Europe give USA A fight At Hazeltine
SEE PAGES 70&71
THERE is enough pressure as a player at the Ryder Cup without outside influences getting in the way of your focus.
Phil Mickelson and Danny Willett are two of the highest profile players on show this weekend, but their build-up was ruined by unnecessary comments.
I have a lot of admiration for Phil for many things, but in Ryder Cup terms, he is threatening to become an embarrassment.
The way he brought up Hal Sutton’s captaincy in 2004 during a press conference was totally out of order.
Everyone thought pairing Mickelson and TigerWoods together was a spur of the moment thing, but Hal gave Phil two days’ notice, which is ample time.
Phil is still a Ryder Cup player but he has too much to say and too much influence. It’s embarrassing he blames the captains for all these defeats in which he’s been involved.
He called out TomWatson after Gleneagles and at Medinah in 2012, he asked to be rested by Davis Love, having just won a match 7&6 alongside Keegan Bradley.
Danny Willett’s problems came from the fall-out from that illadvised article written by his brother, Pete.
As a captain, one of your biggest jobs is creating a team environment designed to help the players stay relaxed.
Instead of preparing for his debut, Danny had to deal with that. He was obviously affected by what had happened, so Darren Clarke had no option but to take him out of the line-up for the opening foursomes.
He may be a rookie but he is the Masters Champion and it was obvious that he would have gone out with LeeWestwood on Friday morning.
It was unusual for Darren to announce thatWillett would play in the afternoon fourballs, but at least it deflected some of the attention away. It does underline how a flexible a captain must be during Ryder Cup week. You must have an open mind about pairings.
I’m very sceptical about the idea of this pod system the Americans seem to have. Why limit yourself to picking players from a group of four?
The greatest strength of the Europeans is the team spirit and togetherness. I always felt I could put any two of the 12 players out as a partnership.
That spirit means the Europeans roll up their sleeves when things get tough and it frightens the Americans.
It was Sir Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros who created that sense of belief and it has been passed down through the years.
At Hazeltine, it’s Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson who have embraced that role. Great players raise their game when they feel threatened or under pressure.
The crowd is against them, but they are inspired to hit good shots and hole clutch putts.
That attitude will be crucial heading into today’s singles as you can’t win the Ryder Cup unless your top players perform.