Colin Montgomerie backs Paul McGinley's selection as Ryder Cup captain

A day after Paul McGinley's selection as Europe's Ryder Cup captain, the other candidate for the job insists the selection committee picked the right man.

Colin Montgomerie says he was flattered just to be considered for a role was Europe's Ryder Cup captain and would have been thrilled had he been selected.

ABU DHABI // A day after missing out on Europe's Ryder Cup captaincy, Colin Montgomerie says he is not bitter and is fully behind the choice of Paul McGinley.

Montgomerie, the winning 2010 captain, emerged as a late candidate after Darren Clarke pulled out of contention, preferring to concentrate on his own game.

The Scot, 49, was opposed by several players, most notably world No 1 Rory McIlroy, who said he believed Montogomerie would not be motivated to win a second Ryder Cup. Speaking ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, Montgomerie said he was "flattered" to be considered and said he did not campaign for the job.

"I wasn't in the picture until a week before Christmas when I heard of others that felt there was an opportunity for me to captain the team at home in Scotland, which would have been a dream come true," Montgomerie said. "It hasn't happened ... I haven't pressed this in any way, so I was flattered in many ways to be in that position."

Montgomerie said that McGinley was "definitely" the right man for the job. "He was voted upon by the committee who run this tour," Montgomerie said. "As a man manager, he is very good and thorough. Preparation is what is required. He will do a very good job."

Meanwhile, the European Tour may change the way future Ryder Cup captains are chosen after McGinley v Montgomerie led to several players speaking out publicly, mostly on Twitter

"It was never meant to be a campaigning business," George O'Grady told Reuters. "That will probably have to be looked at in the cold light of day but the world has changed with all this twittering.

"I think personally one person should be invited to become captain and there should be no losers.

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