"He can still be an awkward devil though"

A pair of good reads on Nick Faldo's reign as Ryder Cup captain, starting with Mark Reason who focuses on the apparent inability to find an assistant captain.

In an extraordinary press conference on Tuesday, Faldo became increasingly evasive and hostile when questioned on the subject. By the end the room was fairly crackling with animosity. When Faldo tried out a joke to alleviate the atmosphere it quickly lost altitude and crashed through the floor of the tent.

A couple of weeks ago Faldo was seen chatting to Bernhard Langer in a car park in Florida. Did he ask the German, who was such a successful captain in America in 2004, if he would consider the post of vice-captain? We may never know.

When I asked Langer what he and Faldo had been talking about he said: "I don't have to tell you. That's between him and me." Faldo would only say: "I had a couple of little questions to ask him."

John Huggan looks back at some of Faldo's early career moments and notes that he reverted to his old self during a Wentworth press conference.

He can still be an awkward devil though, as he proved the other day during an excruciating press conference at Wentworth. Seated next to an uncomfortable looking George O'Grady, executive director of the European Tour, Faldo was back to his worst in dealing with the media. Question after question went half answered as the six-time major champion reverted to previous type. He was, not to put too fine a point on it, a pain in the you-know-where.

Later, ensconced in a more intimate meeting with half a dozen Sunday newspaper journalists, Faldo was more forthcoming, although not much. Just about his only moment of real animation came in his explanation of just how his more senior players could help out any Ryder Cup rookies. Which is perhaps not surprising. One of the greater ironies about Faldo is the close relationship he seems to enjoy with many of the younger lads vying for spots on his team.