Another Classic Championship

European Tour commentator Julian Tutt reflects on Scott Hend’s play-off victory over Angelo Que at Fanling, considers the state of the Final Series and wonders who will replace Tom Watson as the next American Ryder Cup captain

Who will captain the 2016 Ryder Cup teams

So who will captain the 2016 Ryder Cup teams? After Phil Mickelson's outburst against Tom Watson in the immediate aftermath of this year's edition, the PGA of America has gone into backside covering mode and done what all good politicians do, namely form a committee.

There are those who say the captain doesn't matter; it's up to the players to perform. Even Jack Nicklaus has come to Tom Watson's defense: "The players just didn't play well enough", he said.

I've been to the last 13 Ryder Cups for various different employers and I'm convinced that assuming a similar standard of competence on both sides, which is almost a given nowadays, the captain does indeed have a very important role to play. Europe's only failure since 1999 came at Valhalla in 2008. Paul Azinger was arguably America's best captain in a generation or more, bringing ingenuity, guile, top class man-management and near faultless planning to create an atmosphere in the team room that encouraged his players to go out and perform to their very best.

He was up against Britain's best-ever player and possibly worst-ever captain, Sir Nick Faldo. Vice Captain José María Olazábal was constantly at Sergio Garcia's side in an ultimately vain attempt to lift his fellow-countryman's spirits. Paul Casey was all ready to pack his bags and quit the show, and apparently the atmosphere in the team room was akin to Central with pollution at 10+. The result was almost a foregone conclusion.

This time Paul McGinley was probably Europe's best ever captain, leaving no stone of preparation unturned. Even with a recalcitrant Ian Poulter and a few players struggling for top form, the result never really looked in question.

If you doubt the value of a leader who can create a team that is greater than the sum of its parts, look no further than Derby County and Nottingham Forest in the 1970s under the legendary Brian Clough. Golf is a much more individual sport than football of course, but the Ryder Cup is a TEAM competition, with a unique set of demands on the pampered few.

No doubt the PGA of America’s committee will find a brilliant solution. Woods and Mickelson to share the role perhaps?

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