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How to Win the Ryder Cup
Photo of USA President's Cup player Woody Austin keeping it loose.
Here's something only golf fans worry about—the Ryder Cup, a team competition played every other year against a team of top European players. In alternate years the US plays the rest-of-the-world-not-counting-Europe in The President's Cup. The President's Cup just finished last weekend and the US won handily raising the question among golf writers once again: Why can't the US win the Ryder Cup? See, the US usually wins the President Cup and usually loses the Ryder Cup even though on paper the rest-of-the-world-not-counting-Europe team is stronger than the Americans and the European team is weaker. It's a mystery to most everyone—except me. A bit of background. Most years the legendary Jack Nicklaus has been USA captain for The President's Cup. And this guy thinks that Jack is the reason the US normally wins. "The biggest factor, I believe, is Jack Nicklaus. The U.S. captain in four Presidents Cups -- including the last three -- the Golden Bear has had the most impact on the outcome in the event's 13-year history -- player or captain.The reason? Players simply love playing for the man. They respect him, they look up to him and they love winning for him."
This writer is close to having the answer.
No question that Jack is a great captain and has a very relaxed style in dealing with the competition. He keeps it very friendly. The Ryder Cup, on the other hand, is too much about the Captain. They make a huge deal out of it and the Captain gets picked two years in advance of the matches. In pro golf circles being Ryder Cup Captain is sort of like getting a knighthood. He is even referred to as "Captain" during his tenure. As a result, there is too much pressure on the Ryder Cup Captain which gets transferred to the players. Normally, the Captain is a guy who is just wrapping up his golf career and getting ready to make the transition to the old guy tour (over 50). He has to be someone with a pretty good record and a major victory on his resume. He, and his wife, are given two years to plan for the event which, as far as I can tell, consists of selecting outfits and souvenirs for the players and their wives. The other thing the Captain gets to do is pick four players (used to be two but next year it will be four). The rest of the team qualifies based on performance. He doesn't get to make his Captain's picks until a cutoff date a month or so ahead of the matches. This may seem like an awesome responsibility but the fact is that anyone who plays Fantasy Golf could do just about as good a job. You only get to be Ryder Cup Captain once so it's make or break. Since 1995 only Ben Crenshaw has been able to claim a win and that was after an unbelievable comeback knows as "The Miracle at Brookline." The other five captains during that period are forgotten to history. They each spent two years getting ready, surveying the course, analyzing lineup, picking out costumes, organizing practice sessions, writing pep talks and stategizing lineups. Nicklaus, on the other hand, makes it look easy. Of course he is Jack Nicklaus. But my argument is that it is easy. You have twelve great golfers and you keep it relaxed and let them play. Jack even lets the players decide whom the will play with in the two man events. What I'm getting at is that the Captain in a golf event can only screw it up. He can't make the players win. The Ryder Cup committee is picking the wrong guys as Captain. Azinger, Watkins, Lehman, Sutton, Kite. Too intense and too recently in competition with the guys on the team. They should name a semi-permanent Captain—Jack Nicklaus, if he'd do it, Lee Trevino, Peter Jacobsen or Gary McChord, someone who can keep it loose. The Ryder Cup is too much about the Captain.