Darren Clarke dreams of captaining Team Europe at Ryder Cup

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  • Imminent captain: Darren Clarke (r) was in Dubai for the Asian Tour finale this weekend.

    Veteran major champion Darren Clarke has admitted he would love to take on the Ryder Cup captaincy if asked.

    Clarke is clear favourite to be awarded the prestigious role when holders Europe and the United States recommence battle at Hazeltine, Minnesota, in 2016. 

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    The Northern Irishman – who claimed the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St George’s Golf Club – has been backed by fellow Europeans Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and world No1 Rory McIlroy, with 14-time American major winner Tiger Woods adding last week it would be “a blast” if Clarke or Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez were given the role.

    The new skipper will be appointed by a five-man panel early in the new year. Speaking at The Els Club prior to teeing off at the inaugural DUBAi Open on Thursday, Clarke thanked Woods for his words and stated his desire to become Ryder Cup skipper.

     

    “It is something I would love to do, but it is not something you petition for,” said Clarke, who was victorious on four of the five occasions he was selected to play Ryder Cups between 1997 and 2006.

    “If my name has been put forward to do it, I would love to. That is up to the committee to decide.

    “If the best player in the world for a long time [Woods] says it would be a ‘blast’, that is high praise.

    “I think it might cause a bit of hysteria if I asked him to be one of my vice-captains. “There are few guys in the reckoning. Whoever is the European captain going to Hazeltine, they have big footsteps to follow with what Paul McGinley achieved [by winning the 40th Ryder Cup in September].”

    He added: “If you are asked, it is a huge honour. If I am lucky enough to be asked, that would be great. “But, in the meantime, I will keep on playing and see what happens.”

    Immediately on Clarke’s agenda is the $500,000 DUBAi Open, which is the final event on the 2014 Asian Tour. The 46-year-old will hope to improve on his tied 50th-place finish at last weekend’s Thailand Golf Championship after ending up nine shots over.

    Clarke said: “It is always great, first and foremost, to be back in Dubai. There are so many great golf courses here. “It will be a great event this week.

    “I think he [Ernie Els] designed it when he was hitting the ball a bit further than he is now. The course is fabulous. “It will be a stern test. Whoever wins this week, their short game will have to be very good.”

    The Ulsterman says he still has the desire to compete at the highest level, but is also enjoying playing a mentoring role to young golfers such as stablemate, Tommy Fleetwood of England.

    “In terms of what I want to do, I want to play. I love the game and I hate the game.

    “Of late, I’ve hated the game a bit more than I love the game but that’s the game of golf. That’s professional sport. It’s not always pitching up in beautiful venues such as here and going out and having a good time on the golf course.

    “It’s our job and sometimes we love it and sometimes we don’t,” he added.

    “You play well and it’s brilliant; if you struggle a little bit, it’s not so much fun but you have to keep battling on for the good times.

    “That’s why I’m still doing it because I love the game and I always will.

    “It’s great to have an opportunity where I can offer the likes of Tommy a bit of advice, only because I’ve been through it all, seen every coach in the world, even every mental coach, I think I’ve destroyed 90 per cent of them! 

    As usual, the Ulsterman will be wearing a breast cancer awareness logo on his collar in hope of raising more awareness amongst the women in the UAE where a large number of female deaths each year are caused by breast cancer.

    Having lost his wife, Heather, to the illness in 2006, Clarke is keen to play an awareness role while in Dubai for the final tournament of the 2014 Asian Tour season. He said: “I understand that 28 per cent of female deaths in the UAE are due to breast cancer.

    “That’s an amazing statistic but that could be reduced by 50 per cent by earlier detection. It’s something close to my heart for obvious reasons.”

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