Whether you agree with what he said or not, Phil Mickelson crossed the line by publicly humiliating Tom Watson with his endorsement of Paul Azinger’s methods in the 2008 Ryder Cup. If you somehow missed the events from Sunday, you can catch up here. The man with the second most losses in U.S. Ryder Cup history believes he has the answer to ending European dominance in the event.
The argument has two distinct segments: what he said and when he said it. When he chose to say it was unforgivable. You live and die with your captain and he broke the code by hanging one of the greatest champions the U.S. has out to dry at the presser. Phil had already expressed this opinion to Ted Bishop, president of the PGA of America, and he had already rehearsed his comments on national television to Steve Sands in an interview minutes before the press conference. It was a calculated statement aimed to express his bloated opinion with no regard or tact.
Lefty has a message for the PGA of America about how to win the Ryder Cup: read a self-help book.
As to what he said: Azinger wrote a book after guiding the U.S. to victory in the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla called “Cracking the Code: The Winning Ryder Cup Strategy: Make It Work for You”, and Philly Mick apparently is a big fan. What still seems to me like Zinger milking the victory for some extra cash by doing his best Zig Ziglar impression, the book, and Azinger’s method, has become a central figure in Phil’s verbal slap to Watson’s face.
The system, detailed in the book, divided the 12 Ryder Cuppers into three “pods” with four golfers in each pod. The golfers that made up a pod ate together, practiced together, and ultimately competed together. They helped make decisions and became invested in each other.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy the system brought the Cup back to the U.S., but the fact that grown men need to be invested and have input to win, instead of simply performing what they do for a living at a high level, lends itself to the argument that the American team is full of self-important, disinterested individuals.
The explanations for the Europeans’ dominance in the competition often point to the Euros’ ability to come together as a team. The Americans are seen as selfish millionaires with no time to bond with teammates. Whispers hinted that Tiger Woods was aloof in past Ryder Cups and thus deserved some or most of the blame for this. This year, with no Tiger to blame, it was Mickelson who couldn’t be bothered to fly to Scotland with his team (no, I’m not buying his excuse and it’s reported he didn’t fly back with them either).
What is Phil’s opinion of his own leadership as elder statesman?
If he is so quick to point fingers, how would he assess his own presence in the players’ room? The analysis leading up to the matches assigned Phil as the leader of the squad. With his extensive experience, it was supposed to be him guiding the younger golfers. As a great motivator, it was supposed to be him pumping up the team. Instead the only reputation Lefty reinforced over the weekend was “Clubhouse Lawyer”.
The Ryder Cup is no stranger to the blame game or second guessing. Captains’ decisions and leadership are always scrutinized. Yet, how soon we forget the judgment levied upon Davis Love III just 2 years ago that he was “too close” to his players as captain. Now just the opposite, Watson was too distant to his players. He didn’t consider their input.
Something had to change (and still does) after DL3 let the players have too much say in captain’s decisions. Ted Bishop took a shot at the old school method. He chose Tom Watson because he was tough. Tom would do things his way and if you didn’t like it, you wouldn’t be teeing it up for him. The players would have minimal say, if any, by design. Watson had won the Ryder Cup as captain in 1993. It was a shot worth taking.
It didn’t work out. “Too distant” is the predictable, unimaginative critique du jour. Did Watson make mistakes? Absolutely he did. However, we didn’t lose the Cup because of Tom. He said it best himself:
“Bottom line: they kicked our butts.”
The Europeans did exactly what they were expected to do, they trounced us
Let’s not forget that Europe was a heavy favorite going in. Their highest ranked golfers were at the top of their game. Collectively the Euros were 35 shots better over the weekend. Our highest ranked golfer (Jim Furyk) has more losses than anyone else in U.S. Ryder Cup history (one more loss than Mickelson) and hasn’t won a tournament in 4 years. The hottest American golfers, Billy Horschel and Chris Kirk, weren’t even on the plane to Scotland. A U.S. victory would have been a miracle and Watson would have deserved a ticker tape parade had he pulled it off.
Uncle Sam is now 2-8 in the last 10 Ryder Cups. There is one common denominator spanning this 21 years: Phil Mickelson. Maybe Philly Mick needs a long look in a mirror instead of a pod.
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