Ryder Cup 2006 captaincy: Rockier times may lie ahead, both on and off the Ryder Cup course, but Ian Woosnam's captaincy of the European team at the K Club in 2006 got off to an accomplished start yesterday as the Welshman revealed his passion for the event and a decisiveness that augurs well for Europe's hopes of defeating the US for a record third time in succession.
"I will cherish this moment for the rest of my life," he said here yesterday, where his appointment was confirmed. This was hardly Churchillian rhetoric, but the emotion with which it was delivered was clear evidence of how much the captaincy means to Woosnam, who was overlooked for the job at the 2004 match.
"Bernhard Langer was the best choice at that time, although I was disappointed. But perhaps me being captain in Ireland was always meant to be. I have got tremendous affinity for Irish golf and especially for Irish golf fans."
Clearly the Welshman has spent the time since that disappointment figuring out what he would do should his day come, a manifesto that he revealed yesterday: he will not be a playing captain ("Not even if I win two majors, which is highly unlikely"); his main priority in the run-up to the match will be to get to know the younger players who will make up the bulk of his team; his choice of vice-captain will be announced before the European Open, which starts on June 30th, and this choice will be restricted to an Irishman.
That almost certainly means one of three candidates: Christy O'Connor Jnr, Eamonn Darcy and Des Smyth.
Last night Darcy, speaking on Newstalk 106's Off the Ball programme, said: "Well obviously I know Ian pretty well, and it's a job I would enjoy doing probably. It's difficult to know who he'll pick; I've a gut feeling whom he's going to pick.
"It's long overdue (an Irish captain). Christy Snr should definitely have been a captain, there's no one with a better pedigree than him, he appeared for 20 straight years in the Ryder Cup. Since '87 we've had Irish guys playing a major part in the Ryder Cup.
"It's sad that it's going to be a long time before it's going to happen. You're talking about Clarke or Harrington. We're four years too late. It would have been fantastic to have an Irish captain in Ireland but sometimes it doesn't always work out like that."
The decision to appoint Woosnam was taken at a two-hour meeting of the tournament committee on Tuesday night. He then received a phone call offering him the captaincy, before Nick Faldo was also called to be offered the role for 2008.
By making a double appointment the tournament committee assuaged those who argued Faldo's stature made him the best candidate for the job, as well as making Woosnam's immediate task a whole lot easier.
