Nick Faldo pondering his losing the Ryder Cup in
2008.
There are some who believe that Ryder Cup performance counts for little when
assessing a professional golfer’s life-time achievements, arguing that “majors
won” is the only real criteria. Others, notably major winners themselves,
contend that certain Ryder Cup deeds are at least as important, if not more so.
One golfer, whose achievements in both categories are exceptional, should, one
would think, enjoy a reputation that is bullet-proof. But in Nick Faldo’s case,
that is far from true.
Sir Nick Faldo MBE, World Golf Hall of Fame, winner of 41
professional tournaments – including three Masters and three Open Championships
– also accumulated 25 Ryder Cup points; more than any other player in Ryder Cup
history. Surely such a record should guarantee a serene time in retirement,
basking in wondrous glory at one’s scale of accomplishment. And that should
indeed have been the case, but two happenstances have combined such that Faldo’s
reputation is now at risk, and set to sink even lower in the months ahead.
The first of these two events was his much maligned captaincy
of the losing European Ryder Cup Team in 2008. The second was his mouth, and the
words that came out of it, whilst covering the just completed Ryder Cup for
American Television.
To appreciate just how outrageous Faldo’s comments were, some
recap of the 2008 Ryder Cup is in order. Team USA won the tie 16.5 – 11.5 to end
a streak of three successive wins for Team Europe. This is the only time the US
has won the event since the infamous “Battle of Brookline” in 1999. In short,
with Team Europe dominating this event in the six years either side of their
loss in 2008, European reference to Faldo’s foibles and other captaincy-related
issues, concerning that lone loss, have become common place.
At the start of the tie, Faldo’s relationship with the media
was changeable and became hostile as he was found out time and again. With
actions ranging from self-serving to just plain dumb, Faldo came under pressure
from the outset. Photographers took revealing pictures of him holding a list of
player’s initials – obviously outlining future partnerships – during practise
rounds. Shortly after, his opening speech attracted much criticism for its
egocentricity, focusing as it did upon himself and his family. His attempts at
humour also fell flat when introducing Graeme McDowell; “Where do you come from
again, Ireland or Northern Ireland?”
This then was the precursor to the tactical errors that
followed. There were many, but two of the most glaring were the decision to
stand down his most successful Ryder Cup pairing of Lee Westward and Sergio
Garcia on the Saturday. This was followed by his decision to play a
“bottom-heavy” line-up in the singles the following day. It is remembered that
USA entered the final day with a 2-point lead. With the US loading their team
from the top, they secured the five points needed for victory by the eighth
match, rendering the efforts of Europe’s most in-form players – McDowell,
Poulter, Westwood and Harrington – irrelevant.
The British press climbed into Faldo’s lack of leadership, PR
skills and graciousness. Many noted his continued refusal to accept
responsibility for the “calamitous loss” as evidence of his “me-first” attitude
to life.
Now advance to the first day of the just completed Ryder Cup;
Garcia had scarcely lost his opening fourball match on the first morning. Faldo,
in his capacity as commentator for American network NBC, accused Garcia of
letting him down six years ago in his team’s 16.5 – 11.5 loss to Team USA. Faldo
on Garcia’s 2008 performance: “He was useless.” He went on to say Garcia had a
bad attitude during an event where he accumulated only one point from four
outings. This and other patronizing comments were made as the morning session
came to a close with USA leading 2.5 – 1.5. Such undermining of Team Europe was
inexcusable, as was its timing. To say Team Europe was miffed would be an
understatement of some proportion.
After halving his Friday afternoon match with Rory McIlroy
against Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker, Garcia laughed off Faldo’s comments.
“I guess he doesn’t feel European,” Garcia said. “That’s the
only thing I can think of. You know, there’s a lot of things I could say about
Nick Faldo, but I’m not going to put myself down to his level.”
Graeme McDowell, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 2008,
recalled when Garcia and Westwood were dropped by Faldo during that tie.
“You’ve got one of the best Ryder Cup pairings of all time
being sat down on a Saturday of a Ryder Cup that we go on to lose,” he said.
“I’d say Sergio was fairly useless that afternoon, yeah, because he wasn’t able
to play. So, yeah, I agree.”
A few days after the event, Faldo, when pushed by media,
refused to apologise for his astonishing attack. Instead he branded Garcia as
“lousy” after admitting calling him useless had been too harsh. Faldo, in later
commentary, attempted to downplay his comments, but the damage had been done.
One of Faldo’s better moments in his role as Captain was to
select Ian Poulter as a wildcard pick in 2008. He was to become the top points
scorer – of either team. Poulter was also part of the current team which Faldo
saw fit to undermine. In his newly-published book ‘No Limits; My Autobiography’,
Poulter does not hold back.
“The European Team was furious with Faldo and lost a lot of
respect for him. Sergio puts a brave face on it but the rest of the guys are
fuming,” Poulter writes. “I’m shocked that he has said it. It’s highly
disrespectful. It’s a cheap shot and it’s the worst possible timing. It makes me
laugh. Faldo is talking about someone being useless at the 2008 Ryder Cup.
That’s the Ryder Cup where he was captain. That’s the Ryder Cup where the Europe
team suffered a heavy defeat.
“And he was captain. So who’s useless? Faldo might need to
have a little look in the mirror. I have always got on great with Faldo in the
past and I have a great deal of respect for everything he has achieved but this
feels like sour grapes. It feels like a guy who is still bitter that he lost in
2008.
“Faldo has lost a lot of respect from players because of what
he said. There were plenty of things a lot of the players were unhappy with at
Valhalla but none of us criticised him. He may find that begins to change now.”
For the record, Faldo accumulated 25 points for Team Europe
from 11 Ryder Cup appearances giving him a win percentage of 54.35%. Garcia, by
comparison, has accrued 20.5 points from seven Ryder Cups, giving him a win
percentage of 64.06%. When measuring European players who have amassed 20 points
or more, Sergio Garcia’s win percentage is the third best of all time.
Sir Nick Faldo; the owner of the worst captaincy record for
Team Europe in recent memory, still does not accept his own lack of leadership
was the major reason for that loss. Rather, he continues to apportion blame
elsewhere – and won’t let a cardinal rule concerning team bonding stand in the
way. Hubris indeed.
Golfnutter
