With the announcement for the next captain of Europe's team in the Ryder Cup imminent, Darren Clarke has re-iterated his desire to be given the job. The genial Northern Irish golfer seems to be in pole position ahead of the decision being made public, with the expectation that more will be known on the details as soon as next Wednesday.
With the next Ryder Cup scheduled to be held back in the United States in 2016, at the Hazeltine National in Minnesota, whoever gets the job is likely to face a stern task against the wounded Americans. They will be determined to wrestle the Cup back from the Europeans after suffering such a decisive defeat last year at Gleneagles, the margin a crushing 16.5 - 11.5.
It will take a strong and experienced captain to repel their threat one expects, with 46-year-old Clarke looking like the right man for the job, given his four previous victories as a player. He was also a vice-captain on the successful team in 2010.
His main opposition seems to be the equally well-qualified Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, a man who is still very competitive on the tour himself, as evidenced by his strong showing at this week's True Thailand Classic so far. Jimenez was also one of the five vice-captains that assisted Paul McGinley's successful team last time out.
Experience of playing with the top European golfers is a key asset to any prospective captain one feels, to get to see how they play up close and also to get to know them better as individuals, something that McGinley believed was decisive in his own success with the side in 2014.
Both Clarke and Jimenez are close enough to the potential team members at present, so should tick the boxes in that regard.
The new captain is to be determined by a five-man panel, which includes the last three European captains (McGinley, Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie), plus two-time Ryder Cup player David Howell (who was nominated by the European Tour's tournament committee) and the European Tour chief executive George O'Grady.
Clarke would not begrudge the Spaniard the captaincy if he should get the nod from the selection panel instead, as he said to BBC Northern Ireland: "If it's Miguel, I would be delighted for him, but I would love to do the job."
