Right Royal shellacking
‘Dress French’ to upset US big-hitters, says Faldo
RYDER Cup legend Sir Nick Faldo fears the Tiger Woodsled US team will overpower Royal Melbourne in December’s Presidents Cup.
Woods’s all-star squad could include an army of longbombers in Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Bubba Watson and Woods himself.
Americans Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau could also make the trip.
“Royal Melbourne is sandbelt — hard and fast, massive, big rolling greens, gorgeous layout — but, unfortunately, it is going to suffer from the equipment,” Faldo said.
“All your great par-5s are now just tough par 4s for these guys, and that is what they’ve done here (at Augusta National).
“This golf course must be approaching 600 yards longer than (in) my time.”
Augusta’s par-4 fifth hole was extended this year as part of the club’s efforts to curb the game’s new breed powerhitters.
But Faldo said the US’s Ryder Cup meltdown against Europe at Le Golf National outside Paris last year could be the International team’s secret weapon.
The US were humiliated by Thomas Bjorn’s European squad and succumbed to bitter infighting.
Faldo has urged the Melbourne crowds to “dress French” at Royal Melbourne and ram home the mental disintegration.
“The American team are going to go down there after duffing up in Paris, (so) rather than throwing Four ‘n Twenty pies, they should throw croissants at them — then the Internationals will have a real good chance,” he said.
“Everyone should walk around going ‘Ooh la la’ and wear shirts with the Eiffel Tower on the front and Sydney Harbour on the back. You’ll wind them right up.”
The CBS broadcaster and six-time major winner said he planned to return to Royal Melbourne where he finished runner-up to International captain Ernie Els at the 2003 Heineken Classic.
“I loved it but I haven’t been down to Aussie for moons,” Faldo said.
“I was pursuing some design work and would love to cut across to New Zealand for a
spot of trout fishing. “We’ll get there somehow by hook or by crook.”
Australians Adam Scott, Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith are also likely Presidents Cup starters along with South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and China’s Haotong Li.
Li played alongside Woods in the first two rounds of the Masters.
The Presidents Cup runs from December 9-15.