Former Ryder Cup captain Tony Jacklin has warned Lee Westwood he may never be Ryder Cup Captain for Europe if he doesn’t skipper the side in Rome next year.
Westwood has already ruled himself out of leading Europe’s bid to regain the trophy in 2023, but speaking to BoyeSports this week, Jacklin predicted strong competition from Ian Poulter if he wishes to take on the role in the future.
He said: “Lee Westwood is the obvious next captain, but he wants to see if he could make another team as a player. Even though naturally it would be his turn, I don’t think Lee wants to do it and he may never get the chance again. Was he already being wooed by this Saudi thing, who knows?
“If you don’t look at Lee, Henrik Stenson is an obvious front runner. But no statements have been made there because he is also reportedly being wooed by Saudi Arabia. So now it’s Luke Donald in the hot seat, who is a wonderful guy with a lot of experience of winning Ryder Cups. He’s got all the credentials.
“There are lots of cabs waiting to go off the rank, it’s different to 40 years ago, with a lot of deserving guys. In the next two times, Ian Poulter has to get his chance to be captain – there’s no doubt about that.”
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