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Captain Watson Fails in Another American Ryder Cup Defeat

by Jeff Skinner

ryder cup 14 logo troWith another resounding defeat for the Americans at the Ryder Cup the second guessing of Captain Tom Watson will reach a crescendo. In fact it started long before the Euro’s closed out the USA on Sunday with legions of writers and analysts ripping Watson for many of the confusing calls he made this week.

Consider this my “Man Crush Disclaimer.” I think Tom Watson is one of the iconic figures in the game and I respect him greatly. I once drove over three hours just to sit at a press conference to get the chance to ask him a single question. He’s a Hall of Fame member, an eight time major winner and one of the most admired and revered men in golf.

That being said, Watson blew it.

His “outside the box” selection was supposed turn the tide at The Ryder Cup. The European Team’s domination had drove PGA of America President Ted Bishop and crew to tap Watson who was the last captain to win on foreign soil. Well, it’s back to the drawing board for Bishop.

While Watson’s selection was lauded by many, including me, in the hopes that an old school take by a winning captain who commands respect like few in the game would be the poultice to heal the wound that losing the Ryder Cup had become.

Instead of the victory the PGA of America and Watson had so very much wanted the 40th Ryder Cup escapes them and leaves them looking confused and wondering what happened.

The problem with Watson’s captaincy actually started long before his team arrived at Gleneagles. Back in September when he made his Captain’s Picks he elected to go with “experience” versus rookies.  Britain Ryder Cup Golf

He chose Keegan Bradley for his emotion and because he is Phil Mickelson’s designated partner nowadays. Hunter Mahan had just won The Barclays and that with the fact that Mahan has played Ryder Cup previously was enough for Watson. His third pick was the out of form Webb Simpson who had a poor 2014 by anyone’s measure.

Strangely, it was revealed by Simpson that a late night text to the captain from Simpson on the eve of the selection may have persuaded Watson to pick him. Simpson said he was so anxious about the pick that he texted Watson pleading to be considered. Watson countered with a “tell me why you want to be on the team” and whatever Simpson texted back worked.

He said that three rookies on the team was enough as the European Team also had three and any more may put the Americans at a disadvantage. So Watson opted for experience and they failed him.

Watson’s three “experienced” picks earned him a disappointing 3 ½ points for the week. The three rookies who earned their way on the team, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Jimmy Walker rewarded the captain with 8 ½ points for the week. It was the rookies that were the only source of hope for the team all week. They were the ones who delivered not the veterans.

Watson showed us he realized his mistake by front loading his Sunday Singles line up with Spieth to start and Reed right behind them. In the third slot was Rickie Fowler a “veteran” of only one Ryder Cup. So in a bit of irony Watson was relying on “rookies” to jump start the comeback when he actually was shy about naming rookies to the team.

Watson will take more heat for his mishandling of the Phil Mickelson/Keegan Bradley pairing. They were undefeated as a team coming into this match and it was a given that they would team together. And it worked as they took down the best the Euro’s had to offer in Friday morning fourballs, Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia.

But the 44 year old Mickelson ran out of gas in the afternoon foursomes and they lost to a fresh Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson. Phil was spent and at dinner that evening Watson told him he would be resting on Saturday morning. He sat both Mickelson and Bradley in the morning and then in a shocking move kept them off the course in the afternoon also.

To say Phil was surprised is an understatement. When Phil wants to get a message across he does. But there are many occasions when he keeps his mouth shut to avoid embarrassing someone who deserved respect. This was one of those times.

Being caught with a “tired Phil” on Saturday shouldn’t have been a surprise for Watson. In 2012 Phil went to Captain Davis Love III and told him he needed a break on Saturday afternoon. Walking 34 holes on Friday, under that pressure will drain a player a young player, no less a 44 year old with health issues.  U.S. Ryder Cup player Phil Mickelson stands with captain Tom Watson during his fourballs 40th Ryder Cup match at Gleneagles

The plan should have been to play Phil and Keegan on Friday and Saturday morning with Phil resting in the afternoon. It would have been similar to him playing a regular tour event which he has done all season. In fact he would have only walked three rounds instead of the required four so he would have been fresh all week. The younger and enthusiastic Bradley could have been teamed with another player.

Watson said he wanted his “hot” teams out there on Saturday afternoon and that Phil and Keegan had not played well in the alternate shot. And that’s valid but he should have had that team in both fourball sessions. They make birdies and that’s what you need. In alternate shot fairways and greens are needed and we know how many fairways Phil hits. It shows a lack of preparation on behalf of Watson. He should have had a plan for every possible scenario.

Watson also admitted to playing the team of Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler too long and they probably could have used a rest by the time the Saturday foursomes rolled around. It was their fourth straight match and Graeme McDowell said he could tell they were on fumes by then. He purposely told his partner, Dubuisson to pick up his pace and show the Americans how fresh they were. It worked as the Americans were gassed and fell in a 5 & 4 rout. Maybe Watson should have sensed the weariness in them after all that team played three straight, close, difficult matches against Europe’s best teams to earn a half point each time.

Watson deserves credit for eschewing the traditional thinking of pairing rookies with veterans. He sent Spieth and Reed out together in Friday’s Fourballs and they didn’t disappoint with a 5 & 4 win. They in fact had lobbied Watson all week to play together. But after they were not sent out in the afternoon sessions they had questions. They and the team were told that successful play in the morning would afford them another shot in the afternoon but Watson elected to bench Team Rookie in favor of a veteran team. The veterans lost as the rookies cheered them on. It speaks to a lack of communication on the part of Watson and his players.

As with any captain he is only as good as his players. And Watson’s team was depleted from the start missing Jason Dufner, Dustin Johnson and maybe even Tiger Woods. The captain of the Ryder Cup is much like a quarterback in the NFL: they get to much credit for the wins and too much blame for the losses.

The captain hits no shots and as Watson said the players have to play and they just didn’t play well enough against a very strong European Team. But Old Tom’s captaincy appeared to lack a plan and suffered from poor communication with his players, two faults I never would have expected from Watson.

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