With less than two months to go to the 42nd staging of the biennial contest between Europe and the United States, Ryder Cup Europe is delighted to announce the official launch of the European Ryder Cup Past Captains’ Programme.
Not including this year’s European Captain Thomas Bjørn, some 25 men have assumed the honour of Captaincy since the contest began in 1927 – initially overseeing a Great Britain and Ireland team and, since 1979, Team Europe.
Of that number, 12 are still with us – Brian Huggett, Tony Jacklin, Bernard Gallacher, Mark James, Sam Torrance, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, José María Olazábal, Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke.
Seven of that dozen who were in St Andrews last week for the Senior Open Presented by Rolex – James, Langer, Woosnam, Faldo, Montgomerie, Olazábal and McGinley – took time out from their preparations to join a Past Captains’ Celebration in the Old Course Hotel.
During the evening they were each presented with a framed memento which featured a picture montage of all 12, itemised details of their own individual Ryder Cup records, and a quote from Seve Ballesteros, one of the 13 Past Captains sadly no longer with us.
Ryder Cup Director Richard Hills, who presented the mementos to the Captains, said: “You only need to cast your eye down the list of names to appreciate that we have been blessed to have had some of the legends of the game lead our team over the years.
“The wealth of experience and know-how of these men is immeasurable, especially when you consider that, aside from their respective stints as Captain, these 12 players played in 88 Ryder Cups between them from 1963 to 2006.
“It has been Ryder Cup Europe’s sincere wish for some time to harness this experience not only to benefit future Captains and teams, but also help promote The Ryder Cup in future years, and we fully believe the European Ryder Cup Past Captains’ Programme is the perfect vehicle to achieve this.”
MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN RYDER CUP PAST CAPTAINS’ PROGRAMME
Brian Huggett
Years Played: 1963, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975
Year of Captaincy: 1977
Tony Jacklin:
Years Played: 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979
Years of Captaincy: 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989
Bernard Gallacher:
Years Played: 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983
Years of Captaincy: 1991, 1993, 1995
Mark James:
Years Played: 1977, 1979, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995
Year of Captaincy: 1999
Sam Torrance:
Years Played: 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995
Year of Captaincy: 2002
Bernhard Langer:
Years Played: 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002
Year of Captaincy: 2004
Ian Woosnam:
Years Played: 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997
Year of Captaincy: 2006
Sir Nick Faldo:
Years Played: 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997
Year of Captaincy: 2008
Colin Montgomerie:
Years Played: 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006
Year of Captaincy: 2010
José María Olazábal:
Years Played: 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2006
Year of Captaincy: 2012
Paul McGinley
Years Played: 2002, 2004, 2006
Year of Captaincy: 2014
Darren Clarke:
Years Played: 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006
Year of Captaincy: 2016
