Paul McGinley
Golf Columnist
Thomas Bjorn's communication skills will be crucial to Ryder Cup success, says Paul McGinley
Last Updated: 06/12/16 3:35pm
Thomas Bjorn's experience and strong communication skills will be vital in Europe's bid to win back the Ryder Cup in 2018, says 2014 winning captain Paul McGinley.
Thomas was certainly the favourite for the job. He's been vice-captain four times and he was also captain at the Seve Trophy in 2009. He's also been chairman of the tournament players committee behind the scenes at the European Tour since 2007, so he's certainly paid his dues.
There would have been a couple of other guys under consideration, but ultimately Thomas - with his experience - got the job as captain and I think he's a guy that the players will enjoy playing under.
He is smart, intelligent and he's a guy who has come through the ranks on the European Tour. Thomas graduated from the Challenge Tour, and it wasn't long before he was playing in the Ryder Cup under Seve at Valderrama in 1997.
Thomas played again in the European win at The Belfry, but he didn't make the team in 2004 and was vice-captain as a pretty young age under Bernhard Langer. He was assistant captain again twice before he got back in the team as a player in 2014.
Whether as a player or a vice-captain, he's been a huge part of the success Europe have had over the last 20 years. He will have learned a lot and he's clearly very well qualified for the job.
Thomas has all the right attributes to be a Ryder Cup captain. He is very passionate, not just about the Ryder Cup, but about the European Tour in general. He has been instrumental in many of the changes the Tour has undergone over the last few years.
He is also loaded with Ryder Cup experience, three times as a player and four times as a vice-captain, and that will be invaluable. He will have learned a huge amount from all the different captains he has played under and assisted.
I believe his biggest strength is his ability to communicate. He's very happy to sit down with players and vice-captains for long discussions, and that's a core key to being a successful Ryder Cup captain.
Europe will have home advantage in 2018 and we should be in great shape. We had six rookies in the team this year who have the benefit of experience if they make the team again in Paris, and Thomas will learn from what happened at Hazeltine.
There will be other players like Tyrrell Hatton and Alex Noren who both enjoyed very strong seasons on the European Tour this year and look likely to be a part of Bjorn's team in two years' time.
Another advantage for European players is that the French Open has been played on the same course at Le Golf National for many years, so the players should be very familiar with the layout and conditions there.
When you combine all these factors and add an experienced captain who's been a big part of the European backroom team for so many years, there is a lot in our favour for a successful outcome in 2018.
Thomas said the role will "take over his life", and there is no doubt it is all-consuming. There is so much going on behind the scenes long before you sit down and pick your team and your pairings for each session.
It's very much a business now, and the role of Ryder Cup captain makes you a figurehead and an ambassador for the European Tour. You have many commitments and engagements in promoting the competition around the world, and there's more work to do in that respect when you're the home captain.
Thomas will already be thinking about the structure of his team and he'll be choosing his vice-captains very carefully, but the big thing about being a successful Ryder Cup captain is the ability to communicate and get everybody involved on the same page.
You can't do enough of that, and it takes a lot of work and time to put everything together, and another of the key ingredients is to make sure the rookies feel part of the team.
It's such a wide and varied role these days, and it's getting bigger and bigger with every Ryder Cup. It's not just about winning and losing, it's also about being an important part of the business of the European Tour.
If Thomas needs my advice, I'll be happy to help out and that goes for any Ryder Cup captain going forward. An important part for me when I was captain in 2014 was communicating with former captains.
You can sit and observe how they have gone about the job in previous years, but it's important to get their input. That was something myself and Darren Clarke did, and I've no doubt Thomas will be doing the same.
There are a lot of things being reviewed at the moment and Thomas will be a big part of that, particularly in terms of the qualification criteria. He'll be gathering information over the next couple of months, and his first priority will be to lay down the guidelines under which the team will be picked.
There is a lot of work to be done and it will start straight away as we begin the countdown to the next Ryder Cup.
