Ryder Cup: Influence of team leaders critical to success for Europe, says Laura Davies
Last Updated: 27/09/18 10:08am
Dame Laura Davies is a welcome addition to the Sky Sports commentary team for this week's Ryder Cup, and who better to discuss the role of the 'team leaders' among the European players at Le Golf National…
Normally, the unofficial "team leader" is the one who steps up and wants to go out first, lead the team out and get that first blue on the board. But the senior players also have a big role to play off the course.
It's essential for the rookies, in particular, to be able to go to the senior players for advice and encouragement. I was always happy to be that "go to" person during the Solheim Cup, and we had the likes of Helen Alfredsson and Lotte Neumann who were also great dealing with the less experienced members of the team.
It's important for the youngsters to have someone to look up to, both on and off the course. And for the senior players, the dual role should come fairly naturally and that will be the case for many in the European team in Paris this week.
The likes of Justin Rose and Ian Poulter will again relish being a source of inspiration, and you also have Rory, Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia who possess a wealth of knowledge and experience in the contest.
But while they need to inspire the less experienced, they also need to retain the focus on their own games and lead by example on the course.
There have been many who have thrived on this, most notably Colin Montgomerie and Ian, whose Ryder Cup exploits have been the heartbeat of many a European win.
There's no question that Ian will be a leader in the team room this week and he will get the crowds going when he gets out on that course. You need characters like that in the team, and he will be in his element.
It was nice to hear Rory McIlroy say in his press conference he was happy to be a team leader again this year. He said he felt like a senior player at Hazeltine two years ago, and his partnership with young rookie Thomas Pieters was one of the highlights of the week.
He's still only 29 years old, but this is already his fifth Ryder Cup and it's useful to have somebody that young for this year's rookies to seek advice from. Seniority is not just about being the oldest, it's about being one of the better, more established players and someone who has performed consistently on the big stage.
It's a similar situation to when we had Annika Sorenstam in our Solheim Cup team, when she was world No 1 or thereabouts for many of her appearances. She may not have been the most vocal in the team room, but she was always very encouraging and she inspired her team-mates mainly because of what she had achieved as a player.
The same can be said of Rory, and he can give his team-mates that little extra bit of spark before they go out which can make a significant difference. That will be amplified this week with the prospect of hitting the opening tee shot in front of 7,000 loud spectators!
It's not just the atmosphere, you also have to consider that it's not the easiest of first shots with water in play on the left and plenty of thick rough on the right. I'm not sure it's a tee shot I would relish, especially with that number of fans willing you on.
You've got be made of stern stuff to get the ball in position down the first, and more so in the foursomes when there's only the one ball between you. Hit a good one boys!
