Europe’s Ryder Cup skipper Darren Clarke was clearly not looking for “yes-men” when he was deciding who to choose as his vice-captains for the matches against United States in September.
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Clarke, who hopes to name his remaining two vice-captains around the time of the Open Championship in July, said: “I was delighted when Thomas, Padraig and Paul all accepted the invitation to become Ryder Cup vice-captains”.
Padraig Harrington is joined by Paul Lawrie and Thomas Bjorn on Team Europe.
He was a vice-captain for Paul McGinley in 2014 at Gleneagles.
It had been widely tipped that Lawrie would be given the nod by his good friend Clarke and the Scot is now relishing the prospect of returning to the Ryder Cup cut-and-thrust. “They needed no persuading”.
“If any of us can add anything, we’re looking forward to helping out in any way”.
“Obviously I wouldn’t have asked the guys to be part of the whole team unless I trusted their judgement”. Bjorn has been an assistant captain three times in the past, although he participated as a player in 2014, and Lawrie will be making his debut as a vice captain this year.
“Talking to Darren, the amount of work he’s done – he’s really put the effort in behind the scenes”.
The team are seeking an unprecedented fourth straight victory and their ninth in the last 11 biennial contests.
“All of us dream of playing great golf every week we play and we think that tomorrow we’re going to win and make teams”.
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The trio has 10 collective Ryder Cup appearances as players, with a 14-18-6 record. US captain Davis Love III has announced four of his assistants in Tiger Woods, Tom Lehman, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk.
