Europe’s previous captains

England – John Jacobs (1979-81). The new Team Europe replaced Great Britain and Ireland for the first time but slipped to back-to-back defeats.

England – Tony Jacklin (1983-89). Oversaw Europe’s first victory in 1985. His team triumphed again two years later and retained the trophy with a tie in 1989.

Scotland – Bernard Gallacher (1991-95). Narrowly beaten at Kiawah Island and The Belfry before claiming a victory on US soil in 1995 at Oak Hill.

Spain – Seve Ballesteros (1997). Fittingly handed the captaincy in his homeland and led Europe to a thrilling onepoint win at Valderrama.

England – Mark James (1999). The Battle of Brookline saw the American hosts overturn a four-point final-day deficit to snatch the cup amid controversial scenes.

Scotland – Sam Torrance (2002). Guided Europe to a convincing victory at The Belfry following some bold choices in the Sunday singles matches.

Germany – Bernhard Langer (2004). Europe were big underdogs but thrashed the hosts by nine points to retain the trophy at Oakland Hills.

Wales – Ian Woosnam (2006). The K Club was the venue but the outcome was the same as Europe equalled their record win of two years earlier.

England – Nick Faldo (2008). Faldo led Europe to what was then their heaviest loss in nearly three decades with a fivepoint defeat at Valhalla.

Scotland – Colin Montgomerie (2010). Got Europe back on track by leading them to a dramatic one-point victory at a rain-hit Celtic Manor.

Spain – Jose Maria Olazabal (2012). Trailing by four heading into the singles, Europe won eight-and-a-half out of a possible 12 points to retain their title.

Ireland – Paul McGinley (2014). Led Europe to a third consecutive victory over the US with a convincing win by five points at Gleneagles.

Northern Ireland – Darren Clarke (2016). The US claimed a 17-11 success at Hazeltine.