Lawrie: Getting the right duo can be tougher than you think
EUAN McLEAN
A RYDER CUP captain can choose all the stirring words he likes but it’s in the picking of his pairings where he really earns his corn. Paul Lawrie learned that in two Ryder Cups as a player at Brookline 1999 and Medinah 2012. But it was only during his stint as a vice captain two years ago when he realised just how difficult a task that is. At Hazeltine the previous European captain Darren Clarke would have been better served having a backroom team consisting of Daily Record astrologer Justin Toper and Mystic Meg rather than a spine of seasoned pros like Lawrie. The reason being that no captain could have foreseen the circumstances that would repeatedly throw wicked last-minute curve balls that made an already uphill battle even tougher for Clarke and his team. Like PJ Willett, for example. Smartass school teacher brother of Danny Willett who carved himself 15 minutes of fame as an online blogger on the back of his brother’s rocketing profile for winning the 2016 Masters. Having taken a ride on his sibling’s coattails, it seemed very selfish to sabotage his kid brother’s moment by penning a column slagging American golf fans in the week e.mclean@dailyrecord.co.uk of Danny’s rookie Ryder Cup appearance in the lion’s den.
The distraction convinced Clarke to scrap his original plan to play Willett on the first day in the company of his trusted lieutenant, wildcard choice Lee Westwood.
Instead he sent out Thomas Pieters and the ill-prepared pairing fell 5&4.
The first of numerous unsettling last-minute changes that collectively inspired against him.
The flexibility to think on your feet and be willing to rewrite the best laid plans amid the ebb and flow of matchplay golf is a vital part of the job.
But as Lawrie explains here, even that sometimes isn’t enough when big calls have to be made.
“I remember on Saturday morning we met under the tree on the 14th at Hazeltine to talk about pairings.
“I was walking with Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera-Bello and they’d been four down with six to play against Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth when I met Darren.
“He asked me my opinions and I said that they hadn’t played poorly but the Americans have played very well.
“At that moment he decided to leave Rafa out for the afternoon, with some experience coming in the shape of Martin Kaymer with Garcia.
“Then the boys won the last four holes with Rafa holing a nice putt to get a halved match.
“Those are the things that people don’t see. That’s the frustrating part of it.”
Such are the fine margins in a contest repeatedly defined by critical shifts in momentum at crucial times.
Fortunately in this year’s captain, Thomas Bjorn, Europe are led by a guy who has seen countless such curve balls skelp his predecessors during his previous tours of duty as an assistant.
The Dane is as experienced a campaigner as they come, which is why Lawrie has more faith than most in his hotly-disputed decision to hand a wildcard to Garcia despite a season of poor form.
Lawrie said: “Getting the team spirit right is the most important job for a captain. The pairings come next. And in Sergio he has picked a guy who is so crucial to that first element.
“He’s one of these guys who goes round the room and speaks to everyone and keeps everyone going. He’s good fun.
“So I think it’s a good choice. I hope Thomas is proved right.
“Missing the cuts in all the Majors is not like him but the Ryder Cup will bring it out of him.”
Paul Lawrie is an ambassador of Aberdeen Standard Investments – Worldwide Partner of The 2018 Ryder Cup.