Darren Clarke could have stated: “If it ain’t broke, why fix it!” after announcing he is not about to break a winning formula in announcing no changes to the 2016 European Team qualifying process.
Clarke confirmed he will stick with the victorious arrangement adopted by fellow Irishman Paul McGinley who steered Europe to a five point triumph last year at Gleneagles.
It means the make-up of Clarke’s Hazeltine 12-man team will come from two different categories with four players again qualifying off a ‘European Ryder Cup’ points table, five from a Ryder Cup ‘World Points’ table while there will be three ‘wildcard’ picks.
“I gave the qualifying process a lot of thought, I looked at a lot of stats and I looked at a lot of comparisons from what teams would have been like had the qualifying process been slightly different in past years,” he said to reporters.
European Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke not about to change a winning European Team qualifying process. (Photo – Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
“My overall feeling was given the team Paul (McGinley) had assembled at Gleneagles, and how successful they were, it would have been very foolish of me to try and make any changes to that system.
“So overall I am absolutely delighted we are going to have the same qualifying format and hopefully that will allow us to have the strongest possible going to Hazeltine later next year.”
Clarke will be expecting then for his strongest players and that means those PGA Tour based, as was the scenario under McGinley’s captaincy, to qualify via the ‘European’ points. In fact, the top four off this table for the 2014 Ryder Cup were Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Victor Dubuisson and Jamie Donaldson.
The ‘World Points’ category is more a reflection of the efforts of European-born players competing on the European Tour and around the globe.
“There is reasons why it is what it is and I want to have a European team with the best possible chance of retaining the Ryder Cup,” he said.
However the 2016 Ryder Cup qualifying process will break new ground commencing with the September 3rd to 6th M2M Russian Open in Moscow and conclude customarily at the end of August 2016.
Clarke was speaking ahead of this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Royal County Down.
It is the first occasion the event has been staged on the course since 1939 and with Clarke excited at the prospect of adding a first Irish Open title to his 2011 Open Championship crown.
“It is very special to be staging the Irish Open here at Royal County Down and on one of the best links courses in the world,” he said.
“I played this morning and the golf course is playing very fast, and it’s going to be a really, really tough challenge.
“It also will be a slightly different challenge as there is a few blind tee shots but then that is what makes Royal County Down so special.
“This is my 25th Irish Open and while I won an Irish Amateur so long ago I can’t remember the year, it would be great to end my career with at least one Irish Open success.”
