Brandel Digs In: Phil Did Not Tell Truth About Captain Watson

Many wondered if Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee would back off his withering takedown of Phil Mickelson immediately following the Ryder Cup press conference after Bob Harig and others revealed a less than classy effort from Captain Tom Watson, but also a less than organized effort when it came to picks and to pairings.

The answer is no. An emphatic one, reports Emily Kay, who heard Chamblee on the John Feinstein radio show (you can listen here).

"In that press conference, Phil said they didn’t have any say in this Ryder Cup," Chamblee said on The John Feinstein Show on Wednesday. "And I know for a fact that all the players were brought together with their caddies and Tom walked amongst them and said, ‘Tell me who you want to play with. Write it down on a sheet of paper, and all of you tell me who you want to play with. Let me know.’  And everybody but one person contributed there.

"So, what Phil said was not, in fact, true," Chamblee told Feinstein. "They were allowed to contribute – and who they played with was pretty much the way Paul Azinger went about his captaincy."

Chamblee says Watson "was unfairly denigrated" but the more I learn about the goings on, the more I think Captain Watson may have to call Chamblee and tell him to quiet down. Because the steady stream of anecdotes, including specifics about Watson's comments on the Europeans and some of his other communication methods, will not reflect well on the man.

Even Hunter Mahan, speaking in general-but-not-so-general terms to Golf Channel's Will Gray, backed up all of Mickelson's assertions regarding organization and approach.

“How Europe does their business and how we do our business is very different, and we need to get more along their path because their success and their leadership is just fantastic,” Mahan said.

“You can tell those guys really play hard for their captain and their captain is very, very well-prepared.”

Speaking of communications, European Captain Paul McGinley spoke at length to the Irish Golf Desk's Brian Keogh, and while he danced around discussing candidates for 2016, he did address an (apparent) issue facing Miguel Angel Jimenez's chances. My take at The Loop on this development.