Olazabal ready to take on Ryder Cup captaincy: Manager

London: Twice US Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal would accept the 2012 European Ryder Cup captaincy if he was offered the role, according to his manager Sergio Gomez.

Olazabal has previously said health worries could force him to turn down the chance to succeed Colin Montgomerie as skipper but his long-time manager said the 44-year-old was now ready to take on the United States in Medinah, near Chicago, in two years’ time. “I’m quite sure he would take the captaincy if the job was offered to him,” Gomez told Reuters in a telephone interview on Tuesday. The European Tour is due to hold a Ryder Cup news conference at next month’s Abu Dhabi Championship when Olazabal could be formally appointed. Last month, tour chief executive George O’Grady gave a broad hint that the Spaniard was the front-runner to take over as skipper. “Just about every player on the tour, when I last talked to them, would love to see him as the captain,” O’Grady told reporters at the season-ending Dubai World Championship. “He has not been invited yet but I think if every player you are talking to sees him as an inspirational figure, then the people in a room on a given day have got to vote it.” Bureau Report