Faldo: out-thought and outclassed
Mark Roe reflects on the ways in which Nick Faldo got things wrong, while Paul Azinger got it very right. < Back to Story
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Comments (38)
Bren Keeley says...
Did Faldo Captain the team for his own personal gain or for the Euopean team ?? Nick has never been a team player ! he is a very head strong "It's my way or the highway" character. The decision to select him was questioned way back when and now we can see why.
Posted 10:18 25th September 2008
Scott Vance says...
I agree with the article to a certain extent in that Faldo is not a people person and watching him try to humour the crowd and reporters made me cringe. You could clearly see that he had no bond with the players. However, the top europeans didn't perform and that's why Europe lost. Harry, Garcia and Westy were poor throughout and it was left to the rookies to shine. Poults and G Mac (who doesn't get much of a mention but holed clutch put after clutch put while playing with poulter on the back nine in the four balls) were brillant together and Rose was a model of calmness and consistency. Europe needs a captain like Woosie in two years time, who can create a bond among the players. They need a captain with that human quality and not one trying to be.
Posted 08:29 25th September 2008
Anthony Babiolakis says...
The team with the best captain in almost every sport, usually wins. Just have a look: Woosnam, Torrance, Bobby Moore, Martin Johnson, Steve Waugh, Clive Lloyd, the list is endless. Faldo stuffed up, as anyone who knows anything about the team role a captain plays can tell you. As soon as Faldo, a very strong individual, and not a team player, was chosen as captain, you just knew Europe would struggle. Faldo must accept part of the blame for the loss, but so too must the people who elected him captain.
Posted 23:46 24th September 2008
Stevie Crosby says...
As captain I agree Faldo should take the blame - however he wasn,'t helped by some of the senior players whom he was relying on - Harrington coming out on the day before it started saying he was very tired, Garcia having played woefully on day one making the excuse of sore feet and Westwood summed it all up by his performance against arguably the worst player on show, Curtis.
Posted 22:24 24th September 2008
Nick Petrou says...
I can't understand why Nick Faldo could not see who was playing good, and who was playing bad, in his own team. 9-7 down going into the singles, put Poulter out first, Rose second. they were on fire, they was'nt going to lose to anybody. 9-9 everyone wake's up on our side, everyone starts shaking on thier side, game on, the rest of the order of play dos'nt matter, all the talk of not having rookies at the back, Rookies? Ryder Cup! Rookies, come on, I'm a rookie Faldo is not a team player, never has been, and it shows
Posted 21:48 24th September 2008
Mark Davidson says...
G8 article as usual Mark, unfortunately I think Europe were just beaten by a better side, USA made all the telling putts. Just like most Ryder Cup's their are turning points in matches( i.e. Rose/Poulter losing 18th on the 1st morning and more significantly Stricker's magnificent up and down on the 18th in 4balls) . I agree with your comment on the singles, a little Ben Crenshaw tactic was needed on the last day, get the strength up front because we needed blue on the board early, I must congratulate Rose,Karllson and McDowell for their performances, they were slightly overshadowed by the English lionheart Mr Poulter, only one way to answer unfair critisism and he did just that and more. Another strange Cup for Paddy, 1 point in 2 Cup's, he did look totally spent, he is a true champion and will be back. I think Boo's exit from the 1st tee on the final day was the funniest thing I have seen on a golf course for years. I hope he makes the next team a true character and boy can he play golf, I did feel for Olly Wilson, out in 32 and 4 down, you just couldn't live with those figures. My congratulations go to both teams for making it another don't miss event, I haven't missed a shot since the 1st Sky Ryder Cup in 1995, I take holidays to watch it on TV. It is without doubt the greatest sporting event to be televised and Sky's coverage is awesome. I can't wait for Celtic Manor, I just hope Sandy Lyle is asked to Captain after all he was our 1st Masters champion, a fitting end to his career, Olazabal to Captain in America. Carry on the G8 work you do on Sky, I do like your honest observations.
Posted 21:13 24th September 2008
Phil Moss says...
As someboy who comes from the same county as Nick Faldo,i have for many years tried to warm to him,but despite his brillance at the game ,i can't.He is not a team player,and is awful with the media ,he was the wrong choice for captain
Posted 21:06 24th September 2008
Patrick Larkin says...
the europeans came into the event confident that they had already won, they were simply outclassed by the americans, to many egos in the european team, time to dump the old boys of whinging westwood and co, the pga tour players are streets ahead of the european tour players, thats why the european tour will always be the second tour, well done usa, grow up europe and admit you were out played.
Posted 19:57 24th September 2008
Guy Foster says...
Although a spectacular event and a great competition I could not help feel that the coverage was heavily biased towards the USA. On most occssions on the last day in particular the Red shirts of the USA team were shown making their shots, cutting carefully to mundane pictures of the crowd to avoid showing too much of the Europeans no doubt, followed by more shots of the USA. As a fan of golf I wanted to see how both teams performed off the tee, on the fairway and on the putting green... but the coverage was so biased I was left feeling v frustrated..... Lets hope the balance is more even next time.... Great match
Posted 19:23 24th September 2008
David Lorimer says...
