Fred Couples says U.S. doesn’t need no stinkin’ Ryder Cup task force
Fred Couples has
had a modicum of success directing Tiger Woods and his supporting cast
of individual superstars to the winner’s circle, going 3-0 as captain of
U.S. Presidents Cup teams. So when Freddie goes all Aaron Rodgers (r-e-l-a-x, Team USA!) about the hysteria surrounding the Americans’ Ryder Cup woes and the formation of a star-studded panel to study the issue to death, perhaps the powers-that-be oughta take its cue from Cap'n Couples.
"I don't think anyone should
panic. I don't think we need a ‘task force,’" Couples, using air quotes,
told reporters at this week’s Champions Tour season finale. "I don't
think we need the PGA of America straining about this. What I really
think they need is to get players that have been on a lot of these teams
to get a feel for what kind of captain they need."
Like, maybe, Fred Couples? The
laid-back skipper of the 2009, ’11, and ’13 Presidents Cup units would
certainly entertain the notion and if nominated would turn Tom Watson’s
reportedly autocratic approach upside down.
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Watson’s captaincy has undergone a complete CSI:Gleneagles dissection after the Europeans clobbered the Americans last month and Phil Mickelson complained publicly
about team members having no input into playing time and other
decisions. Couples, who counts Woods as a good friend and termed
Mickelson (whom he would have played on Saturday in Scotland, whereas
Watson notoriously benched him) "the best guy on every team I’ve ever
been on," touted his status as "just another guy" as one of his major
attributes.
Couples also believes that
putting his players at ease and coddling the biggest names in the game
were the ways to get the best out of them. Watson, he said, failed to
"cradle his boys enough, and that’s what they need."
Other ideas Couples offered to
boost the chances of the Americans, who have lost six of the last seven
Ryder Cups: give players some say in picking captains and, when the
matches are at home, choose courses that U.S. golfers play frequently.
Couples conceded that a
Presidents Cup team was easier to govern than a Ryder Cup group because
the former offered more playing opportunities for everyone, but that
leading the latter was not brain surgery.
"It’s still 12 players in a
room, and I think they all are different in certain ways," he said.
"You've got to let the players get involved ... I particularly don't
think it's really that hard to do, I really don't."
Couples additionally disputed
the concept that preparing for the Ryder Cup was a two-year process
since he had no idea now who would qualify for the 2016 team.
"I think it's all just a little bit much," he said. "We need a little more fun and that comes with winning."
Even with his perfect
Presidents Cup record and experience as a player on five Ryder Cup
teams, and as Davis Love III’s assistant captain in 2012, Couples did
not receive an invitation to join the task force -- which the winner of
15 PGA Tour events joined Jack Nicklaus in terming overkill.
"How about the PGA Ryder Cup Committee, can I say that?" Couples suggested. "That sounds way better."
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