Clarke Opens The Door For "Big Presence" Captain; UK Press Surmises He Is Referring To Monty

And now, he was not making a statement about his girth. Or the expanded waistline of another former Captain.

Yet, Darren Clarke says Europe needs a "big presence" skippering the 2014 Ryder Cup squad now that Tom Watson has been appointed American captain. And he was referring to a star presence.

"I think it could well affect who is appointed," said Clarke. "A lot of people, myself included, were surprised when Tom Watson was appointed."

The original unbylined PA version of the story never mentions the M word, but the mere crack in the door allows others to nominate His Montyness!

A follow-up PA story that ran in the Guardian puts Monty in the lede and notes this (from the BBC site):

Montgomerie, who did not lose a singles match in his eight Ryder Cup campaigns as a player, was not expected to be in the running for the 2014 event.

The Telegraph's James Corrigan:

Montgomerie captaining in his own country would certainly negate most, if not all, of the Scottish support for Watson, who won four of his five Claret Jugs in the country.

Brian Keogh sums it all up by noting the change in odds for Monty and writing:

The scramble for the 2014 Ryder Cup captaincy is quickly descending into a tale of intrigue worthy of the Vatican.

Thanks to Darren Clarke, we can add another name to the list of candidates to be considered before there is “fumata blanca” in Abu Dhabi next month - Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie.