Ryder Cup 2014: Woosnam wary of too many vice-captains
Last Updated: 12/09/14 1:38pm
Ian Woosnam has expressed his surprise at Paul McGinley's decision to appoint five assistant captains for the Ryder Cup later this month.
European skipper McGinley had already confirmed Sam Torrance and Des Smyth as vice-captains during the summer, and he then added Jose Maria Olazabal, Padraig Harrington and Miguel-Angel Jimenez to his backroom staff last week.
It is traditional for a captain to have no more than four assistants during a Ryder Cup, and 2006 skipper Woosnam feels McGinley's decision to name five could be viewed as a sign of weakness.
"I honestly thought he was going to go for four vice-captains," said Woosnam, who guided Europe to a stunning nine-point crushing of the United States at the K Club eight years ago.
"It took me a little bit by surprise when he went for five. I guess he's trying to get a little bit of advice from everybody but sometimes you can get too much advice. At the end of the day he's the one who has got to make the decisions.
"Is it a sign of weakness having that many? It does seem a lot. Maybe he's trying to get as much experience as he possibly can, I don't really know.
"He might need a bigger team room, he might as well have 12 vice-captains, one for each player."
But Woosnam also played down the comparisons of McGinley's playing record with his illustrious counterpart Tom Watson, insisting the Irishman is a shrewd choice as European captain.
McGinley has won only four European Tour titles, while Watson has collected 71 worldwide professional victories including eight major championships.
"Paul may have only won four tournaments but I think he's going to be well respected by his players. He's very professional," added Woosnam.
"If you put it in football terms, you don't always have to be the best player to be the best captain. Not at all."
Europe will go into the Gleneagles contest with four of the top five players in the world rankings in Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose, but Woosnam is urging McGinley's side to be wary of complacency.
Watson's team has been depleted with the likes of Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson unavailable, but Woosnam said: "The American team is very well balanced and with Tom running that team, he's not going to take any nonsense.
"If Tom Watson talks, you listen - if you don't there must be something wrong with you. He doesn't like losing, he's got a great mind, he's a very intelligent guy and he'll be working it all out. This is not going to be the walkover everyone thinks it's going to be.
"Tom's going to have more authority in that team room. He's going to say, 'I'm the captain and you've got to do what I say. All the players will have respect for him as captain. He's going to demand respect."
Woosnam believes fellow Welshman Jamie Donaldson will prove a huge asset to Europe on his Ryder Cup debut, insisting his solid all-round game is ideally suited to match play golf.
"It's fantastic to have another Welshman in the team," added Woosnam. "Jamie's got a great putting stroke, he's got a lot of bottle and I think he's going to be a tremendous addition.
"He could play with anyone in the team and I can't see any faults in his game really. I don't know Jamie very well but I played with him three or four years ago in an event in Barbados.
"I didn't see him as a potential Ryder Cup player back then but he's come on in leaps and bounds and is now a really solid player."
