Tom Watson may have been a disaster as captain of the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup team, as Phil Mickelson broadly suggested following his squad’s 16.5-11.5 drubbing by Europe at Gleneagles on Sunday. The bottom line for CBS and Golf Channel analyst David Feherty, however, was what Watson pointed out all along: the Euros outplayed the Americans.
Euros were better than US Ryder Cup team, with or without Tom Watson
Captain Tom Watson could have mixed and matched his U.S. Ryder Cup team any which way — by ‘shoe size, height, religion’ — and would still have lost to a far superior European squad, says David Feherty.
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“You could have put the U.S. team out in order of shoe size, height, religion — pretty much whatever way you wanted to — and they’re not going to win unless they play better than the Europeans,” Feherty, who noted he was “a special friend” of Watson’s, said on CBS Sports Radio’s John Feinstein Show on Tuesday. “The fact of the matter is, they didn’t play … That’s just the way it’s going to be, and to criticize Tom Watson for the order that he put them out [was off base].”
Watson has come under fire for what critics contend was the rigid, uncommunicative, and out-of-touch way in which the 65-year-old eight-time major champion conducted himself ahead of and during the proceedings in Scotland. Mickelson, likely smarting over his benching for both Saturday matches, took the opportunity during the post-tourney press conference to rip Watson indirectly for his leadership style.
Paul Azinger “got everybody invested in the process” and “had a great game plan” said Mickelson, who has taken heat for the timing of his remarks, if not the substance of them.
Lefty also bashed Watson for not implementing the “pod” system — in which 12 players divided into three groups ahead of the tourney and practiced and played together throughout the event — that former U.S. skipper Azinger successfully deployed in the 2008 event. Feherty brushed off such views as poppycock, noting that Azinger’s team was simply better than that of his opponents.
“With regard to what Phil said, I only caught a brief snippet of it this morning,” Feherty said. “Paul Azinger had a team that played extremely well and won. And again, I’m not sure if it would have made a difference what order you put them out in. They played better than the Europeans did [in ’08] and therefore, they won … This notion that there are certain players that get along better with others – they can all play.”
They can, but not nearly so well last week as the group of guys captained by Paul McGinley and led on the field by the world’s top-ranked golfer, who earned his second PGA Tour Player of the Year award on Wednesday.
“The bottom line is, the U.S. team ran into Rory McIlroy, who is so much the No. 1 player in the world and looks so astonishing at the minute that he could be the greatest ever,” Feherty said. “They ran into Justin Rose and several other players that [played lights out].”
Feherty singled out Rose (3-0-2 last week) and McIlroy’s Northern Irish countryman, Graeme McDowell (3-0-0), as two contestants who were unbeatable.
“McDowell was stronger than a garlic milkshake,” Feherty gushed. “He was absolutely fantastic .…”
Feherty, who also hails from Northern Ireland but is now a U.S. citizen, believes several young players can help restore the cup to his adopted country.
“I just loved -- absolutely loved -- Patrick Reed,” Feherty said about the passionate Ryder Cup rookie who had the chutzpah to shush the partisan crowd after after drilling a birdie putt in his Sunday singles match with Henrik Stenson.
“They need more [of Reed’s demeanor] but you can’t really have that unless you’re playing like he did and [making] the putts,” Feherty observed. “We’re talking about a 24-year-old guy here playing in his first Ryder Cup. We’re talking about cojones like coconuts.”
Reed, who went 3-0-1 in his Ryder Cup debut, defeated Stenson, 1-up, after his opponent missed a short birdie putt, and a certain half point, on the 18th hole.
“He made Henrik Stenson miss that putt by his attitude throughout [the match],” Feherty said. “That hole looked like a thimble to Henrik Stenson.”
As for the Mickelson ruckus, Feherty wished the five-time major champion had slept on it before playing the blame game.
“There was some emotion in there,” Feherty said. “I would like to hear the same interview in a week’s time. With the benefit of hindsight, there’s always going to be people that will tell you how it should have happened and what should have been done.
“What should have happened is the American team should have played better,” Feherty concluded. “They did their very best. They’re just not as good as the Europeans at the minute. Period. That’s the way it is.”
