Olazabal will 'never' return as Ryder Cup captain

• By Ryan Lavner
• Jan 13, 2013 9:43 AM ET

In what now seems like a two-man race for the European Ryder Cup captaincy, Jose Maria Olazabal has some advice for one of the contenders:

Don’t do it again.

Olazabal told reporters Sunday in Durban, South Africa: “If I was (Colin Montgomerie, the victorious 2010 captain) I wouldn’t do it again, but Monty is his own man. It’s being played in Scotland close to his home. It’s his decision.

“(But) I am a strong believer that we have a generation of players that deserve the captaincy, and some might miss out because there are just too many. I think it’s right to give those guys a chance.”

Irishman Paul McGinley is the betting favorite to be selected, and on Sunday he again received the endorsement of the world’s No. 1 player. 

RC captaincy should be a 1 time thing... Everybody deserving gets their chance and moves on... Would love to play under Paul McGinley in '14

— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) January 13, 2013

Once a favorite for the job, Darren Clarke is expected to remove himself from consideration when the European Tour’s tournament committee sits down to make a decision this week regarding who will lead the European side in 2014 at Gleneagles. Clarke, however, would be a strong candidate to captain the team in 2016 at Hazeltine, given his popularity in the U.S.

If not McGinley, then would Monty be given another chance? Does the European size need a “huge presence,” as Clarke suggested, to neutralize the Americans’ surprise decision to use Tom Watson as captain?

Those questions will be answered this week in Abu Dhabi. Whatever the committee decides, one thing is certain: Olazabal insisted that he would never again captain the European side – even if the Ryder Cup was one day held in his native Spain.

“I would never do it again,” he told reporters. “First of all, it’s a lot of energy and time, a huge demand the pressure is quite big. It’s a different pressure, not one we are used to out there playing on the course. The media scrutinize everything you say and every possibility. On top of that, I’ve done it and it couldn’t have been any better.”

After a successful 2010 campaign, Montgomerie must weigh the same decision: Could it get any better?