The European press has no shame. They had it out for Ryder Cup Captain Nick Faldo well before the matches ever started. Only a blitzkrieg win by the Euro side would have kept the hounds at bay. Maybe. These are the same rags that once dubbed Faldo, "El Foldo." No wonder that upon winning The Open Championship he so famously thanked them from the heart of his bottom. If you ask me, they had it coming.
In hindsight, it’s a wonder that the outcome of the Ryder Cup was still very much in doubt by the time the final two matches were early into the inward nine. That is a testament to the heart and depth of the European Team. Listed below are some of the cards that were dealt to Faldo before the first shot was struck.
*Nonpareil Ryder Cup star Colin Montgomerie plays horribly for 2 years, nearly falling out of the Top 100 in world rankings. His amazing 20-9-7 match record won’t change.
*Luke Donald injures himself this summer and is unavailable. His sparkling 5-1-1 record will remain unchanged also.
*Ryder stalwart Lee Westwood makes the team easily but gets tonsillitis. He doesn’t play for the month preceding, making his stamina and form questionable.
*Current European superstar Padraig Harrington, winner of the 2008 Open and PGA Championships in July and August, plays horribly during the three weeks of the FedEx Cup (running up to the Ryder Cup) by missing 2 cuts and barely making the other.
So what happens? Faldo’s unfavorably received Captain’s selections Paul Casey and Ian Poulter play very well. Poulter, in fact, is inarguably the emotional heart and best performer of the Euro side. But Harrington continues his mediocre play all weekend. Sergio Garcia has little more than his C game and is not much of a factor either. He even begs out of the early match on Saturday. Faldo also keeps Lee Westwood on the pine Saturday morning in order to have him strong to the last (blisters was the public excuse given). The Captain, of course, was roasted for not sending both of them out, regardless. Turns out that the Saturday morning session is the only one the Euros can manage to win. In the afternoon session a rested Westwood does not win a hole and loses his point, while a rested Garcia manages a halve when Steve Stricker seems to top everything he produces. And as you undoubtedly know, Garcia, Westwood and Harrington never win a match despite playing in four apiece. And now the press is all over Faldo for "not having his best players at the top of the singles line-up." That's hilarious! Results say he put his worst players at the bottom in the 11th and 12th spots.
The final disgusting nail was driven in the post-Cup press room. Faldo was asked point blank by a Euro reporter how it felt to be responsible for turning the team from a winner into a loser. Everyone on the dais was stunned at the nerve of this schmuck. Assistant Captain Jose Maria Olazabal interjected “That question doesn’t even deserve an answer.” And all got up to leave. Ollie, however, took the time to mouth this word back to that jerk of a reporter, and I quote, "bulls**t."
