The Irish Golf Club Gazette: 01/16/13

1/16/2013

Monty Very Gracious - McGinley

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Colin Montgomerie is offering his support to new Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley after missing out on the post.

McGinley was picked to skipper the team at Gleneagles in 2014 at Tuesday's European Tour tournament committee meeting in Abu Dhabi.

Montgomerie, who led Europe to a 14.5-13.5 victory in Wales three years ago, was a late contender for the job.

He said: "We will all get behind Paul now and wish him well. I'm not at all disappointed."

The appointment of the experienced Tom Watson as USA captain for 2014 raised suggestions that Europe should name a similar heavyweight character to take charge of their team with Scot Montgomerie a leading candidate.

He was interested in taking on the role again because the Ryder Cup is being held in his homeland - and he led the side to victory in the 2010 event.

But there was support for McGinley from players like Rory McIlroy in the days leading up to the appointment.

"It would have been a dream come true, but it has not happened," said Montgomerie.

"I was very flattered even to be considered again - it meant a lot to me.

"The selection process was such that they appointed the best man for the job."

McGinley was captain of the GB and Ireland team when they beat Continental Europe in the Seve Trophy in 2009 and 2011.

Montgomerie added: "I appointed him for the Seve Trophy and he did a very good job - as he did twice as a vice-captain [in the Ryder Cup].

"He's a very good man-manager and very good at assessing people's strengths.

"I will be there to support and fly the flag for Europe."

“Monty has been a great captain and a great stalwart of Ryder Cups”Paul McGinley

McGinley told BBC Radio 5 live Montgomerie was "gracious" when the pair met after the decision had been made.

He said: "He was the first man I saw and he came up and congratulated me warmly and wished me the very best of luck.

"He was very gracious to me.

"Monty has been a great captain and a great stalwart of Ryder Cups.

"I've played in three Ryder Cups with Monty and everybody knows what it means to him and how he has carried the Ryder Cup.

"On three occasions he was monumental in that team room, not just the way he played on the course, but how he spoke at the meetings.

"He should be very proud of everything that he has done with the Ryder Cup."

Olazabal Praises Paul Choice

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Jose Maria Olazabal believes Europe have made a sound decision in appointing Paul McGinley as his successor as Ryder Cup captain.

The Dubliner served as a vice-captain under Olazabal during Europe's memorable victory at Medinah last October and also carried out the same role at Celtic Manor in 2010.

The Spaniard feels the 46-year-old merits the opportunity to take on the top job and believes he will make a success of it.

"I think he has the experience, he's been in the last two Ryder Cups and from my personal experience I think he did a very good job at Medinah," Olazabal told Sky Sports.

"He had all the information, all the data, all the little details, he knows the players and he's very good at talking to the players. So in that regard I think it's a good selection."

The man who holed the crucial putt in Chicago last year also endorsed the appointment, with Germany's Martin Kaymer insisting McGinley would bring great man-management skills to the role.

"The things he said to me were very interesting and were good things I could use on the golf course," the German said.

"The way he talked to us was very respectful, he listened and that's very important. I'm very happy he's the Ryder Cup captain."

Two of Kaymer's team-mates also offered their support to McGinley, with Justin Rose and Peter Hanson both expressing their happiness for the Irishman.

"I'm very excited for Paul, very pleased for him," Rose stated. "It could obviously be a career-defining moment for him.

"It's obviously a huge honour, one he's clearly going to take incredibly seriously and I think he'll do a fantastic job.

Hanson added: "A lot of us players who have been playing the last few Ryder Cups are very happy to see him being named.

"It's well-deserved, he's done a fantastic job in the back-room for the previous two so I'm very excited for him."