Captain Watson Under Fire Before Sunday Singles Even Start

I certainly wouldn't pretend to understand some of Tom Watson’s moves nor is there much surprise in the notoriously self-assured Captain's performance, but I’m intrigued to see so many verdicts already declared before the 2014 Ryder Cup’s Sunday Singles are even played. Of course everyone wants to move on to the Frys.com Open this week because wraparound golf is what it's all about, but I still say we have plenty of time to pick apart this Ryder Cup.

Or not!

Watson was dealt a tough hand PGA of America with too early of a points cut-off and injuries to Jason Dufner and Tiger Woods along with the disappearance of Dustin Johnson. But he also agreed to the deadlines and reducing the number of captain's picks from four to three.

Furthermore, imagine a mere two matches going from losses to wins and Team USA is tied with Europe heading into Sunday, the favorites to win the Ryder Cup as Paul McGinley is questioned about some of his moves.

Such is the no-win job of Captain.

That said, Karen Crouse makes a strong case against Watson by questioning his communication skills and the impact this had on Team USA. While we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, the bizarre misunderstanding with Jordan Spieth and the news of Phil Mickelson texting Watson Saturday (“Give us a chance”) to try and get an afternoon tee time does seem strange.  (Jason Sobel with the lowdown here on what sounds like a bizarre scene behind closed doors.) I’m pretty sure Olin Dutra never sent a telegram to Walter Hagen announcing that he wanted to be in the lineup.

Crouse writes:

Watson was not swayed by a text message from Mickelson assuring him they could get the job done.

Why did Simpson’s passionate plea get through to Watson but Mickelson’s did not? Why did Watson play the teams that fared well in the morning in the afternoon the second day but not the first? These inconsistencies can try a team’s cohesiveness.

Watson never had to work hard to forge interpersonal connections as a player because there were always plenty of people willing to make the effort to get to know him. Why should anyone have expected him to know how to forge bonds now with players?

Jim McCabe considers the hindsight game in analyzing Watson, including the Captain’s Rumsfeldian remark about his selections, and refuses to give him a pass.

Those six, Watson decided, were in good form and deserved an afternoon foursomes game, as did a rested Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar, who played decently in a four-balls loss in the morning.

“You can question my decisions on that. That’s fine,” Watson said. “But I made the best decisions I possibly could at the time I was making them.”

Since hindsight is flawless, Watson indicated he may have pushed the envelope by playing Mickelson and Bradley twice Friday, that he could have paid the price by playing Fowler and Walker a third straight match. They had played well in securing a halve in each of their Friday games, though the halve they got against McIlroy and Ian Poulter Friday morning was a bit of a letdown.

Bob Harig of ESPN.com is also tough on Watson:

Watson has long been known for his strong opinions and ironclad resolve, but his decision-making at Gleneagles has been shaky and unconvincing at a competition where the underdog Americans have no room for error. A 10-6 deficit is far from what was needed to have a legitimate shot at an upset with 12 singles matches remaining on Sunday.

Doug Ferguson noted that Watson has taken full responsibility for his moves. Up to a point.

He has called the shots and tried to make pairings based on performance and his gut feeling. Ultimately, he put the onus on his players.

"It's up for the actors to go out there and act," he said. "They haven't acted well enough to get that standing ovation at the end in the last two Ryder Cups. That's the way I look at it."

Alex Miceli went back and looked at past losing-Captain's speeches and predicted Watson will mirror the remarks of his predecessors after seeing the first two days of Ryder Cup play.

It’s clear that Watson feels the same way as these losing captains do. It's understandable since he has spent a considerable time with them and his judgment has to be clouded with emotion.

But someone has to step back and dig much deeper into every aspect of the U.S. participation in the Ryder Cup before the next captain is selected for the 2016 matches at Hazeltine, outside of Minneapolis.

This will not get turned around by the captain telling everyone how proud he is of his players after getting the stuffing beaten out of Uncle Sam.

Alan Shipnuck hasn't liked much of Watson's performance except the Sunday singles lineup, and grades the two Captains. He notes this about Watson's press conferences:

Watson was crotchety and defensive, and that was before the matches even began. It got even worse once things went pear-shaped. His incoherent mumbo-jumbo in trying to explain his thinking -- or lack thereof -- in his Friday night presser will forever color how his captaincy is remembered. On Saturday night, instead of projecting Crenshaw-like belief, he was strangely subdued. Such a tone filters back to the team room.