Nick Faldo, Did Horrible Job Captaining Losing Ryder Cup Team, Won Six Majors

Let's hope his obits don't read like that someday, but based on the early reaction this is one the British press won't be letting go of anytime soon.

Lawrence Donegan in The Guardian on the 6:30 a.m. appearance by Faldo in the hotel lobby en route to the airport.

After the bemusing "jokes", the questionable tactics and the resounding defeat, the Ryder Cup captaincy of Nick Faldo finally stumbled across clarity yesterday morning as he and his players gathered in the lobby of their Louisville hotel. "Officially no more," the Englishman barked before heading on to the airport bus.

This was a typically brusque response to journalists seeking further reaction to Sunday's loss to Paul Azinger's US team but it can also be taken as the epitaph for Faldo's captaincy. It will never happen again. Officially.

John Huggan compares the two captains and its not pretty.

Where Faldo had only one vice-captain in José María Olazábal, a couple of caddies and a callow German tour pro Martin Kaymer acting as his extra eyes and ears during practice and play, Azinger was able to call on the vast experience of past skippers and major champions, Ray Floyd and Dave Stockton, as well as his close friend, the longtime PGA Tour player Olin Browne. In terms of tactical and strategic input, that is a bit like a pub team taking on Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Azinger also got the Valhalla course right. Knowing his side hardly represented the straightest-hitting group ever to wear the stars and stripes, he ordered the rough to be both cut back and shortened, allowing typically long but wayward blasters, such as JB Holmes, Anthony Kim, Kenny Perry and Phil Mickelson, to swing away with something like impunity. Clearly missing the point, Faldo at one stage had his three biggest drivers - Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson - looking on during one series of fourball play.

This is a key that hasn't gotten much attention, but provides a remarkable contrast to past Ryder Cups when it was the Europeans who would slow greens down.

The US captain ordered the Valhalla greens to be kept at typical PGA Tour speeds. Brought up on faster putting surfaces, the American players, for the first time in a long time, made more putts than their European counterparts. In a series of matchplay sprints over 18 holes, that is always going to be a crucial factor in deciding winners and losers.

And then there was the singles lineup:

Most crucially, he sent his men out in a singles order that made much sense given the two-point lead with which they entered the third and last day of competition. Broken down into groups of four, the former PGA champion and his knowledgeable brains trust led off with their most attacking individuals, followed up with a quartet of crowd-pleasing "Good ol' Boys" from the south and rounded things off with "steady eddies" at the back.

Yet again the contrast with what passed for Faldo's tactics was more than marked. Despite knowing he needed to make up ground early, the six-times major champion placed four of his best players in slots nine through 12. As things turned out - and were always likely to - the overall result was decided while all four were still on the course. As misjudgments go, it wasn't quite Captain Scott deciding to press on to the south pole rather than turning back but it was close.

Mark Lamport Stokes reports that Faldo has at least one backer.

"I don't think he did anything wrong," Jacklin told Reuters on Monday less than 24 hours after Europe had suffered their first Cup defeat in nine years with a 16-1/2 to 11-1/2 loss to the United States.

Derek Lawrenson does offer this strong reminder about the weakness of the European team.

When your two best young players - Kaymer and Nick Dougherty - both have their serene qualifying progress halted by the tragic deaths of their mothers, your steadiest player (Luke Donald) is ruled out by a season-ending wrist injury, and your best veteran (Colin Montgomerie) suddenly cannot hit it straight for the first time in his life, you have to conclude fate was less than kind.

Paul Mahoney offers this:

If the Kentucky fans were Paul Azinger's 13th man, Nick Faldo was Team USA's 14th. Faldo's social awkwardness was on display from the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony, where his final remark on Sunday night was: "See you all in Wales in 2010. Bring your waterproofs!" Delegates from the Welsh tourism bureau, who had been in Louisville all week, were furious. In between the ceremonies, he dropped his star players on Saturday morning and flunked his singles line-up, again leaving his stars stranded at the bottom of the order.

Faldo repeatedly got the better of Azinger throughout their playing careers, but Azinger got the last laugh this week. He looked confident and comfortable and inspired his team to bond like no other recent American side. Faldo mumbled, bumbled, bungled and alienated players on his team. Advantage Azinger.

As for another chance for Faldo, Chris Barrett reports that Darren Clarke endorses Jose Maria Olazabal if he wants the job.

Mike Aitken says it's Olazabal's job if he wants it and notes:

Bernard Gallacher's suggestion that Faldo deserves a second chance is unlikely to find support either from his peers or the man himself. If the priority was simply to pick the best man, then few would quibble with asking either Bernhard Langer or Torrance to serve a second term.

And James Corrigan says that in selecting the next captain...

What the new man must not do is put too much stock in the well-meaning "the buck stops with us the players" statements of those such as Lee Westwood. Paul Azinger has proved once and for all that the Ryder Cup captain does indeed matter.