Shropshire’s Ian Woosnam is playing his cards close to his chest as the clamour for him to be appointed Ryder Cup captain again increases, writes James Garrison.

As the dust settles on Europe’s 16.5-11.5 defeat to America on Sunday, Oswestry ace Woosnam has been heavily touted as a potential successor to Nick Faldo when the event goes to Wales – Celtic Manor – in 2010.

Woosnam was today unavailable for comment, while his agent David Barlow was non-committal over the possibility of the former Shropshire & Herefordshire star’s interest in golf’s most coveted job.

“Ian hasn’t given any interviews since Sunday and I’m not sure what the situation is,” said Barlow.

With his strong Welsh connections and having already tasted success as a captain in Ireland two years ago, Woosnam would be a popular choice amongst both players and supporters.

Amongst the other contenders for the captaincy are Woosnam’s former Shropshire colleague Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal, Ireland’s Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark.

Both McGinley and Olazabal are likely to want to try and play themselves onto the team, while another potential skipper – Colin Montgomerie – is likely to wait until Gleneagles in 2014 to wait for his chance.