NICK OF TIME - Paul Azinger (left) accepts the congratulations of rival skipper Nick Faldo

GOODBYE TO NICK FALDO

At least he'll never be captain of Europe again

TOO LATE - Ian Poulter on his way to a victory which didn't count for much

From ANDY DUNN in Valhalla, 21/09/2008

FIRST THE bad news. Europe lost the Ryder Cup in Louisville, Kentucky.

Now the good news. No more Nick Faldo.

He can retreat to his American commentary booth - the only place where his ridiculous humour is appreciated.

His last unfunny joke was to put European powerhouses like Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood - and an in-form player like Graeme McDowell - at the bottom of yesterday's singles order.

An off-colour Sergio Garcia got a thumping from Anthony Kim and the Europeans never really got a fightback off the ground.

Why on earth did Poulter, the man who had won three on the spin, not lead the charge?

And never mind that Westwood and Padraig Harrrington failed to beat Ben Curtis and Chad Campbell. By that time, they had completely lost interest.

Westwood, in particular, had been demoralised by his axing by Faldo on Saturday morning.

Fractions

And Poulter's disgust at being placed where he could not make a meaningful impact was painfully evident for all to see.

Faldo said: "We came up a little bit short but all my team gave their hearts and souls. Congratulations to the Americans. They were just a little bit better in a couple of areas.

"I would not change a thing. We have done everything we could. In the end, it was just a matter of fractions between the two teams."

Yeah, he was the fraction.

His opposite number Paul Azinger said the US team had a thirteenth man out there.

KIM AND GET IT - Paul Azinger shares the delight of Anthony Kim's win

He was referring to a boisterous Kentucky crowd. He could have been referring to Faldo.

Jose Maria Olazabal will be the next skipper and at least we can expect a more measured, dignified and cerebral approach to matters.

I don't think DJ Spoony will be making another appearance as locker-room music maestro, for example.

But unfortunately, I guess we have to be fair. To the Yanks and to Faldo.

The Americans played some superb golf. Kim was awesome against Garcia, who crumbled beneath a barrage of birdies.

And local hero Kenny Perry birdied four of the first five holes in his victory over Henrik Stenson.

Hunter Mahan - probably the unsung hero of Azinger's team - sunk a 40-foot putt on the 17th, from which Paul Casey did well to recover and salvage a half up the last.

But after Robert Karlsson and Justin Rose had scored emphatic victories over Justin Leonard and Phil Mickelson, it was the quartet in the middle of the order - Kenny Perry, Boo Weekley, JB Holmes and Jim Furyk - who really brought the Cup home for the States.

And apart from some sparkling American play, it must be pointed out that the set-up of the course was massively in favour of the home side.

Rough was virtually non-existent, enabling their long but wayward stars to blaze away without punishment.

The reward for the type of straight-hitting that characterises this European team was not as great as it should be.

"I decided early on that we would cut down the rough and let these guys play," said Azinger.

No, let your guys play, you mean.

Errors

The one mark in Faldo's credit column was the selection of Poulter. He more than justified his selection with four points out of a possible five.

His other pick, Casey, fought admirably on the final day but it is hard to believe the experience of Darren Clarke would not have been a more valuable asset.

That was the first of Faldo's errors in a course of events that led to the biggest American victory since 1981.

He cannot take all the blame, of course. But boy, he can take a fair share.

Your comments

This article has 6 comments

Faldo did a great job for our continent but every bit of luck & good bounce went the way of USA. Mahon's putt at 17th went into the hole at 30mph and if it had missed the impetus would have swung towards Europe. We had to lose one time unfortunately Faldo (Britains best ever Golfer) was captain. He can hold his head up though because he has never walked off the course during a major (Lyle at our Open) or wrongly replaced his ball after a stoppage of play (Montgomerie) & has showed more dignity than either of the aforementioned critics.

By Mike Brennan. Posted October 19 2008 at 9:23 AM.

I think many people are missing the point in regard to Faldo's style of leadership. He is by far our most successful golfer since Vardon and understandably hoped his winning example would inspire the team. I fear however that his constant referencing to himself and his achievements in interviews ight have been used in team or individual "motivation" meetings which would have served only to remind these players of how much better Faldo was than they are! Not a good move. Neither was his reluctance to looke anyone in the eye by taking his ridiculous sunglasses off. Or evenhis choice of uniform which looked suspiciously like his own Faldo brand - a quirky collection at best!
The reason he was unsuccessful as captain was his wrapping up of a Ryder cup team in Faldoness and failing to lead by being the "first among equals" as his predecessors were by default.
After all, who wants to win for a smug know-it-all who makes you feel inadequate and so clearly lacks human empathy.

By R Edwards. Posted September 25 2008 at 2:13 PM.

Nonsense! Was Faldo "wrong" picking Polti...who led the team in points, or Casey who played the toughest singles match to a dramatic draw? Why was he was "wrong" for sitting Sergio Sat. morn... (the only round Euro won), but also "wrong" sending "an off-form" Sergio out first Sunday?

If the final four Euros could only go 2-2 against the dregs of the US team, how were they supposed to win against the middle of the US lineup ... who collectively were about 36 under par for 17 holes Sunday?

The only way Faldo could have stemmed the tide was to leave the supposedly four best Euro players at home.

By Jack Williams. Posted September 24 2008 at 4:53 PM.

Spot on Mark Trueman.Come on leave Nick alone he did a good job.Did all our players step up to the plate!.Top ten in the world Garcia No 3/Westwood No 8,both lost

By Stewart Pearson. Posted September 23 2008 at 6:51 AM.

Actually the lack of rough didn't particularly favour the Americans. Jim Furyk is the most accurate driver on either tour, so his advantage was lost. He's not a very long hitter either, and Ben Curtis, Steve Stricker, Justin Leonard, and Stewart Cink are all more accurate than they are long. JB Holmes and Mickelson are their only real wild bombers.

By Justin. Posted September 23 2008 at 1:30 AM.

Sorry guys,but there is no way Faldo was to blame in this defeat,Azinger said "for us to win every player we have must be at their best"and the americans played out of their skins,G,MAC,PADRAIG,shot 62 better ball and still lost,thats how good the usa played,and players like Westwood,Harrington,Stenson,Garcia,all played only one good game each.So the players are to blame,everyone on sky sports agreed with the last day order,but now its over the order was wrong ? we put out our best and unfortunatly we were 2nd best this time,so get of Faldos back,the putt of Mahon on the 17th says it all

By mark trueman. Posted September 22 2008 at 11:57 AM.

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