Jack Nicklaus defends Tom Watson’s Ryder Cup captaincy
Jack Nicklaus believes the formation of a Ryder Cup task force is going overboard in a search for answer to U.S. woes in the biennial matches.
The 18-time major champion also subtly lamented Phil Mickelson’s verbal outburst and subsequent reporting that amounted to the venting of players’ frustration with outgoing captain and Nicklaus close friend Tom Watson.
“When I had teams and guys had problems, we went back to the team room and talked about it. That’s where the conversation should be,” said Nickalus on Friday at PGA National in Florida, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Nicklaus was captain of a pair of American Ryder Cup teams, on the winning side in 1983 and the losing side at his own Muirfield Village in 1987.
“I feel the same about the task force thing,” he added. “That’s sort of overkill. We’ve had 70 years of the Ryder Cup and it’s gotten along just fine. The pendulum will swing back without making a monumental thing about it.”
In Nicklaus’ assessment, Watson did a good job as captain, but was helpless to overcome a superior European side.
“(The Europeans) just played better,” Nicklaus said at a ceremony to mark the reopening of the Champion Course, to which he made some design tweaks. “It doesn’t make any difference how much planning you do, if the other team plays better, they’re going to win.”
Nicklaus credited Watson, who had been labeled as underprepared and out of touch with his players, with extensive preparation.
“He went to I don’t know how many tournaments — he knew he was older, so he had to get to know the kids, who he was going to pick, and what to do. Tom, Raymond (Floyd), Andy North and Steve Stricker made the selections and pairings, did what they thought was best, and probably did a pretty good job.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
