Darren Clarke rejects comments on weakness of Ryder Cup team
By Keith Jackson at Hazeltine
Last Updated: 28/09/16 8:13am
Darren Clarke has hit back at suggestions that his European Ryder Cup team will struggle to compete with the strength of the US side at Hazeltine National.
Two-time major champion Johnny Miller described Europe as "on paper, the worst team they've had in many years", although he did not agree with Davis Love labelling his side as "the best maybe ever assembled".
But Miller and a number of other American pundits are unanimous in their verdicts that the US are by far the stronger side. Clarke insisted he was delighted with the strength and experience of his squad despite having six rookies.
Asked if he would use the comments from the likes of Miller as a motivating factor, Clarke said: "I don't need to. The guys have all seen everything that's been said. But in terms of that, we have the Masters champion, we have The Open champion, we have the Olympic champion and we have the FedEx champion.
"You combine that with all the experience and with all of the rest of the team and the way those guys have played, I don't really need to respond to that. I think I've got full confidence in our team.
"We are always the underdogs, aren't we? We're always not supposed to win. But they have been doing okay, so you know, the guys are all here and they are very excited and keen to play.
"The odds frequently are against Europe, and so it's nothing different. So I'm certainly not worried about it and I'm just looking forward to the whole thing kicking off and starting on Friday morning."
Shortly after Clarke's press conference ended, Love took the stage and insisted his lofty description of the US team had been misconstrued.
The 52-year-old admitted his comments, made during a phone-in show on the Golf Channel last week, had "raised eyebrows" even in his own team room, but he was determined to explain what he actually meant.
He said: "A guy from Canada called in and said 'I'm supporting the US team, I just think they need a little bit more swagger when they go out and play' and I said 'I agree with you, we've got to get these guys going'.
"Then Matt Adams (the host) was asking me 'What are you going to tell your team?' and I said I would tell my team they're the best team ever assembled.
"So the question wasn't 'How do you rank this team in history?'. It was 'What are you going to tell your team to fire them up?' So I would still tell them the same thing: 'You're a great team, let's go out there and have some fun, play your game, don't get in your own way'.
"I don't think I'm going to tell you what I'm going to tell them but if I was a football coach or a motivational coach I'd tell my team that they are very good and to go play their best. It's just unfortunate that, you know, in that nice conversation, that it got misconstrued."
Clarke, meanwhile, is also looking forward to welcoming rugby legend Paul O'Connell to the team room, with the former Ireland and British and Irish Lions star set to give a motivational address to the squad.
He added: "Part of my whole thought process for this week is shoulder to shoulder, one team, one unit, and as you know, shoulder to shoulder with the rugby background that I have, as well, it resonated with me. It was something that I pursued through my captaincy.
"There's no finer an example of shoulder to shoulder than Paul O'Connell. He has legendary status both at home and in terms of leading the British Lions who obviously always play away from home. So with us being away from home, he was my option and choice to come and address the team.
"I'm very excited to hear what he has to say and the way that he's going to put his thoughts across. We have spoken at length about what my whole thought process was, about my thinking for the team, and a lot of my imagery is connected with shoulder to shoulder, and Paul is aware of that.
"He's seen that. He's more than keen to get there and address the guys. From everybody that I've spoken to who have heard Paul address teams, he is seriously inspirational. So I feel very fortunate and privileged that he's there to join us."
