Showing posts with label hazeltine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hazeltine. Show all posts

2/23/2015

Clarke Looking for Hazeltine Effect

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Darren Clarke hopes being Europe’s 2016 Ryder Cup captain can have a galvanising effect on his performances.

The Northern Irishman is without a title since his memorable 2011 British Open victory at Sandwich, the only major championship win of his career, and is now down to 470th in the world rankings.

“Obviously my own competitive instincts haven’t been too good of late,” Clarke said on Monday.

“The captaincy might actually be a blessing in disguise in terms of my golf because it will take my mind away from practising too hard and I’ll have a lot of things to focus on. Hopefully it will help me play a little bit better.”

Clarke accepts, however, that the demands of the Ryder Cup role are bound to affect him on the fairways as the biennial team event draws closer.

“This year I don’t think the captaincy will make an awful lot of difference but I would imagine next year it would make a big difference in my playing schedule,” he said.

Clarke has won 14 times on the tour and will have a chance to make it 15 when he competes in this week’s Joburg Open in South Africa.

The 46-year-old was named Ryder Cup captain last Wednesday after winning the unanimous vote of a five-man selection panel that included the last three skippers, Paul McGinley, Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie.

Clarke looks likely to be up against Davis Love III when Europe chase a record fourth successive victory against United States in Hazeltine, Minnesota next year.

Love is expected to be announced as American captain on Tuesday.


2/18/2015

Clarke Awaits Ryder Cup Call


Darren Clarke remains a strong favourite to be named European Ryder Cup captain for 2016 on Wednesday.

Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thomas Bjorn are the contenders to succeed Paul McGinley at Hazeltine in September next year, when Europe will be looking to maintain their recent dominance with a seventh win in the last eight contests.

McGinley is part of the five-man selection panel who will each have a vote when they meet at European Tour headquarters in Wentworth, with predecessors Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie joined by European Tour chief executive George O’Grady and players representative David Howell.

Sources close to Clarke are understood to be quietly optimistic that the Northern Irishman has enough support to get the nod, although the 46-year-old is understandably said to be not taking anything for granted.

Clarke was forced to deny a newspaper report in October 2012 that he had been offered the captaincy for 2014, a role which eventually went to McGinley as the relationship between the former friends became significantly strained.

Clarke had sent McGinley a letter in 2011 supporting the latter’s bid to become captain in 2014, but later changed his mind and also put himself forward for the role.

And when Tom Watson was named US captain in December 2012, Clarke suggested 2010 captain Montgomerie should also be considered as ”whoever it is standing on that stage opposite Tom Watson needs a huge presence”.

With the public backing of players such as Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter, McGinley subsequently won the day, but admitted last year that his conversations with Clarke were now ”short and sweet” and amounted to little more than passing pleasantries.

Graeme McDowell has urged Clarke and McGinley to put their differences aside for the sake of the European cause and immediately after his highly-praised role in the five-point win at Gleneagles, McGinley insisted his relationship with Clarke would not cause any issues in the selection process.

“’Absolutely no problem whatsoever,” McGinley said. “I’m going to be very professional in my input. I’m going to get opinions from a lot of players and a lot of people before I put my opinion forward as to what it will be. Just like I was very much pushed over the line by the players, I want to get the opinion of the players.

”I think we’re very fortunate in Europe, a little bit like the Liverpool soccer team and the boot room, I think a lot of us have benefited hugely from being vice-captains. Darren has been a vice-captain along with many other guys. We will see where that all evolves and I’ll make a professional decision based on the views of people that I respect.”

As with McGinley before him, Clarke has had the support of high-profile players such as McIlroy, McDowell and Lee Westwood and noticeably maintained a high media profile at Gleneagles.

The 2011 Open champion is competing in the Dimension Data pro-am in South Africa this week – along with eldest son Tyrone – but has struggled with his game in recent seasons.

In contrast, Jimenez is still competing on the European Tour at the age of 51 while winning titles on the Seniors Tour, while Bjorn qualified to play at Gleneagles and finished on the winning team for a third time in three appearances.

Whoever is chosen on Wednesday can expect their opposite number to be 2012 captain Davis Love, who will be given a chance at redemption after being on the wrong end of the ’Miracle at Medinah’ according to reports in the United States.

Love, whose side led 10-6 going into the singles in Chicago only to lose by a single point, was part of the 11-man task force created to examine all aspects of the United States Ryder Cup process after the defeat at Gleneagles, but was thought to be behind 2008 captain Paul Azinger and Fred Couples in the pecking order.


