Faldo lands a low blow

IN WHAT can only be construed as the first shot in the psychological battle of Valhalla, Nick Faldo has spoken about Paul Azinger's misgivings at having selected Raymond Floyd and Dave Stockton as his vice-captains for the Ryder Cup matches, beginning in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday.

Faldo reveals that Azinger has become uncertain about his key lieutenants. Drawing conclusions from private chats they've had of late, Faldo says that if Azinger had his way again he wouldn't pick the two veterans, both of them controversial Ryder Cup captains of the past.

"I think he (Azinger] already regrets – not sure if regret is the right word – but if he did it again, I don't think those guys have brought to his team what he wanted. He's a bit like me, he feels that you've got to make the decisions yourself. Maybe those captains are from an old era and this is a new era in the Ryder Cup. He thinks he has (gone for the wrong guys]."

Faldo mentioned, in enigmatic fashion, some remarks made by Jack Nicklaus in relation to the American vice-captains. "Yeah, Jack's made a few comments." When asked if Nicklaus was referring to the baggage that Floyd and Stockton may bring to the team, the Englishman replied: "Yeah, he (Azinger] is not sure about that one. Too many cooks."

That Faldo would seek to make life difficult for Azinger will come as no surprise to anybody in the game. The captains repeatedly talk of how their relationship – firmly buried in the ice-box since the day Faldo denied Azinger the 1987 Open championship at Muirfield and then upset him even more by delivering some less than consoling words in the aftermath – has warmed with time but there are regular examples of the coolness that remains between them, most recently the interview Azinger gave to the Mail on Sunday on the eve of this year's Masters. Last week Faldo was asked about Azinger calling him "a prick" that everyone hates in that piece. "We talked afterwards," said Faldo. "I might swing low once, somewhere, and then say, 'OK, we're even'… I don't know if I'm going to do anything tricky to get Zinger going this time. I've been moving the other way recently and believing I need my energy 100% focused on my team. Then I start thinking, 'Well, with Zinger it would be nice to throw him a curve ball'."

That curve ball is now well on its way to America. No doubt Azinger will smack it back in Faldo's direction in the coming days with rousing words of support for both Floyd and Stockton. In front of the cameras, and possibly not wanting to make an international incident out of it, he may attempt to make light of it – Faldo up to his old tricks again – but whether Faldo has invented or exaggerated this to suit his own ends or simply misunderstood whatever it was that Azinger supposedly said to him, the damage is already done. Faldo has attempted to drive a wedge between the American captain and his right-hand men. Fact. Privately, Azinger will surely be furious at Faldo. This is indeed the low blow that he spoke about in an interview published last Tuesday.

There's little doubt that Floyd and Stockton bring baggage to Valhalla. Whether it creates a problem in the American team or not we will only know come the weekend, but they are a pair of fiery characters, no question about it. Stockton's presence brings back grim memories of the War on the Shore at Kiawah Island in 1991, a mortifying experience that produced a never-to-be-forgotten quote from Azinger: "American pride is back. We went over and thumped the Iraqis and rallied to beat the Europeans. I am proud to be an American."

Stockton was the captain at Kiawah Island and the mastermind behind some of his team wearing battle fatigues on the golf course. Corey Pavin wore a Desert Storm combat cap. "Heck, the camouflage hats, that was my idea," smiled Stockton at the time, though he later admitted that things went too far on that front. Floyd, another jingoistic character, was captain at the Belfry in 1989. What he is remembered for in this part of the world is his crass introduction of his team as "the 12 greatest players in the world".

Faldo is convinced that his streamlined operation is the way to go, his brains trust consisting of just himself and Jose Maria Olazabal. It's a risky policy but one that Nicklaus would presumably endorse given that the great man's advice to Azinger when they spoke was to be a "hands off" captain. "Get out of the way and let them go play," was Nicklaus's take on things. Bernhard Langer, on the other hand, has criticised Faldo for having just one man in his backroom team. "I think he (Faldo] is making a mistake by not having somebody with each group," said the German last week. "Once you have four teams on the course, I know, as captain, that I would like to have one person with each group. I can't be everywhere and I need information."

This is Faldo's show, though, and he's going to run it as he pleases, as his bone-headed selection of Ian Poulter proved. Barring one good week at Birkdale, Poulter has played poorly this year. He has only two top 10 finishes, no victory, only one sub-68 round since January, no sub-70 round in his last nine attempts and two missed cuts in his last two tournaments. How that constitutes good Ryder Cup form is known only to Faldo. He's done an awful job in trying to justify Poulter's inclusion simply because beyond the, 'he's a mate' line, there is very little else to support the decision.

