Triple winning Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples suggests US Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson should start ‘texting’ to get to better know his likely Gleneagles players.
Watson is already the oldest-ever Ryder Cup captain and two years senior than the great J H Taylor who captained the 1933 GB & I side to victory.
The eight-time Major winning Watson will also be 65 when he leads his team out onto Gleneagles and eight years older than the previous oldest US captain Sam Snead who was 57 when he led the 1969 US team.
Fred Couples along with Jack Nicklaus at the 2013 Presidents Cup. But how many others would be known to Tom Watson. (Photo – www.pgatour.com)
Currently all but two of those among the leading 10 USA Team qualifiers would be well known to Watson, and they are fellow Masters winner’s Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson, and who Watson shares dinner every April at Augusta.
It seems that Watson would hardly know 31-year old Jimmy Walker, top of the USA Team point’s table with three wins already in the 2013/14 PGA Tour wraparound schedule including last Sunday’s AT & T National Pebble Beach Pro-Am victory.
Would Watson have ever met 26-year old Harris English, fifth on the team table or 28-year Chris Kirk (ninth) and 20-year old sensation Jordan Spieth (20th on the table), who grabbed a share of fourth place behind Walker at Pebble Beach.
It’s why Couple reckons Watson needs to start ‘texting’ those already in frame for USA selection.
“I don’t think Tom knows Keegan Bradley or Brandt Snedeker or Jordan Spieth – heck, I didn’t know Jordan before he was on last year’s Presidents Cup side,” said Couples.
“But then I’m a big texter.
“I don’t want to call these guys so I text them and if they answer I will tease them for 30 minutes. And, after 30 minutes of getting them to tell me stuff, it was very easy for me to figure, for example, that Spieth was ready to go and he liked Steve Stricker and Steve Stricker liked him.
“So that’s why I put Jordan with Steve, and they won their opening two matches.
“If I’d been talking face-to-face to Spieth, he’s not going to tell me he’s nervous or I don’t want to play with this or that guy. But if you text them enough they are bound to say something in a text.
“So that’s kind of easier than sometimes talking face-to-face”.
And while the USA Team has won all but two of the 10 Presidents Cup encounters since its inception in 1994, Couples does not believe Watson’s appointment is a gamble as the Americans look to end a European domination in having won five of the past six Ryder Cups.
“No, I don’t see Tom’s appointment as a gamble,” insisted Couples.
“For me this year he’s going to go to several tournaments to meet with the players. He’ll also have some mandatory dinners and get to know everyone
“I was one of Davis Love’s Ryder Cup assistants in 2012 and we had the thing won in Chicago and that it was not Davis’ fault at all. All the players will tell you we just didn’t get it done, or they didn’t get it done but it was nothing to do with Davis Love.
“It’s going to be the same for Paul McGinley, and if we are lucky enough to win are you then going to tell me Paul McGinley is a bad captain. No, you’re not.
“When it comes to Sunday, like the time won at Brookline, which was out of the norm, and when Europe won in Chicago, which was out of the norm, it just starts snowballing and there’s nothing Tom Watson or anyone else can do.
“So Watson is a good choice and he will have a blast – everyone will have a blast. Tom’s also very popular in Scotland, so he’s already been a good choice.”
