Europe’s first ever Ryder Cup captain, John Jacobs, hailed the wonderful job done by Paul McGinley in skippering the continent to their latest win over the United States.

McGinley’s team stormed to a 16.5-11.5 victory at Gleneagles, to ensure an eighth European success in the last ten editions of the competition.

Golfing legend Jacobs said: “The thing that struck me tremendously was that Paul was the most wonderful captain.

“Their captain, Tom Watson, is a legend in terms of playing, but Paul outdid him in every direction in terms of his captaincy.

“He got all our guys to play – and they played right the way down – and he got all of the background stuff just right.

“I had a nice chat with Paul afterwards, only to congratulate him. I just said ‘The whole world knows what a wonderful job you have done’ and that was the big difference.”

McGinley had asked Jacobs, a former Ryder Cup player himself and captain of the 1979 and 1981 teams, to attend the event and meet the European stars.

The 89-year-old, who lives in Lyndhurst, was unable to make the trip, but he was still present in one sense, with McGinley – who said imagery was key in inspiring his players – making sure a big picture of him was emblazoned on a wall of the team room, along with the likes of Seve Ballesteros.

“I was delighted to hear that,” said Jacobs.

The European Tour’s founding father was also thrilled at the performance of Hampshire’s Justin Rose, whose four points made him the week’s leading scorer.

“He was the best player of the whole match, without a doubt,” said Jacobs.