There is a view that Faldo couldn't stuff this up even if he tried, that Europe's team is so strong that it will win no matter what the captain gets up to. That brings a pressure, of course. Azinger is not expected to win, Faldo is. "I'd say the pressure is on us both, it's pretty even." Truth is, though, that the Americans would accept defeat a lot easier than Europe would. Here, a big hole would be dug and Faldo and Poulter would be shoved right in it.

Europe's captain is steadfast in his view that he only needs one sounding board and you're not even sure he's going to bounce all that much off Olazabal. "At the end of the day, crumbs, Olly and I had 18 Ryder Cups and five captains each, so you can draw on that experience. It's not over-complicated. We've got guys who are already playing really well, who are very passionate about it. The bottom line is get them on the golf course and let them go."

So is the captaincy deal overrated? "Probably. But, you know, somebody gets the honour of steering the bus for a while. It depends on what is needed. I'm looking forward to that opportunity of getting on with 12 different characters and seeing what they need. I've been talking to Tony Jacklin which was really good. He gave me some really good advice and we're on the same wavelength. I'm looking forward to getting in that team room."

He's looking forward to mixing it with the locals at Valhalla, too. By the sounds of it, they will be raucous and in the faces of the Europeans. Is he worried that things will get out of hand in NASCAR country? "It'll be a great atmosphere. They'll probably get 40,000 people in there and it's quite compact in areas but we're playing away, you know. It's going to be competitive. These guys put their game, their emotions, their soul on the line that week. It will be fierce, that's what we expect, that's what we want. But we all uphold this game that we play, simple as that. I think the crowd will respond to that as well.

"I remember in 1987 (at Muirfield Village, Ohio] we had 2,000 spectators to their 20,000 and our 2,000 out-sang their 20,000 and that's what made it so special for us. That's when the Olé, Olé, Olé thing started. I know our fans will look after us."

Faldo says he's impatient now. "I just want to get on with it. We'll have had 700 days of speculation by the time they put the tee peg in the ground on Friday morning. Then it all starts." Then the true heroes and villains will finally emerge.

• Read Bob Torrance's comprehensive guide to the Ryder Cup teams here (opens as a PDF)

BEST OF THE RYDER CUP

All the way from indifference (pre-1979) to disgust (1999) the Ryder Cup has provided a broad cross-section of human emotions since it first appeared in 1927, writes John Huggan. The biennial contest between Europe and the United States has given us the best and worst that the greatest game of all has to offer – and everything in between. On Page VI we look at some of the lowlights, but first, the highlights:

BEST SHOTS
• Seve Ballesteros at PGA National 1983 – A 3-wood from a fairway bunker finished on the edge of the 18th green around 230 yards away. Jack Nicklaus called it the greatest shot he had ever seen. That's good enough for me.

• Tony Jacklin at Royal Birkdale 1969 – One hole before Jack Nicklaus would sportingly concede his short putt for a halved match, Jacklin holed from 45 feet across the 17th green to square the game.

• Nick Faldo at Oak Hill 1995 – Just under 100 yards from the 18th in two, Faldo wedged to within four feet and holed the putt to beat Curtis Strange. Even a tearful Seve was impressed.

• Sam Torrance at the Belfry 1985 – Only a 9-iron to the 18th green and his opponent was already out of the hole, but hey, it's hard to hit even a simple shot with tears in your eyes.

• Bernhard Langer at Muirfield Village in 1987 – His partner, Sandy Lyle, had already hit his approach to only a few feet from the final hole, but Langer made sure of victory over Lanny Wadkins and Larry Nelson by "stiffing" his second shot. It was golfing theatre at its best.

BEST BITS
• The concession at Royal Birkdale 1969 – Jacklin had a two-foot putt to halve with Nicklaus and leave the overall result a draw. In one of golf's greatest acts of sportsmanship, Nicklaus picked up Jacklin's marker.

• Brian Barnes at Laurel Valley in 1975 – Twice in one day the big Anglo-Scot beat Nicklaus. And he did it with a pipe in his mouth over every putt.

• Darren Clarke at the K Club in 2006 – Only six weeks after the tragic death of his wife, Clarke played and won all three of his matches. The roar as he walked on to the first tee on the first day was both deafening and moving.

• Colin Montgomerie at the Belfry in 2002 – No-one has ever played better in a Ryder Cup. Never once was the Scot down in five matches.

