So what did Faldo do wrong? Monday morning quarterbacks apply here.

[Lefty]

The press in UK are repaying Faldo for his 'heart of my bottom' quip, and blaming him for the result. Obviously, the simple truth that the Americans played better golf does not sell newspapers.

But did FAldo make any significant errors?

1. Wilson and Hansen qualified because Casey and Poulter played in US too much. If they had played in Europe Hansen and Wilson would ahve stayed at home, and Clarke and Monty would have been in the team. Not FAldo's fault.

2. Westwood,Garcia Jimenez and Harrington contributed less points between them than Poulter. Not Faldo's fault.

3. The Americans played great golf,pulled together as a team and used the support of the crowd . Azinger's fault, not FAldo's.

4. The European team missed Donald more than the Americans missed Tiger.

If the other guy hits a great shot, it is rarely your fault.

[LockStock666]

Originally Posted by Lefty

The press in UK are repaying Faldo for his 'heart of my bottom' quip, and blaming him for the result. Obviously, the simple truth that the Americans played better golf does not sell newspapers.

But did FAldo make any significant errors?

1. Wilson and Hansen qualified because Casey and Poulter played in US too much. If they had played in Europe Hansen and Wilson would ahve stayed at home, and Clarke and Monty would have been in the team. Not FAldo's fault.

2. Westwood,Garcia Jimenez and Harrington contributed less points between them than Poulter. Not Faldo's fault.

3. The Americans played great golf,pulled together as a team and used the support of the crowd . Azinger's fault, not FAldo's.

4. The European team missed Donald more than the Americans missed Tiger.

If the other guy hits a great shot, it is rarely your fault.

Faldo never convinced me he was going to win before the tournament started. He seemed quite laid back before it all.

I knew it would be USA all the way this year, unfortunately after all the talk of betting, I didn't place one!

[CristieKerr]

I don't really think he did anything wrong at all, the Americans just had something to prove and for once looked like they wanted to prove it. He was criticized for his pick of Poulter a lot, yet Poulter was one of, if not the, best European player. They just got a behind whippin' and that isn't the norm lately. I don't think it's Faldo's fault at all, but like you said, that doesn't sell papers.

[JungleJ]

What could Faldo have done differently?

In reality, probably not that much. It's fair to say he didn't get the best from his star players (Garcia, Westwood, Harrington) although whether that is because he couldn't extract it or they couldn't provide it, we don't know right now.

One or two thoughts though - it became clear early on that Rose and Poulter were among those that were playing well. Why did Rose sit on Saturday afternoon? Did he ask for a rest?

And why why why was nobody talking to Sergio as he began to implode yesterday? In trying to get into Kim's head he only got in his own way. Instead of slowing things down he should have been upping the pace - Kim got out of rhythm on Saturday when he began to rush. He made Kim finish out short putts to win - he could have conceded them to reduce the crowd momentum - they went wild when the winning putts were sunk but not so much when conceded.

You could argue that Poulter might have been better off going out earlier yesterday, but Faldo said they had a plan for those bottom four players - but the middle order didn't deliver anything. Wilson and Stenson both ran in to firestorms - it is doubtful whether anyone could have stayed with them.

[CristieKerr]

Originally Posted by JungleJ

And why why why was nobody talking to Sergio as he began to implode yesterday? In trying to get into Kim's head he only got in his own way. Instead of slowing things down he should have been upping the pace - Kim got out of rhythm on Saturday when he began to rush. He made Kim finish out short putts to win - he could have conceded them to reduce the crowd momentum - they went wild when the winning putts were sunk but not so much when conceded.

He was at the point where he needed Kim to miss one of those, that's why he made him putt them. Obviously, AK wasn't about to do that. I think too much is being made of the Serge's poor performance on Sunday and not enough of AK's incredible one. That wasn't a case of the Serge playing poor as much as it was AK being off the hook. He was seven under in 14 holes, with five birdies and an eagle. His performance was Tiger-esque with the great sticks, the never missing putts you shouldn't miss, and the brimming confidence and emotion.

