Rory McIlroy voiced an opinion that many were thinking but were too polite to share: the Americans overhauling their entire process of selecting a Ryder Cup captain and the surprise repeat choice of Davis Love III as leader smacked of desperation.
Rory McIlroy pans ‘desperate’ U.S. Ryder Cup task force
Rory McIlroy scoffs at the PGA of America’s task force, claiming that winning the Ryder Cup is not exactly ‘rocket science.’
Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
“It came as a huge shock when they announced yesterday Davis was going to be the next U.S. captain,” McIlroy told several reporters on Wednesday, after the PGA of America named Love the 2016 Hazeltine skipper, a move that apparently surprised no one but the world No. 1.
Word leaked last week that the 11-member task force set up in the wake of the Europeans’ drubbing of the U.S. at Gleneagles would tap 2012 skipper Love as the shepherd to lead his flock to the promised land in 2016. The PGA also unveiled changes to the way captains pick players, a new sub-task force that includes Love, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson, and other modifications touted as a blueprint for future success.
McIlroy praised DL3 as “a great captain” -- despite his team’s failure to hold a 10-6 lead heading into Sunday singles at Medinah three years ago -- but opined that the process leading up to the choice was a head-scratcher.
“It’s not rocket science why Europe have won the last three Ryder Cups and eight of the last 10,” McIlroy said from the Honda Classic, where the four-time major champion was set to make his 2015 PGA Tour debut on Thursday.
“I get the sense the States, what with their task force and everything that came out in the announcement yesterday, that they’re desperate to win back the Ryder Cup,” observed McIlroy, who has been on the winning squad three straight times. “I will say it again, because it’s not that complicated why Europe has been winning.”
Lee Westwood added his own little shot at the Team USA task force on Thursday at the Honda Classic.
.@WestwoodLee's take on US Ryder Cup task force: "A bit dramatic. When you're invading countries, you have a task force."
— Will Gray (@WillGrayGC) February 26, 2015 McIlroy was one of the strongest backers of new Euro captain, Northern Irish countryman Darren Clarke, and absolved Love of responsibility for his unit’s meltdown on home turf.
“It was a freak we won at Medina in 2012 and it was not supposed to happen given they had a 10-6 lead,” McIlroy said. “If the States had won, Davis would have been looked upon as a great captain.”
