Thursday, October 04, 2012

Time to shake up US Ryder Cup captaincy

Given the events of last Sunday -- and almost every other Ryder Cup played over the past 20 years -- it seems a fair time to reconsider how the PGA of America chooses the American captain.
That's not to suggest Davis Love III was responsible for the Europeans' dramatic victory. Point that finger at Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer and the others who played the golf that gave Europe its most dramatic victory.
Love had a plan, stuck with it and for two of the three days, it worked beautifully. Then Europe found its heartbeat and its putting stroke and everything changed.
Now the question is who will captain the U.S. team in Gleneagles, Scotland in two years.
If you follow the general outline, do the math and factor in the personalities, David Toms' name keeps popping up. He won a major and a handful of other events, has Ryder Cup experience and is a well-regarded gentleman.
There's a feeling it's Toms turn just as it was Corey Pavin's turn two years ago.
But the PGA of America should shake it up. Nothing against Toms but if another crushing loss isn't reason enough to step at least gently outside the box, what is?
The popular choice to be the next captain is Fred Couples, who has led the U.S. to two Presidents Cup victories and will captain a third team next fall when the matches are played at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Couples should get the job.
Why would being Presidents Cup captain disqualify him? It shouldn't.
Most people, including Couples, will be surprised if he gets the Ryder Cup call. It's as if you can do one or the other, the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup. Couples would be the first to tell you the Presidents Cup isn't on the same level as the Ryder Cup, though PGA Tour officials don't like to hear that.
But he's doing something right.
Others have suggested the PGA of America make a dramatic move and break with the unofficial formula for selecting a captain. It's worth considering.
It's not too late to ask Larry Nelson to be captain. He got shafted out of it before and while he's not a contemporary of today's PGA Tour players, he would have their respect. He could also hire younger assistants to help him.
Or bring back Paul Azinger. He'd love to do it again and he'd do it well.
Someone suggested Butch Harmon. Interesting idea.
That's what the PGA of America needs -- interesting ideas. It's time to change the formula.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Agreed, Freddie should be the captain. It is hard to point at DL3 with blame but there were areas that he should have took control of. One that glared out to me was not informing the players that they should take one club less at 18. A little more interaction on that one hole may have made the difference. Still hard to stop long bomb putts that fell in for Euro.

Anonymous said...

I would make a great Ryder Cup Captain... the first thing I would do is eliminate Tiger, Mickelson and Sticker and replace with Hunter Mahan, Ricky Fowler and Dustin Johnson. The choke artists would be eliminated and we would win the cup on European soil!

Anonymous said...

Can not blame Davis Love for Sunday's performance, just like you can not blame a quarterback for receivers dropping passes.

Anonymous said...

The loss of Payne Stewart left a void in the chain of Ryder Cup captaincy. He would have certainly been a captain in one of the last few matches. By not having Stewart around some captains were chosen probably earlier than they would have if he had been here.

I like the idea of Azinger being captain again in Stewart's place. Perhaps Valhalla was the best time because of Payne's ties to the South, but I like Azinger going back to Europe to represent the US. He did well over there as a player and is still firey enough to well as a captain.

Put Toms on the bench for another two years and give hime a home game as captain. Send Zinger across the pond to do it for Payne.

Anonymous said...

Just make sure Tiger stays home for the next Ryder Cup!

Anonymous said...

How about Tiger as next captain? Oh wait... The PGA usually wants someone with a good Ryder Cup playing record. Never mind.

Anonymous said...

Keep Woods home for all events. Retire the disgraced creep. He cant play golf.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2012/10/08/tiger-woods-ryder-cup-rookies-keegan-bradley-brandt-snedeker-webb-simpson/1620025/