adminLONDON. — Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke will captain holders Europe in the 2016 Ryder Cup golf tournament at Hazeltine, United States. A five-man panel selected the 46-year-old ahead of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark. Clarke has won the tournament four times as a player and was a non-playing vice-captain for wins in 2010 and 2012.
He said: “The Ryder Cup has been a massive part of my life and my career, so to have the chance to lead Europe next year is a huge honour.”
Clarke succeeds Irishman Paul McGinley, who led Europe to a five-point victory over the USA at Gleneagles in 2014.
The 2011 British Open champion has lost just once in the seven times he has been involved in the Ryder Cup, when the US won at Brookline in 1999.
After a quartet of victories as a player — in 1997, 2002, 2004 and 2006 — Clarke helped successive captains Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal achieve success. — Reuters.
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