Paul McGinley was appointed Europe's Ryder Cup captain for 2014, becoming the first Irish golfer to achieve this feat since the event was launched in 1927.
McGinley will take over from 2012 Ryder Cup winning captain Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain.
"To lead the cream of the crop in the Ryder Cup is going to be a huge honor," the Associated Press quoted McGinley as saying. "To be quite honest, it is a very humbling experience to be sitting in this seat.
"It is a week I'm looking forward to. It's a whole new experience for me, the chance to be a captain."
Top-ranked golfer Rory McIlroy welcomed the decision to appoint McGinley as the new captain.
"He makes you feel so good about yourself," McIlroy said.
McIlroy insisted that McGinley would be more motivated as a captain than Montgomerie, because the latter was captain of the 2010 Ryder Cup-winning team, whereas the Irishman will take the helm for the first time.
"Common sense prevailed in the end.... Paul McGinley 2014 European Ryder Cup captain!!! Couldn't be happier for him... Roll on Gleneagles," McIlroy tweeted.
European Tour's Players Committee had a three-hour long meeting on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi after which chairman Thomas Bjorn said it was unanimously decided to appoint McGinley as the captain. Following five players were in the race to lead the European Riders Cup team - McGinley, 2010 captain Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sandy Lyle.
"This is a position I'm really thrilled to be in. It's also a very humbling experience and I can't wait to get into the role of captain and to working with the players," McGinley said.
"I'm just delighted it's happened and that the cards fell right for me. I think it's very important to have a captain that is still involved regularly as a player on the tour and that's what I plan on doing for the next 18 months until the match."
Captain of the U.S. team Tom Watson, who also led the last American team to Ryder Cup victory in 1993, congratulated McGinley on his nomination.
"(I) anticipate that his passion and love of the event will transfer to being an outstanding leader of his team in 2014 at Gleneagles," Watson said.
"Paul has been connected to four winning European Ryder Cup Teams and is an outstanding representative of European golf. I look forward to sharing the stage with him as we make our journey to Scotland."
McGinley appreciated Watson for his vast experience as a golfer and welcomed opportunity to face him in the Ryder Cup 2014.
"Not only is he a wonderful person, but he's a great ambassador for the game of golf and has been for a long, long time," McGinley said.
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