Danish golfer Thomas Bjorn has been named as Europe's Ryder Cup captain for 2018.
Bjorn, had been seen as the front-runner to replace Darren Clarke, and Golf Digest reported on Monday night that the 45-year-old will get the job.
Not since 2010 has Europe gone into a Ryder Cup looking to regain the trophy. Colin Montgomerie's side won at Celtic Manor, after losing in Valhalla two years previously.
History and geography will be on the Dane's side. Europe have not lost a Ryder Cup on home soil since the 1993 loss at The Belfry.
Captain Bjørn
We're proud to officially announce @ThomasBjornGolf as 2018 #TeamEurope captain 🇪🇺https://t.co/hJmlA2NJYM pic.twitter.com/edWxaYH4FW
— Ryder Cup Team EUR (@RyderCupEurope) December 6, 2016
A three-time player and four-time vice-captain, Bjorn has been involved in one form or another in each of the past four Ryder Cups. He was a player in the 2014 team at Gleneagles, under Paul McGinley.
The Dane has called the announcement as "one of the greatest days in my career."
"I studied a lot of captains as a player and as a vice captain and always wondered what that feeling would be like to be the one leading out a team of 12 great players. Now it’s my turn to do just that and it is an exciting moment for me."
"I have lived and breathed the European Tour for so long, and now I will do the same with The Ryder Cup for the next two years. I’m very much looking forward to taking on this task."
Bjorn will become only the fourth continental golfer to captain the team. He will follow in the footsteps of Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal. All three were winning captains.
As a player, Bjorn has won 15 times on the European Tour, most recently in 2013. In 2006, he won the Irish Open at Carton House.
While Bjorn's appointment looks a certainty, his opposite number is still unknown. The Americans will be defending the Ryder Cup in Paris, for the first time in eight years.
The event at Le Golf National begins on September 20th, 2018.
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