STRAFFAN, Ireland, Sept 19 - The influence of captains at Ryder Cups has been
widely debated over the last 20 years and is virtually impossible to quantify
outside the team dressing room.
While their motivational skills and attention to detail in team preparation
are all-important, captains can be publicly judged in only three areas: wildcard
selection, pairings and the end result.
Their biggest headache in the build-up to golf's premier team event is
settling on their two captain's picks to complete the two 12-man line-ups.
U.S. captain Tom Lehman and his European counterpart Ian Woosnam both had to
make tough wildcard decisions for this week's matches at the K Club in Country
Kildare.
Lehman was sorely tempted by big-hitting rookie Lucas Glover before choosing
the more experienced Scott Verplank and Stewart Cink while Woosnam finally opted
for Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood after close consideration of Thomas Bjorn.
"Making two picks is tough because you're not picking a bunch of other guys,"
Lehman told reporters after the opening day of official team practice at the K
Club on Tuesday.
"And you certainly hate to throw cold water on their hopes and dreams when
they have worked so hard.
"I know the disappointment you feel as a player and it can cause some real
hard feelings. At the end of the day, they don't make the team and they are
crushed."
Woosnam, who was initially vilified by a disgruntled Bjorn after the Dane was
overlooked, agreed.
DIFFICULT DECISION
"It was a difficult decision for me," he said. "A lot of friends out there,
but you have to do what you feel is best for the team. And I felt I did the
right thing by picking the two players I did. We've got a strong team and I'm
happy with it."
Lehman and Woosnam have two days to go before announcing their second tough
calls: the pairings for Friday's opening fourball matches.
Should either of them guess right and watch their initial combinations take
an early advantage, then their decisions for the afternoon's foursomes are
likely to be fairly straight-forward.
Briton Tony Jacklin, who led Europe to two Ryder Cup victories and a tie with
the U.S. in his four spells in charge, took great delight in the strategies
required of a captain.
"I relished the pairings and the on-course stuff," he told Reuters. "If I'm
honest, it was the off-course stuff that got to me a little bit, trying to keep
everybody sweet off the course.
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