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Paul Lawrie has admitted that his chances of ever being the European Ryder Cup captain have now “gone”.
The Scot, twice a player in the biennial match and one of Darren Clarke’s vice-captain in 2016, had been priced as low as 18/1 to lead Europe into the 2020 match at Whistling Straits.
However, with Padraig Harrington having been appointed skipper yesterday, the Aberdonian reckons his hopes of emulating Bernard Gallacher, Sam Torrance and Colin Montgomerie as Europe’s captain are all-but-over.
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“Everyone who has ever played in the Ryder Cup wants to be the captain and I am no different,” he told BBC Scotland. “But it would be unlikely for it to happen for me now. I have only been a vice-captain once, and I think – rightly so – you need to be a vice-captain at least twice to know what the role entails.”
Lawrie, whose finest hour came when he won the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie, added that not being involved in the 2014 match at Gleneagles “really hurt my chances” of ever captaining the side.
“I am not saying [2014 captain] Paul McGinley was wrong to not have me,” added the Scot, who turned 50 on New Year’s Day. “He has got to have the people who he wants. But if you are not a vice-captain, to get appointed captain becomes very difficult.”
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Despite his own personal disappointment, Lawrie believes that his fellow former Carnoustie Open champion Harrington will be a huge success in the role.
He said: “He is a great lad, the hardest-working golfer I have met, next to Vijay Singh, so if it is anything to do with effort in preparation then he will be a phenomenal captain.”
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