Westwood has Ryder support
FORMER captain Colin Montgomerie has thrown Lee Westwood’s name into the ring as a possible successor to Paul McGinley but only if the Englishman is ready to call time on his Ryder Cup playing career.
Montgomerie skippered Europe to victory at Celtic Manor four years ago and will help select the next incumbent for Hazeltine in 2016 along with McGinley and another former captain, Jose Maria Olazabal.
The 51-year-old Scot is convinced Westwood possesses the credentials to secure a fourth successive Ryder Cup for Europe but is mindful the Gleneagles wildcard pick might not be able to resist another crack at tormenting the Americans.
“There’s a number of great candidates we have in Europe,” said Montgomerie. “But the problem with Lee Westwood and the likes of Thomas Bjorn and Padraig Harrington is are they ready to say they’re not going to play again.
“After you’ve captained it’s very rare to come back as a player. We will analyse it and come up with the best candidate.”
Victorious captain McGinley, meanwhile, will make his golfing comeback at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship which gets underway tomorrow, although he is modest about his prospects.
McGinley said: “God knows where my golf game is, I feel like no work has gone into my golf game in the last six months.”