After the announcement of Colin Montgomerie as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain for Celtic Manor in 2010, speculation almost immediately turned to the next match and what some perceived as a snub to Jose Maria Olazabal. Why, it was asked, was he not named as the man to follow Monty when the event returns to the United States in 2012?

Olazabal had acquitted himself well as Nick Faldo’s vice-captain in Louisville, Kentucky, last September and returned with his reputation enhanced and the players singing his praises. The same could not be said of his captain.

It seemed at the time that the former Masters champion had only to give the word and the captaincy in Wales would be his. But that was the problem. He committed to the cause too late – determined, at first, to see if he could play his way into the team after a year wiped out through illness and fatigue – and so the players’ committee went for Montgomerie instead.

No problem, you might have thought. The precedent had been set in naming two captains at the same time - Ian Woosnam for the K-Club in 2006 and Faldo for Valhalla in 2008 – and so many expected the same here. Not so.

It did not take too much probing, however, before Thomas Bjorn, the committee chairman, revealed that Olazabal’s health issues were key to the decision. He has serious problems with rheumatism and cannot be guaranteed at this stage to be fit enough to lead the team just under four years from now. Better to wait and see.

Was this a snub? Bjorn was asked. “No. Everybody has a little prayer for Olly that he gets healthy,” he replied. “We all felt that, hey, if this guy gets healthy, very soon he’s more likely to be in the team than captain of it.”

Few expect Olazabal, 42, to be passed over for Medinah, Illinois, in 2012. But if he is unable to take on the role, then who would get it? Step forward, Thomas Bjorn.

The Dane, a more-than-able deputy to Bernhard Langer at Oakland Hills in 2004, has proved a popular chairman of the players’ committee and was determined not to make the mistakes that Woosnam did when he announced his selections for the 2006 team on television before informing those players who had lost out. Bjorn had been one of those players and the explosion that followed sent shockwaves through the game.

This week, Bjorn called all the captaincy candidates personally. He spoke at length to Olazabal in Dubai and phoned both Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam. The irony was not lost on him or anyone else, although he was not going to be drawn on the subject. “Woosie and I are good friends,” he said with a wry smile. Job done.

Captaincy bets spark rigging fear

Much wringing of hands among the bods who run the European Tour at what they feared was a potential betting scandal after Montgomerie was suddenly backed down from outsider to favourite as Europe’s captain for 2010. It came after the players’ committee first met in Abu Dhabi a couple of weeks ago and was a curious development considering that, when the meeting began, Monty had not even been considered a contender.

Was it a case of people adding two and two and coming up with five? Why, seasoned observers might have asked, did Monty leave the room for 20 minutes midway through the meeting? Had he been asked to do so? And if so, why? Were they talking about him specifically (they were), or had he taken umbrage that his own choice for captain, Sandy Lyle, had been rejected?

Or had there been a leak?

George O’Grady, executive director of the European Tour, is not happy with the way things turned out. Now he has to consider coming up with a policy on gambling – an unwelcome addition to the recently instituted and potentially costly policy on drugs in the sport - and all the legal ramifications that could entail.

“We can’t really believe anybody in the committee room used this information,” O’Grady said. “But the entire committee would be appalled to think that someone had inadvertently leaked it. The amount involved, we are told, was minuscule. [But] we are concerned. Any rumour that in any way tarnishes golf’s unique reputation concerns everyone.”

Downturn bites at Tiger's course

Even Dubai, land of cranes, skyscrapers and building sites, is feeling the pinch in the economic downturn. Among projects put on hold there is the completion of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Dubai, that has already reached a staggering height of 2,559ft (780m).

And if you believe what you hear, even Tiger Woods’s development – the Al Ruwaya Golf Club - has slowed to a halt. That said, the real estate is still being promoted and should you still have many millions in the bank you might like to consider one of the 22 palaces or 75 mansions that are being planned. Failing that, you could always slum it in one of the 100 luxury villas. Over the top? I couldn’t possibly say.

Dubai title stretches the truth

Strange to think that the final four holes of Greg Norman’s Earth Course, venue for the Dubai World Championship at the end of the year and final tournament in the Race to Dubai, is being promoted here as “The Green Mile”. It is indeed a tough finishing stretch, but is it wise to use a term that normally refers to death row in the Louisiana State Penitentiary? I think not.

Quote of the week

“With the wealth of talent that we have on the European Tour, we could field three teams that are almost as strong as each other.” Colin Montgomerie