Gleneagles, United Kingdom: Paul Azinger has urged the PGA of America to overhaul its captain selection process as Phil Mickelson came under intense criticism for his “one-man mutiny” on Tom Watson.
Mickelson was accused by Sir Nick Faldo of “throwing his captain under a bus” by questioning Watson’s style of leadership in the immediate aftermath of Europe’s 16.5-11.5 victory at Gleneagles on Sunday. It was the United States team’s sixth defeat in seven matches, with Azinger remaining their only winning captain this century.
With Watson sat a few places along in the media centre, Mickelson said he was baffled why the Americans had “strayed” from the “winning formula” used in Kentucky in 2008, saying the players had been “invested in the process” and Azinger had “a real game plan”.
Mickelson revealed that the players at Gleneagles were not involved in any of the decisions. One of these was Mickelson being stood down for both sessions on Saturday.
Watson informed the press that night that Mickelson pleaded to play after being told he would miss the afternoon foursomes and had later texted his captain. Both times Watson turned Mickelson down.
After the US lost the session 3.5-0.5, falling back into a 10-6 deficit, it is understood that the team meeting was fractious. It has been suggested that Mickelson spoke to the team without Watson’s consent.
Despite beating Stephen Gallacher in the singles, Mickelson was clearly upset at being on his eighth losing team in 10 appearances and chose to call out Watson publicly. Mickelson told a Golf Channel journalist that he was not the only team member who felt that way and there were mutterings on the range concerning Watson’s “school-masterly” approach.
On leaving Perthshire on Monday, Watson tried to play down the affair. “The issue between Phil and myself is basically a difference of opinion,” Watson said. “That’s the controversy.”
The reaction was more vitriolic in the US, with Brandel Chamblee, the former pro turned analyst, lambasting Mickelson for staging a “one-man mutiny” and “corrupting the experience of the Ryder Cup”.
“If you are looking for a reason why the United States continues to lose, you just saw it, you saw it in one man — Phil Mickelson,” Chamblee added.
For his part, Azinger would not condone or denounce Mickelson’s actions. “He’s just frustrated by not winning,” Azinger told the Golf Channel. “It came to a head.”
However, he was willing to criticise Watson indirectly, as well as the two previous captains, Corey Pavin and Davis Love. “The responsibility, in the end, is up to the player, but knowing your player, knowing how to communicate with your player, knowing what worked in the past, and not ignoring what worked in the past, blatantly ignoring what works and what has worked,” Azinger said.
As far as the chances of Azinger returning as captain for the match at Hazeltine in 2016, he said: “I’m not going to rule anything out.”
But, at the very least, he wants to assist in a reform. “It is time for the PGA of America to recognise the great disconnect and formulate the same business model for selecting a captain as it does for selecting its president and officers,” Azinger said.
“The PGA of America has officers that move up the ranks, getting sage advice along the way. Their business model is exactly the same as what Europe uses in selecting a captain.”
Azinger was referring to the so-called “Europe boot-room”, which sees candidates earn experience as vice-captains before graduating to the hot-seat. Only two of the last 10 US captains were previously assistants.
“We have lone-wolf captains,” Azinger said. “So the US players have to adjust to a completely unique system to the previous two years.”
However, if the comments of Ted Bishop, the PGA of America president, are anything to go by, then Azinger and all those who believe the US system requires fixing will remain disenchanted. “It was disappointing to hear some of the things said in the press conference,” Bishop said. “We were a team all week. There is no set winning formula, except the players playing better on the golf course.”
— The Daily Telegraph