• Non-playing captain in 1967, Ben Hogan introduced his side as "the 12 best golfers in the world." As GB&I's Peter Alliss said later, "we were 10 down before we started."

BEST TEAMS
• United States at Walton Heath 1981 – Of the 12 members, only Bruce Lietzke would not win at least one major championship.

• Europe at Muirfield Village in 1987 – Six major champions backed up by the likes of Howard Clark, Ken Brown and Sam Torrance.

BEST PARTNERSHIPS
• Walter Hagen and anyone – In the first five Ryder Cups, the "Haig" was unbeaten in foursomes alongside three different partners.

• Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal – Played 15, lost two. Says it all really

BEST PLAYERS
• Lanny Wadkins – he played fast and he played hard. Shame he isn't a nicer guy.

• Nick Faldo has the most points, but Seve Ballesteros had the most influence. So it's Seve by a nose.

BEST CAPTAINS
• Dave Marr at Walton Heath in 1981 – A great man in charge of a great team.

• Tony Jacklin transformed European fortunes in the 1980s – A no-brainer.


WORST OF THE RYDER CUP

BIGGEST CHOKES

Mark Calcavecchia at Kiawah Island 1991 – Four up with four holes to play against Colin Montgomerie, the 1989 Open champion contrived to lose all four to the Scot. Last seen throwing up on a nearby beach, "Calc" hasn't really been the same since.

• Peter Alliss at Wentworth 1953 – One down with one to play against Jim Turnesa, the young Alliss, representing Great Britain, duffed his chip and eventually took four from the edge of the final green to lose the match and the trophy. "I've had to live my whole life with the guilt of messing up that chip," he said recently.

• Fred Couples at the Belfry 1989 – All square with Christy O'Connor, Couples watched as the Irishman nailed his 2-iron approach to within four feet of the cup on the 18th, then all but shanked his own 9-iron to the green. It actually hit the top of the corporate hospitality tent.

• Jay Haas at Oak Hill 1995 – It was pathetic to watch. One down to Philip Walton, Haas could barely walk up the 18th, never mind hit a proper golf shot. After four hacks the American was still eight feet from the hole.

• Philip Walton at Oak Hill 1995 – It was pathetic to watch. One up on Jay Haas, the Irishman hacked, slashed and duffed his way to an ignominious bogey that was, amazingly, good enough to win the match.

LOW POINTS

• The 17th green at Brookline 1999 – Justin Leonard holed that putt and an awful lot of Americans stampeded on to the green before Jose Maria Olazabal was able to putt for a half.

• Eric Brown at Royal Birkdale 1969 – Non-playing captain of the GB&I squad, the churlish Scot instructed his players not to help look for their opponents' balls in the rough.

• Dave Hill and Ken Still at Royal Birkdale 1969 – A succession of petty rules disputes ended with American Still telling Scotland's Bernard Gallacher, "you can have the hole and the goddam cup!"

• Kiawah Island 1991 – Early morning calls to European rooms, commando-style hats, dubious injuries and American balls being thrown back into play. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

• Ken Brown and Mark James at the Greenbrier 1979 – Both behaved like spoiled schoolboys. And both were lucky their European team-mate Brian Barnes didn't get a hold of them to skelp their backsides.

WORST TEAMS

• United States at the K Club 2006 – Good luck naming more than six of them. And a prize if you get both Brett Wetterich and Vaughn Taylor.

• Europe at Walton Heath 1981 – In their finite wisdom, the home selectors left both Seve Ballesteros and Tony Jacklin out of a team containing Des Smyth and Eamonn Darcy. Quite.

WORST PARTNERSHIPS

• Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at Oakland Hills 2004 – What was US captain Hal Sutton thinking? Was Hal Sutton thinking? Can Hal Sutton think?

• Nick Faldo and David Gilford at Kiawah Island 1991 – The next word Faldo says to his partner will be the first. Silently, they lost 7&6.

WORST PLAYERS

• Almost any member of the hapless 2006 US team qualifies, but it has to be Brett Wetterich. He certainly didn't take much beating.

• John Garner made two GB&I teams in the early 1970s – he was deemed good enough to play a total of one match, which he lost.

WORST CAPTAINS

• Hal Sutton at Oakland Hills in 2004 – See worst partnerships.

• Brian Huggett at Royal Lytham in 1977 – Publicly alienating perhaps the best player in the side, Tony Jacklin, has to make the wee Welshman the worst ever.