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Hero Clarke eyeing fourth Ryder Cup success

25/09/2006

Darren Clarke believes the European Ryder Cup team has the talent and the togetherness to retain the trophy again in Valhalla in two years' time.

The heroic Northern Irishman was one of the leading players at the K Club as Europe stormed to an 18½ - 9½ victory over the US to win for the third successive time.

And speaking to Sky Sports today after a night of heavy celebrations, Clarke insisted he sees no reason why Nick Faldo might not be able to pick up where Ian Woosnam has left off.

"We've got some fantastic players, a great young bunch of players who have formed the basis of this team and we're going to be a tough team to beat again next time at Valhalla," he said.

"Whether the likes of Colin Montgomerie, myself and Jose Maria Olazabal are going to be there again I don't know. But they're going to have a great chance of going four in a row."

On last night's festivities, which saw both teams come together, Clarke added: "We just partied. We drank a lot and partied a lot just had a good night. It's been a long week, a lot of pressure involved and all of us let our hair down and had a bit of fun."

Meanwhile, US captain Tom Lehman, who is unlikely to stay on until Valhalla, has praised the spirit within which the match was played.

"There's a lot of mutual respect between the teams because we do play a lot of golf against each other," he said.

"More than anything we're still friends. The general idea was this is the way the Ryder Cup is supposed to finish and I certainly hope that the next time the US team wins, we'll be as gracious in winning as they were."

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