• Rory McIlroy among those who backed Irishman's 2014 bid
• McGinley was unanimous choice of European Tour committee
Paul McGinley said he was grateful to Rory McIlroy for his support after becoming the first Irishman to be named European Ryder Cup captain.
McGinley's unanimous selection for the 2014 event at Gleneagles owed plenty to player power and particularly the strong public backing he received from McIlroy, the world's top-ranked player. After an hour of Ryder Cup talks by the European Tour's tournament committee in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday evening, it was revealed McGinley had seen off the challenge of Sandy Lyle, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Paul Lawrie, as well as Colin Montgomerie to take the post.
Montgomerie was viewed as the most legitimate threat to McGinley's aspirations, but the support of McIlroy was crucial in the Scot not earning what would have been a controversial, second stint as captain. McIlroy duly watched from the back of the room as McGinley was unveiled; the 46-year-old will face Tom Watson's United States as Europe look to retain the cup.
"Rory, thanks," said McGinley. "I've been very fortunate Rory has played underneath me before [in the Seve Trophy] and that was a big card that Rory played for me.
"It's very humbling to be honest, and not just Rory; Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, keep going down the line as far as you want to go. So many players came out totally unprompted on my side, and that's a very humbling place to be for a professional golfer when your peers think that much of you.
"I knew I had the support of the players. I thought my hand was very strong to be the captain. I can't wait to get into the role of being the captain, working with the players, particularly the players that have shown such huge support for me."
McIlroy immediately expressed his delight over the committee's choice of McGinley. "I'm absolutely thrilled for Paul. As soon as I found out he had been appointed captain I couldn't wait to rush down and congratulate him," said the 23-year-old. "I'd like to think it means something when you've got players like myself, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Justin Rose all voicing their opinion that they want Paul to captain the team.
"I would like to think our opinions are valuable, and that the decision would be based on that, at least to some extent."
McGinley and Montgomerie are both part of the tournament committee and therefore left the room when their names were discussed as candidates. Thomas Bjorn, the committee's chairman, said no formal vote was required for McGinley's selection on the basis it was unanimous.
"It was our job to discuss everybody that's been thrown around and we discussed them all thoroughly," Bjorn said. "But this committee is 100% behind this captain and it was really obvious very early in the meeting that this is the route that the committee wanted to go.
"I think we made the right decision. Our players on Tour wanted us to make this decision and we listened to our players and that's who we represent."
McGinley earned 4 1/2 points from nine Ryder Cup matches as a player and famously holed the winning putt as Europe claimed the competition at the Belfry in 2002.
"I am obviously absolutely thrilled and delighted to have this honour," McGinley said. "I'm relishing the thought of taking on one of my great heroes, Tom Watson. Not only is he a wonderful person, but he is a great ambassador for the game of golf and has been for a long, long time."
Goodwill towards McGinley duly arrived from the United States. Watson dubbed his European counterpart a "class act" and added: "I congratulate Paul McGinley upon his selection as the next European Ryder Cup Captain and anticipate that his passion and love of the event will transfer to being an outstanding leader of his team in 2014 at Gleneagles.
"Paul has been connected to four winning European Ryder Cup teams and is an outstanding representative of European golf. I look forward to sharing the stage with him as we make our journey to Scotland." Reported by guardian.co.uk 14 hours ago.
• McGinley was unanimous choice of European Tour committee
Paul McGinley said he was grateful to Rory McIlroy for his support after becoming the first Irishman to be named European Ryder Cup captain.
McGinley's unanimous selection for the 2014 event at Gleneagles owed plenty to player power and particularly the strong public backing he received from McIlroy, the world's top-ranked player. After an hour of Ryder Cup talks by the European Tour's tournament committee in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday evening, it was revealed McGinley had seen off the challenge of Sandy Lyle, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Paul Lawrie, as well as Colin Montgomerie to take the post.
Montgomerie was viewed as the most legitimate threat to McGinley's aspirations, but the support of McIlroy was crucial in the Scot not earning what would have been a controversial, second stint as captain. McIlroy duly watched from the back of the room as McGinley was unveiled; the 46-year-old will face Tom Watson's United States as Europe look to retain the cup.
"Rory, thanks," said McGinley. "I've been very fortunate Rory has played underneath me before [in the Seve Trophy] and that was a big card that Rory played for me.
"It's very humbling to be honest, and not just Rory; Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, keep going down the line as far as you want to go. So many players came out totally unprompted on my side, and that's a very humbling place to be for a professional golfer when your peers think that much of you.
"I knew I had the support of the players. I thought my hand was very strong to be the captain. I can't wait to get into the role of being the captain, working with the players, particularly the players that have shown such huge support for me."
McIlroy immediately expressed his delight over the committee's choice of McGinley. "I'm absolutely thrilled for Paul. As soon as I found out he had been appointed captain I couldn't wait to rush down and congratulate him," said the 23-year-old. "I'd like to think it means something when you've got players like myself, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Justin Rose all voicing their opinion that they want Paul to captain the team.
"I would like to think our opinions are valuable, and that the decision would be based on that, at least to some extent."
McGinley and Montgomerie are both part of the tournament committee and therefore left the room when their names were discussed as candidates. Thomas Bjorn, the committee's chairman, said no formal vote was required for McGinley's selection on the basis it was unanimous.
"It was our job to discuss everybody that's been thrown around and we discussed them all thoroughly," Bjorn said. "But this committee is 100% behind this captain and it was really obvious very early in the meeting that this is the route that the committee wanted to go.
"I think we made the right decision. Our players on Tour wanted us to make this decision and we listened to our players and that's who we represent."
McGinley earned 4 1/2 points from nine Ryder Cup matches as a player and famously holed the winning putt as Europe claimed the competition at the Belfry in 2002.
"I am obviously absolutely thrilled and delighted to have this honour," McGinley said. "I'm relishing the thought of taking on one of my great heroes, Tom Watson. Not only is he a wonderful person, but he is a great ambassador for the game of golf and has been for a long, long time."
Goodwill towards McGinley duly arrived from the United States. Watson dubbed his European counterpart a "class act" and added: "I congratulate Paul McGinley upon his selection as the next European Ryder Cup Captain and anticipate that his passion and love of the event will transfer to being an outstanding leader of his team in 2014 at Gleneagles.
"Paul has been connected to four winning European Ryder Cup teams and is an outstanding representative of European golf. I look forward to sharing the stage with him as we make our journey to Scotland." Reported by guardian.co.uk 14 hours ago.