Ironically enough, it was an American, a pretty famous one at that, who once remarked: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." Abraham Lincoln's words might now resonate with Darren Clarke, who – as he proved at Ryder Cup at The K Club in 2006 – had the capacity to overcome adversity, following the death of his first wife Heather in the weeks running up to the match, to perform heroically on the golf course, but who now, as Europe's captain, has the power.
And, intriguingly, and increasingly, it would seem a different kind of power, as in player power – in the form of support from the locker-room and those who actually swing the golf club – is a key factor in determining the right man for the job. At least from a European perspective. On the other side of the Atlantic, where taskforces seem to come up with the same old solution, things seem to work differently. So be it.
In Europe, just as player power ultimately provided the key to the lock in Paul McGinley's appointment for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, so too has that same level of support cemented Clarke's elevation to the position for the match at Hazeltine in September 2016. As popular as Miguel Ángel Jiménez is among his fellow professionals, and Thomas Bjorn for that matter, Clarke – a five-time Ryder Cup player and a Major champion in his own right – is hugely respected, as demonstrated from the social media avalanche which greeted his announcement.
Among the well-wishers were Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose and, not surprisingly, his old partner-in-arms Lee Westwood. Of the congratulatory messages on twitter, the one from Garcia indicated Clarke's capacity to be a unifying force. "I'm sure you'll be an amazing asset to #TeamEurope," tweeted the Spaniard, in spite of the Northern Irish man getting the nod over his compatriot Jiménez.
Powerful allies
Of course, it also helped Clarke that Rory McIlroy, the world number one and likely to be a mainstay of the team at Hazeltine, and his fellow Northern-Irish man Graeme McDowell were to the fore in advocating Clarke as a captain to follow on from McGinley. They were powerful allies to have on side. “Obviously I appreciated it an awful lot, that those guys were supporting me and have the trust in me to be their captain. Without their help, would I be [captain]? I don’t know, maybe yes, maybe no.”
McGinley, the immediate past captain, admitted that the views emanating from McIlroy and other leading players influenced him to nominate Clarke for the role. As the Dubliner put it, “that, to a large extent, crystallised my view on where the captaincy should go. It’s quite clear Darren got a lot of support”.
Same hymn sheet
Whatever about the rights and wrongs of player power having such an influence on the actual selection of a captain, there is no doubt that a captain needs to have his players singing off the same hymn sheet once at the Ryder Cup.
Without dwelling on it too much, the contrasts between how McGinley bonded with his team at Gleneagles and how Tom Watson failed to were as stark as could be. The end result, as much as Phil Mickelson's post-match reaction, emphasised the divide.
The fallout from the Watson captaincy was for the PGA of America to form a task-force which, if we are to believe the rumours of Davis Love’s imminent appointment to be a back-to-back captain on US soil, would indicate that, in effect, nothing has changed.
Clarke's appointment was something of a foregone conclusion, and the fact that all five members of the new-style committee – immediate past captains McGinley, José María Olazábal and Colin Montgomerie along with outgoing European Tour chief executive George O'Grady and players' representative David Howell – unanimously went for the Ulsterman has again sent out a message of unity. And is also a measure of the respect which Clarke has in the sport.
As O’Grady remarked after the announcement, “It was Darren’s time.” He added that Clarke’s “attention to detail and passion” were factors he expected to see in his style of captaincy.
