July 17th, 2008
Nick Faldo - Captain’s view
The recent verbal assault by Paul Azinger on Nick Faldo is one for the rest of us to relish even if the American Ryder Cup captain’s somewhat pricklish description of his opposite number is something he now appears to regret.
This undertow of friction makes for good reading and there is no doubt that, as the 2008 match draws ever closer, it is likely to rise to the occasion. Azinger admitted as much during his first press conference last year when he said: “It’ll be a good rivalry and it will add intrigue. You guys might get some good quotes out of us.” Indeed we did Paul, indeed we did.
Though his subsequent flurry of insults made big headlines, this spat will have to go some to better the explanation offered by Azinger’s father for the two players’ razor-edged relationship. Retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Azinger did not attempt to wrap anything up in soft tissue when he was asked the big question. “Paul donated that (1987) British Open to him and what does Faldo say? He says ‘tough luck old boy’. Maybe that was nice British talk but those words grated on Paul. He wanted to make Faldo eat those words.”
Azinger finished bogey-bogey in that Open at Muirfield to lose to Faldo by a shot. Ever since, he has been trying to get his own back. The closest he has come to date was during the 1993 Ryder Cup at The Belfry when he pulled Faldo in the singles. He went one down when Faldo aced the 14th and it stayed that way through to the 18th.
By then the United States had won but Azinger and Faldo were too wrapped up in a personal duel to contemplate quitting. When the American holed a birdie putt to halve their match his reaction was way out of kilter with what he had achieved. Now he has the chance to go one better in Valhalla. Faldo knows all this, of course, but the European captain is playing a clever game compared to his rather naïve rival.
“These days when I read something like that I front up with the bloke who is supposed to have said it.”
“I was taken out of context,” moaned Azinger after a British newspaper quoted his ill-considered words. When placed in context, however, it is hard not to suspect that Azinger really does think what he has now articulated.
What kind of a man the American Captain is was one of the questions I put to Faldo when we chatted in Augusta. Given the quotes attributed to Azinger I prepared to duck, but the European skipper was in forgiving mood. “These days when I read something like that I front up with the bloke who is supposed to have said it,” Faldo says. “Before I got to Azinger he got to me and said, ‘Man, I got stitched, every sentence got taken out of context’. I told him ‘welcome to the club’. So, no, we don’t have a problem. We started to grow a friendship when we worked together (as TV analysts) and I expect that friendship to grow more.”
Whatever the rights and wrongs here, and whatever Faldo feels privately, he was smart enough to smooth this thing over. By doing so he occupies the high ground while the American is made to look rather foolish. “I have no reason to believe other than that Faldo will be a great captain. Certainly he was a great shoulder to rely on for me when we played together,” says England’s Lee Westwood. “This all sounds like playground stuff to me.”
While Faldo’s subdued and conciliatory reaction reflects a more mellow maturity, and certainly much greater media savvy, it is equally correct to suggest that this recent spat only adds spice to a Ryder Cup that has grown remarkably over the last couple of decades. Before the late Eighties the matches meant less than nothing to the American public. Neither did they mean much to the American golfers. Now, however, they do.
“Yeah, it’s intense, really intense. For everyone,” Faldo says. “At the end of it you’re emotionally shot. You live on adrenalin that week and I’ve got to prepare our new guys for that experience. It’s because of this that it’s so important to be in good physical shape. We’ve fixed up for them to have a real physical check-out. I’ve already done it and it is very thorough. It’s up to them whether they accept this particular challenge but I hope they do. It turns out I’m in really good shape for my age so let’s see if they can beat me.”
The offer of this check-up is typical of Faldo’s approach - not just to this Ryder Cup but to how he has lived his professional life. He won six majors because of real talent and genuine nerve but it was his addiction to detail that gave him the mental and physical opportunities to achieve his high ambitions.
“I’ve always been a preparation guy, always believed that if you pay attention to all the little things then, with a bit of luck, the big things are possible. This is how I’m approaching this Ryder Cup. I want to exit Valhalla knowing that I’ve given it my all. If I know that then, win, lose or draw, I can leave content. I don’t want to spend the next few years thinking ‘if only’.”
This attention to detail means, ironically, that he is leaving his most important decisions until the last possible moment. These, of course, are his two captain’s picks that will be decided at the end of August. So, if the clock stopped now, would he know who to select?
“I’ve always been a preparation guy, always believed that if you pay attention to all the little things then, with a bit of luck, the big things are possible. This is how I’m approaching this Ryder Cup.”
“No, not at all. I am not even going to think much about those two players until The Open in July. That means there are six weeks to go before I have to name them and those weeks include two majors and a world championship. I am looking for current form more than anyone’s position in the rankings. And, of course, it will depend on the make-up of the other 10 guys; how much experience, how many Ryder rookies, who I end up going for. But guys like Monty, David Howell and Darren Clarke, for example, there is still everything to play for.”
For Faldo this captaincy offers the chance to hold pole position in a competitive arena once again. He still plays a bit of golf, of course, but most of his year is spent in a TV commentary booth where he is now many people’s idea of the best golf analyst since Johnny Miller first embraced wit and sarcasm.
“Well, the commentary booth is quite competitive too, you know,” he grins. “But I know what you mean. Yes, it should be a hell of a week. Valhalla is a great bowl of a place, a fine course for match play and the way it sits in the land it should be one hell of a noisy occasion.
“I love the Ryder Cup. Always have. After my majors, my best times in golf have been at those matches. I can still remember how thrilling it was when we almost won in 1983 in Florida. That was the big one really. After we lost we were all sat around in the locker-room feeling sorry for ourselves when suddenly Seve roared in and ordered us to cheer up. He said, ‘Look, we should have won but the big thing to take away from this is that we now know we can win’.
“As ever, Seve was spot on. We won two years later at The Belfry – our first victory since 1957 – and then two years later we beat them for the first time in America. Those were fantastic days. Now look at Europe’s record, won four of the last five, the last two by record scores. It means we’ll probably go into this one as favourites but I know, and the players will know, that in reality it is back to Ground Zero in Kentucky. Believe me, we know there will be a job to be done and whether you are favourites or underdogs doesn’t matter.”
Faldo, of course, holds more match records than anyone else including: most appearances - 11; most matches - 46; most wins – 23; and most points won - 25. With a captain like this, Europe should be fine come September - whatever Paul Azinger thinks of him. Indeed, precisely because of what Azinger thinks. Let battle continue to commence between them.