Johnny Miller questions Tom Watson’s Ryder Cup strategy, Phil Mickelson’s public jab

Johnny Miller, with a bird’s-eye view from the Golf Channel/NBC TV booth of what happened to the U.S. at the Ryder Cup, was critical of some of captain Tom Watson’s strategy but wished Phil Mickelson had offered his views in private.

Miller, who teamed with Watson on the victorious 1981 Ryder Cup squad and won in 1975 as well, also noted that Mickelson and his 11 teammates were the ones messing up on the Gleneagles course, not Capt. Tom.

“That could have stayed within the walls of the PGA [of America],” Miller told GolfChannel.com on Wednesday about Mickelson’s post-defeat press conference in which he indirectly ripped Watson’s leadership by boosting 2008 Paul Azinger’s captaincy. “I guess he was a big fan of Azinger’s pod system, but that didn’t need to come out necessarily. Watson, he didn’t miss all those putts.”

Speculation has been that Mickelson went public with his comments because Watson benched him and foursomes/fourball partner Keegan Bradley for both of Saturday’s matches. Miller figuratively scratched his head over that move, one that sidelined Mickelson for a full day for the first time in his 10 Ryder Cup starts.

“That, I’d like to hear that from Watson, because that was pretty weird,” said Miller, who is hosting this week’s kickoff to the 2014-2015 PGA Tour season, the Frys.com Open at Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, Calif. “I could see them not playing in foursomes, alternate shot, because they weren’t driving it very good, but fourball you have to go with that team. So that was very strange.”

Miller, who conceded the Europeans simply outplayed the Americans (“Those guys are just dang good players”), was nevertheless not a fan of Watson’s three captain’s picks. He said before last month’s event that he would have preferred new blood to some of the old hands (Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan, and Webb Simpson) who made the squad and he reiterated that view on Wednesday.

“If I was captain, my three captain’s picks would have been young players,” said Miller, likely referring to FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel and Deutsche Bank winner Chris Kirk. “I figure the veterans have had their chance, they haven’t delivered, so give the young guys a chance.”

One of the grizzled vets on the U.S. side who’s in this week’s field wanted nothing to do with the controversy Mickelson sparked with his Sunday night remarks in Scotland.

“I think you’ve asked the wrong guy because I am being completely out of it,” Matt Kuchar responded to a question about his views on the brouhaha. “I am completely unaware.”

Lee Westwood, a member of the winning European unit who’s also playing at the Frys, believed the “dirty laundry” should have hung inside the team room, but Kuchar professed surprise that Mickelson’s opinions stirred up such a ruckus.

“Phil answered a question,” said Kuchar, who noted Mickelson’s preference for Azinger’s “pod” approach as well as Lefty’s follow-up assertion. “Phil said, yeah, I thought it was a great system and I felt invested in it, and with that, I guess it opened up a can of worms.

“But you’ve got to remember Phil being asked a second question, and he said, ‘Listen, don’t take it that way, this is not a shot at Tom,’” Kuchar said. “So whatever aired out was ‑‑ I’m sure it’s blown out of proportion.”

For Westwood, who said he was disappointed at the Americans’ finger-pointing, preferred to credit his mates for the victory.

“Yeah, maybe Tom got a few things wrong, maybe the U.S. team just didn’t quite play well enough in general,” Westwood said. “You know, if the other team plays well, you’re going to lose.”