Before I start, let me list my 3 favorite golfers of all
time:
1. Arnold Palmer
2. Tom Watson
3. Phil Mickelson
The march of time has a lot to do with the above list. By the mid 70s, even I had to concede that
Arnie's days of competing for major championships were over. I briefly latched
on to Johnny Miller but the talented Tommie and his "go after it"
style, plus his ability to win tournaments, made him the obvious choice to take
over for Arnie in my mind and heart. Sadly, by the early 90s, I realized that
Watson's game, so exemplary from tee to green, had been crippled by one of the
worst cases of the yips ever seen in a world class golfer. I firmly believe Tom would have won 10 or
more majors if his ability to make short putts had not become so compromised
(that 1987 US Open at Olympic was excruciatingly painful for a Watson fan;
probably painful for Watson too).
Fortunately, another Arnie-like golfer was making waves on the tour and
thus began my Mickelson obsession (talk about painful; how many majors did he nearly win before, and after,
2004?).
There's no need to rehash what happened at the 2014 Ryder
Cup. Suffice it to say there was a
major clash between the number 2 and 3 golfers above. As a huge fan of both, it
hurts to see this happen. I'm not going
to opine on right and wrong, although I thought what Phil said at the Sunday
press conference was not the way to go about it.
So Watson gave a "tough love" speech on Saturday
night. Told them they need to compete
like Reed and Speith were. (mighta helped)
Said they "stink at foursomes". Let's see.... they lost the foursomes by 7-1. Yeah, I'd say they stunk at foursomes. Told
them they needed to show some heart and some guts on Sunday (paraphrasing
here). Yeah, probably did. Treated a
gift they presented him with disdain, saying he only wanted the Ryder Cup
(probably not a great move - should've shown some appreciation). This was generally acknowledged to be
treatment bordering on cruelty to the poor US golfers.
But let's go back 21 years to the PGA National Club where
the 1983 Ryder Cup was played. After the four ball and foursomes matches were
complete, the US and Europe were tied at 8-8.
That night, captain Jack Nicklaus gave the team a tough guy speech, telling
them to show him some balls the next day.
He actually said brass instead of balls but we all know what he
meant. The next day his boys did just
that (sort of) and won the cup by a score of 14.5 to 13.5. Lanny Wadkins was widely hailed as the hero
for hitting a wedge to 3 feet on the 18th hole and earning a tie with Jose
Maria Canizares that secured the cup in the 2nd to last singles match. What is
mostly forgotten is that Tom Watson won the last match 2 and 1. So if Lanny had
lost his match, Watson's win would still have retained the Cup for the US with
a 14 all tie.
Nicklaus's pep talk was hailed as a good motivational
device. He remarked after the win
something about Lanny having enough brass for several golfers, or words to that
effect - I can't find anything on Jack's quotes after a brief search. I don't recall any words directed at Watson,
whose brass quantity would have won the cup for the US regardless of the
Wadkins result.
So basically, Watson used the same motivational technique as
Jack did back in 1983. Jack was hailed as a great captain and Watson is being
excoriated for being an insensitive jerk. Now winning or losing has a lot to do
with perception here but is there a chance, just the barest possibility, that
these 2014 Ryder Cuppers are candy asses?
Maybe if they had taken that tough guy mentality to the course on
Sunday, like Watson did in '83, they would have done a little better (although
I doubt they could have caught Europe).
An interesting correlation regarding 1983 vs 2014: Watson's opponent that Sunday was Bernard
Gallacher. Phil's Sunday opponent in 2014 was Stephen Gallacher, the nephew of
Bernard. So, there was a family connection for the two USA antagonists, at
least regarding their opponents.
Watson's record was 4-1 in 1983. The only match he lost was in Saturday foursomes, playing with
the immortal Bob Gilder. I doubt Jack
told them they stunk in foursomes after the match.
1983 was the first year all golfers in Europe were eligible for the Ryder Cup. The man who suggested this change in the
interest of fairness was none other than
- Jack Nicklaus. Maybe Watson should now suggest that the US
be allowed to use all golfers originating from North or South America. That way he could come out as hero and, add
to his legacy, which has taken an unfortunate hit due indirectly to his
willingness to captain an inferior team.
I wonder how the 1983 captain would have reacted if his
players said he was a mean man. Somehow, I can't see those guys saying
that. Have we gotten wimpier in 2
decades? Not just in golf but our
society in general. Do we need too much
hand holding these days? Just sayin'.
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