Ireland's Padraig Harrington admits that he has one eye on captaining the European Ryder Cup team and has the backing of Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy has backed Harrington to captain Europe at the 2020 competition at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
"I've always thought Padraig would be a good captain in the United States," McIlroy said. "He's won a lot of golf tournaments over there, he's won a PGA Championship.
"I think the continuity in the European camp having all these vice-captains this year and preparing for captaincy down the road has been a huge foundation of why we've been so good.
"No matter who the captain is next time they'll be ready and I'm sure will do a great job."
Harrington had another chance to witness just how testing the role of Ryder Cup captain is when he served as one of Thomas Bjorn’s vice-captains in Paris at the weekend.
Bjorn’s side claimed a convincing 17.5-10.5 victory over the United States at Le Golf National, but Harrington insisted that the work that goes into leading the European team cannot be under-estimated.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he said: "It’s an interesting one because I wouldn’t do it without a certain trepidation because it’s not easy, it really isn’t easy.
"It’s a tough, tough job with what goes on and unfortunately the captain gets judged based on results rather than anything else.
"But on balance, yes I want to be a Ryder Cup captain."
Harrington certainly has the experience to lead Europe, having represented them six times and now served as a vice-captain three times.
The Dubliner has been on the winning side four times as a player but believes that the current crop of golfers are as strong as he’s ever seen.
"I think this is definitely the best European team. I think with the strength through it and the balance through it... because the US presented their best team.
"Home advantage makes a big difference now. I think we would have seen that more at Hazeltine, they set-up the birdie-fest of all time and they know they’re going to win in that sort of competition.
"We made sure we set-up a really tough golf course, that par was genuinely worth something here," he added.
