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