AS HOSTS of the 2014 Ryder Cup match in Scotland, Gleneagles could have been forgiven for assuming over the past eight years that Colin Montgomerie, who lives in Perthshire and is chairman of the Johnnie Walker Championship committee, was an obvious candidate to captain Europe on their patch.
Indeed, until two weeks ago, Monty himself was of the opinion that being offered the job in 2014 would be perfect. But this week's announcement appointing Monty as captain at Celtic Manor in 2010, means the question of who will take charge at Gleneag
les won't be addressed until after the 2012 match at Medinah, near Chicago.
According to Patrick Elsmie, the managing director of Gleneagles, the range of worthy candidates capable of leading Europe is impressively extensive.
"Our relationship with Colin goes back to the Eighties when we were one of his first sponsors," said Elsmie. "Now he's locally based, I suppose in our own thoughts it seemed possible that Colin might be the captain here. Having a Scot who lives here and grew up near here would have been very nice.
"But the fact is there are an awful lot of talented, big personalities on the European Tour who could do a great job at Gleneagles. We'll be very happy to work with whoever is eventually picked as captain. When a venue is selected for the Ryder Cup, it's their responsibility to help the captain and the team succeed."
Though Paul Lawrie, as a past Open champion, will have plenty of home support for 2014, Ireland's Paul McGinley and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn are also likely to emerge as strong candidates. Elsmie knows there are no guarantees about the captain's nationality, but agrees the event would be diminished if a Scot failed to qualify. "It would be wonderful to have a Scottish presence, and there are five years for players to come through," added Elmsie
In a perfect world, Gleneagles would like to consult with their captain about what changes should be made on the PGA Centenary to the 18th, an undistinguished par 5. However, the time frame around an appointment may force them to act earlier with the European Tour.
If the responsibility of choosing a captain rests with the players and the Ryder Cup board, Gleneagles know the buck stops with them when it comes to the presentation of the PGA Centenary.
Although the hotel will have spent more than £2 million on alterations at the course by the time the 2014 match gets underway, Darren Clarke, one of Europe's most respected Ryder Cup players, insisted in 2007 it was a mistake to hold the biennial match on a lay-out with more echoes of Florida than Perthshire.
Even more pointed were the remarks made by Lee Westwood, another Ryder Cup stalwart, in 2008. He took four putts on the fifth green, including three from inside two feet, before castigating the putting surfaces as unsuited to elite competition. "You can't bring the Ryder Cup on to greens like this," he said. "They have a bit of rain and the best professionals in Europe can't hit the hole from two feet. They should rip them up and redo them."
While an exceptional 205 millimetres of rain fell on Gleneagles last August compared to the average of 86mm, Elsmie understood it wasn't out of the question similar weather conditions could prevail in the autumn of 2014. That's why a programme to improve the sponge-like greens started the day after Gregory Havret holed the winning putt and why he believes Europe's best golfers will putt on far better surfaces this summer.
If Elsmie was upset at the criticism, he is too much of a diplomat to say so.
"I felt for our greenkeeping staff who are out there from 4am day in, day out doing their best to prepare the course," he recalled. "For me, I've got to look further ahead towards the Ryder Cup and consider what we've learned."
Bearing in mind the PGA Centenary's greens were built to USGA specification, the most widely accepted standard in golf, Elsmie ordered an investigation into what had gone wrong and what to do about it.
"We've got a plan," he said. "If we take as read that we had an exceptionally wet period before the Johnnie Walker, which could happen again before the Ryder Cup, what do we take out of that? What do we need to do make sure we don't face that situation again?
"It was a good exercise for us to work with the European Tour and energise more invasive procedures on the greens. Immediately after the Johnnie Walker Championship we took the golf course out of play and did an enormous amount of invasive work on the greens. I know it doesn't sound an awful lot, but we now have the course coming off for two hours at mid-day every week and for 24 hours once every month for more work on the greens to ensure there's recovery time before opening for play the following afternoon.
"It's an ongoing process which is all about moving through to the Ryder Cup."
