Darren Clarke is Europe’s new Ryder Cup captain.
The 46-year-old has been tasked with maintaining the continent’s dominance in golf’s biennial battle with the United States, Europe having won six of the last seven installments.
Clarke played in five successive Ryder Cups between 1997 and 2006, losing only once, and has been part of winning teams as a vice captain in 2010 and 2012.
The Northern Irishman was chosen ahead of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, who has featured in four Ryder Cups as a player, winning two. He has been vice captain three times, winning all of them.
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Victories in 2002 and 2004 followed but Clarke is probably best remembered for the 2006 Ryder Cup when he played just six weeks after his first wife Heather lost her battle with cancer.
He won three points out of three in an emotional occasion at the K Club in Dublin as Europe routed the United States by a nine-point margin.
Since then Clarke has twice been vice captain, in 2010 and 2012, winning on both occasions.
He is a long standing player on the European Tour with 14 victories and has one major title to his name — the British Open in 2011.
