Dubai: Darren Clarke will have to be more of a man-manager than a master strategist if Europe are to reclaim the Ryder Cup this year, according to two former captains Tony Jacklin and Bernard Gallacher.
Europe have won six of the last seven biennial tournaments but now face a resurgent USA team led by Davis Love III and promising youngsters like World No.1 Jordan Spieth at Hazeltine in Minnesota from September 30 to October 2.
Jacklin, 71, is Europe’s most successful Ryder Cup captain of all-time and featured in 11 Ryder Cups, losing eight as a player from 1967 to 1983, before winning two - including Europe’s first ever victory - and drawing one as captain from 1985 to 1989.
And Gallacher, 67, who became the youngest man to represent Great Britain in the Ryder Cup aged 20, also featured in 11 Ryder Cups, losing eight as a player from 1969 and 1983, before losing a further two and winning one as a captain between 1991 and 1995.
Both were in Dubai this week as captains of the Ryder Cup-style Titan’s Cup for corporates between Troon Golf and Dubai Golf. The first leg was held at the Els Club on Wednesday, while the second leg will be staged at Emirates Golf Club on October 26.
“Match play is anybody’s guess,” said Jacklin of the real Ryder Cup. “It’s all about momentum, anyone can beat anyone on any day. Say what you like but until that first morning [you won’t know].
“The captain first and foremost just needs to know he has the best 12 players available to him and then beyond that he has to wrap them in cotton wool and take care of them as best he can.
“As a captain you can’t tell them how to play. You try and accommodate everybody and you are massaging egos all week, trying to be all things to all of them. You’re trying to make them as comfortable as possible so that they can perform to the best of their ability.”
The double major winning Englishman added that the most technical side of this non-playing role was picking the pairings, but even that was best decided on human instinct over any in-depth tactical analysis.
“I was big on matching personalities, certain personalities feed off each other. Lee Trevino [former US captain] poo-pooed this in 1985 but I think I proved him wrong. There is a lot more strategy nowadays but in my day it was done a lot by looking at body language and reading whether the player is up or down, talking to their caddies, keeping their spirits up and really leaving no stone unturned – you pray a lot too.”
Gallacher said that Clarke possessed all these traits and was best suited to leading Europe to glory.
“He will be more in the mould of [2002 captain] Sam Torrance than [2014 captain] Paul McGinley, who was meticulously into preparation,” said the Scotsman.
“I think having watched Darren closely in January’s EurAsia Cup in Malaysia, he’s the sort of guy that will put his arm around your shoulder and say come and meet me in the bar when you’re finished.
“The players responded to that and they enjoyed it. I thought it might have been a tough assignment for them to win in Malaysia under those conditions but they won it quite easily and a lot of that was down to Darren Clarke. I think the players will respond well to his Ryder Cup captaincy too because he’s slightly more relaxed and won’t be afraid to say ‘let’s hit the town and everything will be OK’ and I think that’s a good thing.”
Europe’s inherent underdog complex will also make Clarke’s job easier, according to Jacklin.
“He really just has to encourage the team. Europe have been so fortunate over the years to have this automatic unity. Although they all come from different backgrounds they come together beautifully for the Ryder Cup because there’s a determination from within the team to always show the Americans that just because they have a bigger and richer tour, they are not necessarily better, and they come together on that basis.
“Just because they’ve got it all it doesn’t mean to say that they’ve got the right to win and Europe have proven more often than not lately that that’s the case. But America are overdue [a win] and I think they will be home town favourites this time.
“This thing will go back and forth but it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a result for America this time around. Darren Clarke won’t be listening to that though, he’ll be as determined as always.”
Gallacher agreed: “I’m not saying Europe won’t win but America will have a strong desire to win it back, but they’ve always had that strong desire and just haven’t done it.
“Europe shouldn’t be favourites playing in America, they weren’t favourites in Medinah [in 2012] or any other time they’ve played in the U.S. But there’s no reason why they can’t win it. Europe roll up their sleeves and get stuck in and America know that and there’s that fear factor because they don’t back off. Europe have always been strong because of their attitude and never say die spirit.”
