Faldo: went it alone

I would not criticise Nick for his team selections, after all, he dropped Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia on Saturday morning, and then won the foursomes. He did what he thought was right at the time, and at the end of it all, Europe were beaten by glorious golf from an inspired American side. End of story.

Ewen Murray
Quotes of the week

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With the dust now settled after the epic that was Valhalla, we have all had time to reflect on the 37th Ryder Cup.

Derek Field reckoned I had the best job in the world. Derek, if you had seen me shuffling through Heathrow's Terminal Three last Monday at midnight, you may have chosen different words. I looked like Boo Weekley's imaginary horse - ghost-like!

I thank you for all those who said they enjoyed the coverage from Louisville. Stuart Rankin, Midgeley Taylor and Anthony Taylor sat glued for the duration, and Mark Armstrong and Mike Robinson did the same.

Rob Brigman thought Boo meeting Wayne Riley would be "television gold". Trevor Hawkins thought the match was wonderful entertainment, and Simon Rourke, Lee Graves, Tony Mundane, Ian Smith, Keiran L and Matt Rose said roll on Celtic Manor in two years' time.

Some of you - Leonard Martin, Fergal Hickey, Darren Crabb, John Gardner and Liam McDougal - agreed with my resume of the event, while Rueben Keogh, Tony Norstrom, Andrew Norrby and Tony Parsons wrote beautifully on the majority of subjects surrounding last week.

Alan Houston was one of many disappointed in the performances of Westwood, Garcia and Harrington, the former two strangely enough, lost play offs at the weekend. Jay Paul and Hamish Putillo were among those who said we should take it on the chin and recognise that Azinger's twelve were simply better than our European side.

Hugh Gilloley said I was not forthright in my words especially after my rant at Monty, and Hugh agreed with David Shaylor, Richie Walsh and Julian Cordner, that Nick Faldo's speeches left a lot to be desired, more on that later.

Colin Duggan said I have to be diplomatic in my comments, which given the last couple of months Colin, I would have to disagree, although I understand exactly what you were saying and you are not all wrong.

Our hero, Ian Poulter received huge amounts of support and for that I am delighted. Ian will have enjoyed reading the thoughts of J Farrar, Chris Dunn, Peter Coley, and Kevin R, who was thrilled at "Ian's dazzling golf and mental toughness"

John Dunn was with those who thought the behaviour of the Americans was poor, but John, I would say they just enjoyed home territory and like their players, they wanted that cup back badly. At the end of the day, their stunning golf got the job done for them

Telling everyone after the event and with the benefit of hindsight is never all that attractive.

Brilliance

Teri W managed it when she asked if I enjoyed humble pie. Teri, 97 per cent of our poll was against Ian Poulter receiving a wild card ahead of others. I was one of these 97 per cent. I did not think his form merited a pick, so I have not changed my tune.

However, 100 per cent of us marvelled at the way Ian handled the situation and produced what can only be described as golfing brilliance at Valhalla. Had he shown that form throughout a season in which he played in all of the major tournaments, he would not have needed a wild card.

With his excellence in Kentucky, Ian has built a sound foundation on which he can take his career to another level. Ian said second to Tiger in the world rankings is achievable, on his showing stateside, he has a chance and judging by our readers comments, they would love to see him do it.

The main topic was Faldo's leadership, or lack of it. Again, hindsight is a wonderful aid. If Nick had won the Cup for Europe, we all would have said, what a clever singles selection and lets be fair, it got quite close mid-Sunday afternoon.

I would not criticise Nick for his team selections, after all, he dropped Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia on Saturday morning, and then won the foursomes. He has been there for 20 years as a player, under several captains and I'm sure gleaned information from them. He did what he thought was right at the time, and at the end of it all, Europe were beaten by glorious golf from an inspired American side. End of story.

I was however amazed that Nick wanted to "go it alone" and make all of the decisions himself. None of the previous captains chose that route and that decision proved to be his nemesis.

I talked to Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam before their term of captaincy and to put it crudely, they were "sh***ing themselves" about the fact they had to speak at the opening and closing ceremonies. No shame in that, they are professional golfers, not professional speakers.

Both of them went in search of help from experts in that field and both of them made a fine job of it when the time came. Having heard Nick's speeches again this week, they were less than average.

Honour

You see, that is what most of the captaincy is about, organising, seeing that everything is in place and your men are happy and contented and ready to perform. You are the figurehead of the European side and you are there to present that side over the week whether it is at home or away.

The captain's position is one of honour and you have to do that job and let the players do theirs. The players are the ones who win or lose the Ryder Cup, not the captain. The pairings virtually pick themselves and the order of the singles is dependent on the state of play on Saturday night.

The captain then picks the order that suits, whether they are ahead, or doing the chasing. My guess is that the superb Jose Maria Olazabal would have sent them out on Sunday in a very different order. We will never know if that is true, or whether it would have made a difference.

I'm with the gang that wrote in saying, here's to Celtic Manor. If we play the best golf, then the Ryder Cup will be back in European hands. Who will be the captain in 2010? Let the memory of this one grow old before we discuss that subject.

The Sky Sports team this week head to the Kingdom of Fife for a celebration of Links golf. Along with the "Old Lady" at St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie are on show. Three of our finest seaside courses will test the very best and because

Our handicapping system allows the best to play with the rest, they can rub shoulders with the pros. They come from stage and screen, from the sporting world and some are just golfing fanatics wanting to experience, "their Major" - we can't blame them for that.

The weather looks as if it will be a little rough, somehow that will only add to the spectacle. We look forward to your company over the four days