Perthshire, Scotland (SportsNetwork.com) - European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley followed his counterparts' lead in choosing two veterans as his Vice Captains. McGinley selected Des Smyth and Sam Torrance as his vice captains on Thursday morning at Gleneagles.
"I am delighted to officially unveil Des and Sam as two of my Vice Captains for the Ryder Cup. As well as being good friends, they are two guys that I greatly admire both personally and professionally and I know they will be vital assets to me in Scotland in September," McGinley stated.
"They were the first two people I had in mind for this role when I was appointed captain and, since then, I have talked to a lot of the experienced European players about having them as part of the team and, to a man, they have been very supportive of the idea."
Smyth, a two-time competitor in the Ryder Cup, was Vice Captain in 2006. That year, the Europeans rolled to a 9-point win, 18 1/2 - 9 1/2, under captain Ian Woosnam's leadership.
The Irishman was just 2-5 in his playing career at the Ryder Cup. His two appearances were in 1979 and 1981, when the Americans won at the Greenrier and at Walton Heath.
Smyth will get to know some of the European players a little better at the coming EurAsia Cup, where it was confirmed he will be a Vice Captain to Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Torrance, who played in eight consecutive Ryder Cups, was a Vice Captain in 1999, when the Americans staged a miraculous comeback at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., and was the captain in 2002, when the Europeans picked up a 15 1/2 - 12 1/2 win at the Belfry.
The Scotsman played in every Ryder Cup from 1981 to 1995. His record was just 7-15-6 in that span and the European teams were 3-4-1 in his eight Ryder Cups. He holed the winning putt in the 1985 matches at The Belfry.
Torrance was also a captain last year at the Seve Trophy.
In the 1989 matches, which were tied, Torrance lost to current U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson. The Americans won the last four singles matches that year to tie the matches and retain the cup.
Watson has already selected Andy North and Raymond Floyd, who captained the 1989 U.S. team, as his vice captains.
This year's Ryder Cup will take place at Gleneagles from September 26-28.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.