. Itâs as simple as that.
âWe will analyse it, we will think about it, we will talk between ourselves and we will come up with the best candidate for the job in two yearsâ time.â
Unwritten rule
Mickelson openly criticised Watson during USA's press conference
The 51-year-old also criticised the comments from Phil Mickelson, who spoke out against Tom Watsonâs style of captaincy, saying the left-hander should not have made his views public.
âI was very disappointed in Phil, really,â he said. âYou do not throw your captain under the bus. You honour your captain, you respect your captain. Whatever you say, you say it in private â" you can close the door and have a good old battle â" but in public you support your captain.
âItâs an unwritten rule of sport â" you support your manager, you support your captain, especially when heâs sitting on the same stage as you. That was bordering on embarrassing, and I feel for Tom Watson.
âHeâs a 65-year-old man, he did his best. He was selected as the best man for the job by the PGA two years ago and did a great job with what he had to work with, having lost Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Jason Dufner.
âJordan Spiethâs fantastic and will play many, many Ryder Cups but, wow, does that show you the strength of America that they have to put a 21-year-old rookie out first? Things are in transition for America, but what they must do is get it right next time.
âThey must be more competitive and they really must try and win this thing two years hence, but we will do our utmost, of course, to try and retain it.â
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