James to Lead Europe as Ryder Cup Captain

When he was 25, Mark James swore he would never be a Ryder Cup captain. Given his reputation at the time, few imagined he would ever be given the chance to turn it down.

On Wednesday, mellowed by 19 years and 23 titles, James took the job, agreeing to lead the European team in defense of its title next year against the United States in Brookline, Mass.

“I think I said you would have to be mental to want the job,” said James, in Munich, Germany, for a tournament. “But that’s what 20 years on the tour will do to you.”

James succeeds Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, who led the Europeans to victory at Valderrama in 1997. The 44-year-old Englishman had been widely expected to get the job over better-known rivals such as former Masters champions Ian Woosnam of Wales and Bernhard Langer of Germany.

James is very popular among players on the European circuit. “That’s probably one of my strengths,” he said.

James has played on seven Ryder Cup teams and was Ballesteros’ top assistant when the Europeans upset the favored U.S. last September. He said he’s likely to be a low-key captain, unlike the hands-on Ballesteros, who stepped down after Europe’s upset at Valderrama.

“I’ve played for a number of captains and, hopefully, I’ve absorbed something from all of them,” James said. “To get the best out of the players, that’s the bottom line.”

Few would have bet on James as a future Ryder Cup skipper when he earned the nickname of “Jesse James” shortly after getting his tour card in 1976.

At the 1979 Ryder Cup in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., he was fined for skipping meetings and refusing to wear team uniforms.

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British Amateur champion Sergio Garcia, 18, of Spain won his opening match in the U.S. Amateur at Rochester, N.Y., easily beating Ben Garner of Lake Forest, 4 and 3, and raising the prospect of a showdown Friday with defending champion Matt Kuchar. Kuchar, 20, of Lake Mary, Fla., racked up three birdies as he defeated Jamie Broce of Muncie, Ind., 8 and 7.

“Things just clicked,” Kuchar said. “I was just trying to play it safe . . . and I ended up playing a fabulous match.”

Erik Compton, 18, the nation’s top-ranked junior and a heart-transplant recipient at age 12, lost to Jason Dufner of Olmsted Falls, Ohio, 2 and 1.

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Greg Norman, out of competition since April because of an injured shoulder, will join defending champion Tom Lehman, Masters and British Open champion Mark O’Meara, and two-time winner Fred Couples in the $1-million Skins Game at La Quinta on Nov. 28-29.