1/06/2015

McGinley Undecided on Ryder Captain


Paul McGinley insists he is yet to decide who he will be recommending to be Europe's 2016 Ryder Cup captain and has declined to comment on the possible candidacy of Darren Clarke.

McGinley inspired Europe to a 16.5-11.5 victory over the United States in September and is now tasked with choosing a successor to lead the team in Minnesota next year.

The selection panel will include former captains Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie, as well European Tour officials, but McGinley's opinion is likely to carry particular weight after his triumph at Gleneagles.

"I haven't fully made my mind up yet about who I'm going to recommend," McGinley told Press Association Sport.

"We're still communicating, there are a number of people involved in making that decision - current players, potential players going forward, and people who are associated with the Ryder Cup.

"I'm gathering information from everyone and I want to get a really solid view of what everybody thinks before I bring my ideas forward.

"We're working on it and in the next couple of months we'll have a new captain in place and the wheels will be turning towards another Ryder Cup."

Darren Clarke is the strong favourite to take the post having played in the Ryder Cup five times and helped lead the team as vice-captain in 2010.

McGinley's relationship with Clarke, however, remains strained after Clarke withdrew his support for McGinley's bid to lead the side in 2014 and suggested he may not have the presence to face America captain Tom Watson.

"Would Clarke be a good captain? The one thing I cannot do is express an opinion on that," McGinley said.

"I'll talk about it afterwards but at this moment it's only right I stay neutral and am fair to all the candidates.

"When I was trying to be captain, all I wanted was to be treated fairly by everybody so I think it's important I do the same now I'm involved in the decision making process."
"Would Clarke be a good captain? The one thing I cannot do is express an opinion on that" - Paul McGinley

McGinley drew on a wide variety of experience to help him lead at Gleneagles and he says he would be happy to offer his advice to future teams, but only if it was called upon.

"Of course I would be happy to help going forward," McGinley said.

"I'm European through and through and have been involved in six Ryder Cups and have a lot of experience.

"Whoever is Ryder Cup captain though, it's important he captains how he sees fit and doesn't try to copy me or anybody else before.

"It's important the captain is true to himself and captains the way he thinks is best to get a result for Europe.

"But if anybody wants to have a conversation with me, I certainly would be very happy to do so."

In contrast to McGinley, Watson's leadership style was one of many factors blamed for America's loss last year and a Ryder Cup Task Force has since been established to unearth a way of beating the Europeans.

McGinley, however, believes there is one explanation that may have been overlooked.

"For all the fall-out over there, there's never been a whole lot of recognition of what a formidable opponent Europe has become," McGinley said.

"The European Tour is producing great players and then there are the experienced players who make the team time after time.

"We have the world number one player saying he was more up for the Ryder Cup singles than he was for the last round of two majors last year.

"That just shows how important it's become for Europeans.

"Our players are dominating the top of the world rankings and we were playing at home. We were a very, very tough opponent."


12/20/2014

Darren Nearly Out of the Woods


Darren Clarke hopes to lead the European Ryder Cup team in 2016 at Hazeltine, and is delighted to receive the support from Tiger Woods recently.

Woods adds his name to Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, and Ian Poulter — all of whom hope to see Clarke succeed Paul McGinley.

“It’s true Darren and I go back a long way, all the way back to when both he and I were working with Butch [Harmon] and that’s back to around 2000, so I’ve known Darren a long time,” Woods, a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup task force formed to determine how to beat the Euros, told the Irish Examiner earlier this month. “If I make the 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup team, and that’s the goal, then I think it would be fun to be in a U.S. team with Darren as the rival European team captain because I’ve played with him and against him and we’ve always had a blast.”

Woods watched from his couch the Ryder Cup this year at Gleneagles and is now part of the PGA of America panel formed in the wake of that US defeat.

Clarke, a playing member on five consecutive European Ryder Cup teams as well as vice-captain in 2010 and 2012, appreciated Woods’ support. 

“Obviously, it’s something I would love to do,” Clarke said Wednesday ahead of the Asian Tour’s inaugural Dubai Open. “But it’s not something you petition for. My name was been put forward and I’m in the running for it. I would love to do it, but it’s up to the committee to decide.”

With the formalities out of the way, Clarke conceded that he welcomed the kind words from the 14-time major champion.

“With the best player in the world for a long time [saying] it would be a blast, that's high praise,” Clarke said. “Tiger’s a good friend and we’ve known each other [a long time]. “But there are a few other guys up for it. Whoever the committee decides will be captain … I’m sure will be a great captain.”

As for whom captain Clarke might add to his inner circle, it probably would not be Woods.

“I think it might cause a bit of a stir if I asked him to be one of the vice-captains,” Clarke quipped, “so I think I'd better not.”