I agree, someone probably should have went to speak with the Serge, even just to put his mind at ease that there wasn't much he could do other than eagle a bunch of holes. But he played well to start and Kim just kept coming. Look at number one when AK dropped a dart by the flag stick sending the crowd into a frenzy. What did the Serge do, the Serge that collapses on Sunday and misses big putts? He dropped a dart right along side it, stepped up and nailed the putt that he misses if it's the 18th at Augusta, and birdies the hole right along side of him. I think that match had way more to do with AK being ridiculous than the Serge playing poorly.

[deronsizemore]

Originally Posted by JungleJ

It's fair to say he didn't get the best from his star players (Garcia, Westwood, Harrington) although whether that is because he couldn't extract it or they couldn't provide it, we don't know right now.

Garcia aside, Westwood and Harrington went off to late I think. I may be completely wrong, but I think that Westwood and Harrington probably got the feeling that it was just out of reach and no matter what they did, the US had it wrapped up. With that said, they probably just didn't play as well as they could have if they maybe would have went off in the first few groups knowing that their good play would get the Euro's back in it.

I don't think it had anything to do with Faldo not being able to extract their best play. They are adults and they've all been there before. I think Faldo did what he should have, he was himself. If he needs to fire up two world class golfers to get their best, something is wrong.

[Fileygolfer]

3 US players broke 30 going out. Euro 0.

Faldo made one big mistake.
2 points down going into the Single, away from home. You top load your order to get level on points ASAP and put pressure on "home" side and quiten the crowd. Euro got back to 10-9 but then the middle order only got 0.5 points to the USA's 4.5 and the Cup was gone before Poulter, Westwood & Harrington had a chance to change things.

[Lefty]

But you would expect Garcia to win, Stenson to win, so that would leave you ahead before Boo /Furyk and JB Holmes came in, with the final four getting three points to close the deal.

Boo,Kim and Kenny burnt the front nine ,nothing to be done about that except applaud.

[deronsizemore]

Yeah you would expect Garcia and Stenson to win, but I still think that even expecting them to win, you gotta put all your big guns out first.

Sure, the Euro team may have still lost with their big guns out first, but at least they'd have a better chance to be in it. If they go out first and still lose, at least they went down fighting. They send them out last and they risk not even having the opportunity to be in it in the end (which is what happened).

[CristieKerr]

Originally Posted by Fileygolfer

3 US players broke 30 going out. Euro 0.

Faldo made one big mistake.
2 points down going into the Single, away from home. You top load your order to get level on points ASAP and put pressure on "home" side and quiten the crowd. Euro got back to 10-9 but then the middle order only got 0.5 points to the USA's 4.5 and the Cup was gone before Poulter, Westwood & Harrington had a chance to change things.

That's true. Was is Sutton that took heat for that too or was it the Cup before? Having said that, the lead was only 9-7 and I think Faldo expected it to come down to the last two matches if he sent out the guys the way he did, but the US boys came out flying.

[Leaguegolf]

Lefty - It's good to see you didn't get stuck in that tunnel!

BTW.......Do I sense a change of avatar's?

What Faldo did wrong was exactly what Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, and Tom Lehman did wrong........absolutely nothing. Well, except for Sutton's cowboy hat.. Faldo never hit a shot and never missed a putt. He'd be a hero today if the first couple of Sunday matches would've gone his way. On paper, Garcia vs Kim was a huge Euro advantage. The Euro superhero against the American rookie that played so poorly in Saturday's morning match that he sat out the afternoon matches. Sure, go ahead and blame Faldo for expecting Sergio to set the pace. What Kim did was amazing and set the tone for the entire day.

The interesting thing will be to see how Faldo reacts to all the criticism. Strange, Lehman, and Sutton, practically disappeared but Faldo doesn't have that luxury. He's on American TV every week.

[mr3856a]

I think there were a few upsets, but I don't think Faldo did anything wrong, I think the U.S. had the better team and proved it. I think they just plain got beat. I think the U.S. team was tired of losing.

[Ty_Webb]

Originally Posted by deronsizemore

Yeah you would expect Garcia and Stenson to win, but I still think that even expecting them to win, you gotta put all your big guns out first.

Sure, the Euro team may have still lost with their big guns out first, but at least they'd have a better chance to be in it. If they go out first and still lose, at least they went down fighting. They send them out last and they risk not even having the opportunity to be in it in the end (which is what happened).