You speak a lot of sense Mark. Although I was never at ease with Faldo as captain, and I am not convinced he was a good captain I do think it is harsh to lay all the blame at his door. I think the team probably suffered from not having a couple of seasoned veterans like Monty, Clarke, Olazabal qualifying automatically for the team. Westy, Garcia and Harrington were perceived as the new leaders and I feel they were not as comfortable in that role. In saying that it was inevitable Garcia and Westy would have one tough ryder cup before they are finished. In the end 16.5 to 11.5 looks like a trouncing and the final day order has came in for some criticism but had Garcia got a half with Kim (I would have fancied himfor at least that), Westwood to have beaten Curtis (he was leading until near the end) then it would have came down to the last match and Harrington.(He was +5 for 16 Holes) would normally take care of Campbell. If that had panned out the match would have been halved and perhaps Faldo would have been hailed as a genius. Clearly he is not. I think in the end the Americans played great , putted better . I am not sure Faldo was the reason we lost, I think we were just marginally outplayed. I am sure we will take care of them again in 2 years time.
Posted 17:46 24th September 2008
Jamie Pickersgill says...
I think Mark Roe's criticism is a bit unfair on Faldo, although ass a former player of the tour circuit he probably knows more than we do. But at the end of the day Europe 3 leading players and arguably the best 3 players in the world behind Tiger, Harrington, Garcia & Westwood all performed poorly & I can't believe that is because of Faldo. In the last 3 ryder cups that Europe have won people have always said Tiger, Mickelson, Furyk etc have'nt performed and thats why the Americans lost, well same applies this time around. Also I want to point out that Harrington actually said that he liked going out as the last man, compared to monty who 'puffed his chest' when he was the lead man for Europe. The American team was fabulous and I've won lots of cash of my mates because I've said all along they would win. Yes there team was inexperienced but anyone who has been following the PGA tour will know how talented players like Kim,Weekley,Holmes & Mahan (beautiful golf swing) are. As for the crowds I'm sick of reading about their disgraceful behaviour i watched the entire coverage over the three days and saw nothing & Boo Weekley was a joy to watch, his character is great and his golf was sublime. Well done Zinger and team USA.
Posted 17:42 24th September 2008
Scott Horton says...
why is it that not one person has mentioned justin rose who was one of the top players along side ian pouter yet not mention lets face it that these players play all year round and and know what they are supposed to do whether they are led by nick faldo or just play there game as they do in each tourmament ,they know what is required of them, they were beaten by better golfers on the day its just as simple as that . yes nick made the decisions on who will go out there but its up to the individual the work out there gameplan for each match where they are with a partner or not. nick has simply underestimated how strong these players are in a ryder cup as he has tried to bring in youth and this simply hasnt worked the prime example is in justin leonard who is a good ryder cup player but it simply middle of the road all year round
Posted 15:19 24th September 2008
Ian Stilgoe says...
I agree to a certain point, but surely you can't pinpoint all the blame on Faldo, some of the European players were simply not upto the challenge (Harrington, Garcia etc...) and when you consider the proven quality of these players they simply did not perform to their individual capabilities. Regardless of the order of the singles we should of done better....having said that I thoroughly enjoyed watching the TV coverage and already looking forward to Celtic Manor with Woosie at the helm....!
Posted 14:47 24th September 2008
Hayden Shaw says...
I dont think it makes much difference at all who is captain like the players have said. If they had played better they would have won. He doesn't coach them or swing for them. It is a joke this criticism of Faldo in my opinion. Everyone bagged him for picking Poulter and who was the best player of the weekend? I do not recall any praise of Faldo for picking Poulter. Niall you have no idea what would have happened had there been a different captain. They could ahve lost 28 nil. You just don't know. It all falls on the players. 100% of it.
Posted 14:44 24th September 2008
John Rice says...
Spot on article Mark, I found myself repeatedly nodding while reading it! I thought Faldo was cringe worthy everytime he was near a camera and he is simply not a "team" type of guy, ive met him and everything seems forced and he is so used to thinking of himself that he was a terrible choice to lead... Zinger really did a wonderful job and against lesser a captain i think Europe would of won. I would of put Poulter out first against Kim, especially with the shoulder barging incident, Poulter played fantastic golf and i love to see that passion, there is not enough characters in golf but him and Weekley were superb... all in all i loved every minute and the coverage was first class Sky and in HD it looked stunning... my choice for 2010 as captain would be Sam Torrance a proper team player and a fantastic golf brain. cheers
Posted 14:19 24th September 2008
Craig Noble says...
this was a fantastic event, and with HD coverage it gave an extra quality to the broadcast. thanks sky. The fact we lost to the yanks hurts like mad. Faldo was a great player, possibly one of the best this country has produced, but to captain Europe was always going to be a disaster. He is not a team player, and his attitiude to the whole event was poor, it was more about him than his team. The only thing he brought to the Ryder cup 2008 was Ian Poulter. Well done Ian.
Posted 13:27 24th September 2008
Jason Corcoran says...
very well scripted peice, and from an irish point of view i missed darren clarke , but i would not be too hasty to blame the captain nick faldo , i thought yes he was very amatuerish in his leadership and yes a bad choice from the start, but whom put himther to start with ,when it boils down to it if the players do not perform collectively and pull together , then no team in any sport will win, if you break the tournament down to each game , there were very few good european games with the exception of poulter in the singles , for me he is one of my favourites and deserves alot more praise than he gets regards jason
Posted 13:13 24th September 2008
Niall Hanneffy says...
Good article Mark, I think you've got it spot on. A lot of people are coming out and defending Faldo, but he simply got it wrong. Yes the americans playing outstanding but had he been even a half decent captain it would have been an awful lot closer and we could have been looking at maybe an amazing finish heading up the 18th fairway.
Posted 13:10 24th September 2008