Darren Clarke named 2016 European Ryder Cup captain
We now know the captains for the 2016 Ryder Cup in Minnesota.
Darren Clarke was officially named the European captain on Wednesday at the European Tour's headquarters in England. Clarke was unanimously voted by a five-person panel to get the gig over the likes of Miguel Angel Jimenez, Clarke's strongest challenger for the job, and Thomas Bjorn, an eventual captain in his own right.
Clarke will take on Davis Love III, who will head the American side again after his team coughed up a four-point edge on the final day of the 2012 matches at Medinah near Chicago. Love has not been officially named captain by the PGA of America, but is expected to be introduced as the new captain at the organization's Florida headquarters on Feb. 24.
Love gets a Mulligan as a captain, while Clarke aims to continue an impressive run as a member of Team Europe. Clarke was on five Ryder Cup teams as a player, going 10-7-3 and only being part of one losing team, back in 1999. Just weeks after his wife's death in 2006, Clarke won all three matches he played at The K Club in Ireland, including an emotional 3-and-2 singles victory against Zach Johnson. He was vice-captain under both Colin Montgomerie in 2010 and Jose Maria Olazabal in 2012, whose teams also won.
For Europe, Clarke's ascendance to the captaincy is just a continuation of its long-term planning for the biennial matches.
“I am lucky to have played and worked under some fantastic captains in my seven Ryder Cups to date, and I look forward to the challenge of trying to follow in their footsteps and help Europe to a fourth consecutive Ryder Cup victory at Hazeltine next year," Clarke said in a statement.
Clarke, who is the 2011 Open champion, is the first Northern Irishman to captain a Ryder Cup team.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
