Faldo believes Tiger can be a force in Ryder Cup
NICK FALDO believes Tiger Woods has done enough to earn a Ryder Cup wildcard — but he’s reserving judgment as to whether he will win another major championship.
The Woods wildcard debate is the hot topic on golf discussion shows in the US and elsewhere, following his electrifying tied sixth finish at the Open on Sunday.
Some think the inevitable circus if Woods was selected would be detrimental to a buoyant American set-up that has been doing very well without him — a valid point — but Faldo is in the other camp.
‘I’d be surprised if Tiger doesn’t make it now, given how far he has come over the last six months,’ the six-time major champion told Sportsmail. ‘When you think where he was at the last Ryder Cup, when he couldn’t get out of his golf cart, it’s amazing. Since it’s matchplay, I think he would be very useful, so yes, I’d put him in.’
Like most people, Faldo was encouraged by what he saw at Carnoustie. ‘Tiger looked physically fantastic and technically very good, but you could tell there were still certain shots he didn’t want to take on,’ he said. ‘But boy, has he improved. Everything is clearly getting better. He had the lead for a couple of holes, so he got to really feel it again in his belly and that is going to do him a world of good.
‘It had to be hugely inspiring to him, to go so close.’
As for winning more majors, Faldo was guarded. ‘We’ll have to see,’ he said. ‘He had the lead before he made a mess of the 11th, which is understandable after so long away. But it’s still all about finishing them off, and that’s the great unknown right now.’
Now 61, Faldo is back in competitive garb for the first time in nine months this week. He is yet another lured by the Senior Open being staged for the first time at St Andrews, where he won the Claret Jug by five strokes in 1990.
‘I probably wouldn’t be here if it was anywhere else, but it’s always a treat to come back to this town,’ said Faldo.
Evergreen Tom Watson, five times Open champion but never at St Andrews — ‘it is a lasting regret of my career,’ he conceded — still believes he can win at the age of 68.
The allure of the Home of Golf was seen at qualifying staged at four courses on Monday, when more than 200 more players than is customary sought to grab one of the precious few remaining spots.
In all, almost 600 participated and they came from all over the world.
One of the best stories concerned Argentine Vicente Fernandez, who was always one of the gutsiest players.
Now 72, the form of polio he suffered from as a child has caught up with him and, such was the pain, he had to take his shoes off and walk barefoot on some holes.
But he still beat his age by two shots to grab one of seven places available out of 146 players competing at Scotscraig.