Captain Langer pledges Ryder Cup peace

Bernhard Langer today pledged to rid the Ryder Cup of the hostility that marred the last match in the US when he captains the European team in 2004.

Langer, successor to Sam Torrance, will lead the defence of the Cup at Oakland Hills in Michigan on 17-19 September next year.

Tensions are bound to be high following the last Cup clash in America, at Brookline near Boston in 1999, which was marred by abuse of European players from the gallery and by the celebrations of the home side when Justin Leonard sunk the winning putt. Langer has already spoken to Hal Sutton, captain of the American team.

The 45-year-old German said: "Both sides have made great strides to rectify the situation and do everything possible so the problems do not happen again.

"Hal and I will talk to the players and have a word with the press, too, to try to make sure that everybody inside the game behaves in a certain way. That will provide a lead for the spectators.

"At the end of the day it's a game. Yes, we all want to win, but golf needs to be the winner."