Mahan defends Faldo's Ryder Cup role

Published on Thursday 25 September 2008 10:10

AMERICAN Ryder Cup player Hunter Mahan has defended Nick Faldo in the wake of criticism of the European captain's performance last week.

Faldo was taken to task in some quarters, with Colin Montgomerie weighing in yesterday after not being given a wild card and taking the role of an armchair critic for the first time since 1989.

Mahan, however, thinks such criticism is way over the top.

"Nick Faldo, who's a Ryder Cup legend, won more points on the European side than anybody (as a player] and they're crucifying him right now," Mahan said yesterday on the eve of the Tour Championship.

"That's pretty tough. I think someone said this kills everything he's ever done in his career. I think that's a bit much for a guy who's won six majors and was No.1 in the world for a long time. But he was bold in his picks and bold in his selections. Sitting out (Lee] Westwood and Sergio (Garcia, in the Saturday foursomes] was definitely shocking to us to see that.

"You definitely feel for him, because he definitely doesn't deserve all that."

Fellow American Jim Furyk, who clinched the cup for his team, had a slightly different take, saying that criticism of the losing captain is par for the course.

"I'm not surprised and not because I feel he did a bad job," said Furyk. "I've just seen it happen to our captains for the last three (Ryder Cups).

"It's part of the job. When you take it, you need a thick skin and you need to realise that you're either going to be a hero or a goat. I can't remember the last time a captain lost and was applauded for the effort he put in and wasn't widely criticised. You have to realise it's coming.

"If you can't deal with it you shouldn't take it. But most of those men got to the position they did and got chosen as captain because they took some criticism along the way and it didn't bother them and they thrived anyway."

One neutral party thinks Faldo has been unfairly criticised. Australian Stuart Appleby, who has played in five Presidents Cups, claims the captain has only a minor influence over the result.

The way Appleby sees it, it is not Faldo's fault that Europe's best three players, Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood, did not win a match between them. "I think the British press should be targeting the players more than Faldo," he said.