One Legend Who Would Have Been a Great Ryder Cup Captain
By: Derek Clements | Edited: Wed 24 Sep 2025
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What do Tony Jacklin, Padraig Harrington, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo, Darren Clarke and Jose Maria Olazabal have in common?
There are two things actually - they are all major winners and they have all captained Europe in the Ryder Cup.
And what about Sam Torrance, Bernard Gallacher, Colin Montgomerie, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn and Luke Donald. None of them won a major but all of them have served as Ryder Cup skippers.
Have you noticed any notable absentees from that list? I will save you the trouble - Sandy Lyle and Paul Lawrie are the only European winners of majors in the modern era never to have been asked to lead the team.
It remains a puzzle for many.
Lyle won The Masters and The Open before Faldo. He was a trailblazer.
And he played in five Ryder Cup matches, being on the winning side in 1985 and 1987. He won six times on the PGA Tour and 18 times on the European Tour. In other words, he knew how to get the job done.
He was a contemporary of Faldo, Ballesteros, Langer and Woosnam during what was a golden era for Europe on the world stage.
At 67 years of age his time has gone.
Paul Lawrie Would Have Been a Great Ryder Cup Captain
Lawrie was a surprise winner of The Open at Carnoustie in 1999. He played for Europe at Brookline the same year, when the Americans staged that infamous comeback.
He played again at Medinah in 2012 and this time was a member of the European team that came back from 10-4 down on Saturday afternoon to produce arguably the best fightback in Ryder Cup history. So he is a golfer who was at the heart and centre of both sides of the coin.
He won eight times on the European Tour and, bizarrely, he was a vice-captain in 2016 under Darren Clarke’s hapless captaincy. All logic dictated that if he was ever going to be named captain then it would happen in 2018 but of course he was overlooked once again.
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
Conspiracy theorists will point to the fact that both men are Scottish. Yes they are, but so were Gallacher and Torrance. Gallacher captained Europe three times and Torrance played in eight successive matches and captained them to a famous triumph at The Belfry in 2002.
So why were Lyle and Lawrie never given a chance?
I don’t know the reason but I have a couple of theories.
In the case of Lyle, it is no secret that he was not a great communicator. That means the media would have had him for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You may remember how horribly Faldo struggled with the media at Valhalla in 2008. In truth, Faldo was an unmitigated disaster, outthought at every turn by his American counterpart Paul Azinger. He was unpopular with his players and fell out with Sergio Garcia, then a cornerstone of the European team.
I am certain that Lyle would be the first to admit that he would have struggled to deliver the barnstorming speeches that may be required to motivate his players.
Lawrie is a different kettle of fish altogether. I have met him and spent time with him.
There is a belief among many that he is a miserable individual. While he was not exactly full of the joys of life on the course, he is a very different person off it. He is a passionate Scot and European and I believe he would have made a fine captain who would have been able to make difficult calls and react to events as they unfolded.
While there are still calls for him to be given the job it is now too late and in 2019 he said: "Everyone who has ever played in the Ryder Cup wants to be the captain and I am no different. 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.
"It is the previous five captains that pick the next captain. So if Thomas Bjorn [the 2018 captain] and Paul McGinley [in 2014] don't see me as a vice-captain, they are hardly going to pick me as captain."
Sadly, like Lyle, his time has passed.
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About the author
Derek Clements is a seasoned sports journalist and regular Golfshake contributor, specialising in tour coverage, opinion pieces, and feature writing. With a long career in national newspapers and golf media, he has reported on the game across Europe, the United States and Australia. A passionate golfer, he has played and reviewed numerous renowned courses, with personal favourites including Pebble Beach, Kingsbarns, Aldeburgh, Old Thorns and the K Club. His love of the game informs his thoughtful commentary on both professional golf and the wider golfing community.
The Ryder Cup is unlike any other tournament in golf and the atmosphere is something that every golf fan should experience. The experts at Golfbreaks.com can help with all aspects of your Ryder Cup experience, from accommodation and ticket packages to hospitality and travel and playing some of the fantastic nearby courses.
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