Mickelson apologizes for criticism of Sutton’s captaincy back in 2004
FOOT-IN-MOUTH DISEASE: First, Europe’s Danny Willett apologized for his brother’s excoriation of loudmouth American golf fans in advance of the Ryder Cup.
Then U.S. stalwart Phil Mickelson apologized for using Hal Sutton’s 2004 captaincy as an example of bad decision making. That’s one mea culpa each. “The matches are all square,” quipped Golfweek’s Jim McCabe, once the Boston Globe’s hockey writer.
PHIL BEING PHIL: Mickelson probably had the most to be sorry for. He wasn’t wrong to say that Sutton’s decision to pair him with Tiger Woods, twice, on the first day of the 2004 matches was a stroke of … well, the opposite of genius, given each player’s disdain for the other.
But considering that Mickelson had just changed his driver and golf ball from Titleist to Callaway two weeks before the 2004 matches — he shot 75-69-79-68 and finished 57th in the RBC Canadian Open the previous week, in his only competitive test of the new equipment — his plaint about having to learn how to hit Woods’s Nike ball on two days’ notice rang just a little hollow.
“He wasn’t even prepared with the ball that he brought to the tournament, much less Tiger’s,” said Sutton, who is among several former captains invited to hang out in the American team room here. “So, I think he needs to search his own soul a little bit.”
MY IDIOT BROTHER: Willett, the reigning Masters champion, was embarrassed by his brother Pete’s published rant in which he called American golf fans “a baying mob of imbeciles” among other, more colourful descriptives. Predictably, the comments received wide play on social media and many fans were aware of them even while Willett was playing his practice round Wednesday.
“I was disappointed in what he wrote and obviously, you know, it put a bit of a downer on my first Ryder Cup for the last couple of days,” Willett said Thursday.
“Luckily, you know, it’s not been too bad with the fans. The fans have still been great. There’s a few shouts out there but you can expect that. I spoke to Davis (Love, U.S. captain) yesterday, and he was happy to draw a line under it. So you know, in an ideal world, the fans would do the same thing, and we won’t let it tarnish … obviously it’s my first Ryder Cup, but we won’t let it tarnish the 41st Ryder Cup.”
NOTHING TO IT: A fan was heckling Europe’s Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan after both missed a 12-foot putt during Thursday’s practice round, so Henrik Stenson hauled the man out of the gallery and challenged him to try it. Justin Rose took out a $100 bill and laid it down beside the ball.
The fan, David Johnson, rammed the putt into the centre of the hole. It might have gone six feet past if the cup hadn’t stopped it, but it went in. McIlroy ran over and hugged him, and even posted a video clip of it, with Johnson celebrating and the crowd roaring, with the caption “Has the Ryder Cup started already?”
“I razzed them a little bit, and they heard me, which was insane,” Johnson told reporters. “They brought me out, which is more insane. I haven’t fully realized what just happened, but overall that was a pretty cool experience.
“I closed my eyes, swallowed my puke, and hit the putt,” he joked. “It happened to go in.”
D.J. SPEAKS: Newly crowned PGA of America player of the year and Vardon Trophy (lowest stroke average) winner Dustin Johnson was all smiles in the media room Thursday.
Two years after missing the Ryder Cup to deal with personal issues, the 2016 U.S. Open champion is now one of the players the American team is counting on most heavily.
“It was definitely hard to watch (in 2014), because I had made the team, but I elected not to participate, to work on myself. And I think it’s paid off over the last couple of years, how good my performance has been. So to me, it was the best thing for me at the time and I can see it paying off tenfold right now.”
NO HOME COOKING: Asked how much the home crowd could mean to American hopes, Johnson said: “You know, we had a home crowd (in 2012) at Medinah, too, and it didn’t quite work in our favour.”
In seven Ryder Cups held in the U.S. since Europe became the opposition in 1985, the U.S. has a losing (3-4) record. Europe has never lost a home game (7-0-1). The 1989 matches at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England were tied 14-14 but Europe retained the Cup.
PARTING SHOT: “It’s very flattering to Team Europe, that the U.S.A. are taking it so seriously to bring this task force together and bring Davis in as captain again,” said 10time European Ryder Cupper Lee Westwood. “It gives us a lot of confidence and puts added pressure on them. You form a task force and it doesn’t go right this week, where do you go from there?”