The Govanor The Hoodie
Much was made of the role Sir Alex played in inspiring Paul McGinley’s players with a rousing pep talk on the eve of the 2014 showdown at Gleneagles.
Now the USA team, who went as far as to set up a taskforce in the wake of their third straight defeat in Scotland, have clearly studied the European model for success and chosen at least one leaf out of their book.
Last week New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick – one of the greatest bosses in the history of the NFL and famous for wearing hoodies pitchside – spent the evening with USA captain Davis Love and his assistant Tom Lehman.
Outside, the eight golfers who had automatically qualified for the team fooled around on the pitch of the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium, throwing footballs and even having a chipping contest on the turf.
Unsurprisingly, wedge wizard Phil Mickelson won.
But it was deep inside the bowels of that massive stadium on the outskirts of Boston that Love was having the most fun, having been granted a rare visit to the inner-sanctum to pick the brains of four-time Superbowl winner Belichick.
Love said: “We took the eight players to the stadium and let them goof around on the field and go through their locker room.
“They just opened the doors to us, really. Gave us team gear, Patriots jerseys.
“Everybody’s jersey had a 1 on it, except for Jim Furyk who had a 58 (in recognition of his recent record-breaking lowest ever PGA Tour round).
“They let us use Coach Belichick’s team room. They made videos for us to watch and we got to talk to the players. It was just me and the players in Coach Belichick’s film room, which they said has never happened before.
“My only disappointment is that I didn’t see Coach Belichick in a hoodie!
“So the Ryder Cup players got