Faldo assailed after Europe loses Ryder Cup

[BasX]

LONDON -- One headline branded the outcome "Faldo Folly." Another deemed him "Captain Calamity."

European Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo was under siege Monday after his team's loss to the United States. Faldo, a six-time major winner, was belittled for his player selections.

"Nick Faldo, not the crowd, was America's 13th Man," the Daily Mail said of his role in Europe's 16½-11½ loss in Louisville, Ky.

The Times of London said that while U.S. captain Paul Azinger instilled belief in his team, "Faldo inspired chaos."

The Times assailed Faldo for using his most successful players -- Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell -- near the end of Sunday's singles matches rather than at the beginning. That meant the overall result was decided by the time they won their matches.

"Buzzing around the 17th green, the United States players extolled the team-bonding skills of Azinger," the Times said.

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/rydercup08/news/story?id=3602306

 

[ghoti]

This is ridiculous criticism. His three superstar players - Harrington, Westwood and Garcia did jaaaaack shiiiiiiit. That's not his fault. No captain could have won with those guys getting ZERO points. It's like blaming Phil Jackson when Kobe goes 0-20.

 

[Vintage]

Agreed. Sergio was what, 8-0 heading into this year's Ryder Cup.

Harrington who won back to back majors this year did nothing.

Kind of difficult to win when your best players are losing...

 

[Bab]

I love watching the Ryder Cup, but the amount of attention the captains recieve is ridiculous. There's very little they can actually do to influence the results, whether a team wins or loses should be based on the performance of the players involved. The media obviously doesn't feel this way, and unfortunately Faldo, who the European media already loathes, felt the brunt of the loss.