Bottom line is Europe needed 7.5 points in the singles to win the Cup. It doesn't matter if those points come in the first 8 games or the last 8 games. If those guys won at the back of the field, their points are just as valuable as if they came at the front. I can see how the momentum thing might be a part of it, but Faldo put out the Euros best player at top (of late at any rate - Harrington's missed a couple of cuts in the FedEx Cup and Garcia's been contending in them). If Harrington, Westwood and Garcia had won their games, the Europeans would have won. But they didn't. Not Faldo's fault.

[Bulls9999]

I thought the strategy of 'putting the big guns out first' was more to steal some points early and quiet the crowd....but with the US grabbing points early, the crowd was really getting into it and helping that much more.

I did not like the fact that Zinger suggested people cheer for the opponents 'bad shots'. There is no need for that, imo.

Originally Posted by Ty_Webb

Bottom line is Europe needed 7.5 points in the singles to win the Cup. It doesn't matter if those points come in the first 8 games or the last 8 games. If those guys won at the back of the field, their points are just as valuable as if they came at the front. I can see how the momentum thing might be a part of it, but Faldo put out the Euros best player at top (of late at any rate - Harrington's missed a couple of cuts in the FedEx Cup and Garcia's been contending in them). If Harrington, Westwood and Garcia had won their games, the Europeans would have won. But they didn't. Not Faldo's fault.

[Ty_Webb]

Originally Posted by Bulls9999

I did not like the fact that Zinger suggested people cheer for the opponents 'bad shots'. There is no need for that, imo.

Agreed. I'm not sure I like Anthony Kim geeing up the crowd to cheer on the 7th when Sergio had dunched two in the water. I know Sergio gets a bad press for his antics, but I don't recall him ever doing something like that. I might well be wrong. Rose-tinted spectacles and all that.

[Wazmankg]

Wow. I was going to start a thread on this but I see you guys are already on it bigtime. Speculation that he should've top loaded is all they've got really and Sergio went out 1st. Harrington has never done anything in this event and he was off his game. Putting him last was the thing to do. Should Poulter have gone out earlier... maybe. But this is all very far-fetched quibbling. Their top 12 guys just aren't any better than our top 12.... never have been really. The US simply had more guys that really stepped up this year...finally. End of story. I guess I can't blame the Euro press for thinking the cup should be theirs forever, but this was waaaay overdue. The one big controversial move Nick made was to put Poulter on the team. How'd that one work out ? I'm not a big Faldo fan but I hope he tells them all to kiss his

[deronsizemore]

Originally Posted by Ty_Webb

Bottom line is Europe needed 7.5 points in the singles to win the Cup. It doesn't matter if those points come in the first 8 games or the last 8 games. If those guys won at the back of the field, their points are just as valuable as if they came at the front. I can see how the momentum thing might be a part of it, but Faldo put out the Euros best player at top (of late at any rate - Harrington's missed a couple of cuts in the FedEx Cup and Garcia's been contending in them). If Harrington, Westwood and Garcia had won their games, the Europeans would have won. But they didn't. Not Faldo's fault.

But it does matter, doesn't it? I mean, I agree, if Westwood and Harrington would have won their matches, the Euro's would have won, but the Ryder Cup was over before Poulter, Westwood and Harrington's matches were complete, so how can you say it doesn't matter when your best players tee off if they are shut out before they even finish? Faldo had to take into consideration that the US could potentially have the Ryder Cup locked up before three of my best players finish? I think you've at least got to send what is considered your "guns" out first to at least try to get some early points and tie everything up and let everything fall where they may from there. It would have been a fantastic move on Faldo's part had the first couple guys off won their matches and then Poulter, Westwood and Harrington could have brought up the rear and closed it out, but that didn't happen and their three matches ended up having absolutely not bearing on the outcome since the cup was won on Match 8 (should have been match 7 if Furyk holed some putts).

True, Westwood and Harrington ended up losing their singles matches, but I don't think you can look at that. The US locked the cup up an hour or more before all play was finished. Westwood and Harrington knew this, so there's really nothing to play for at that point.

I agree he did put the Euro's best Ryder Cup player out first and lost, he did the right thing there, but not following it up with his other "best" players was a mistake in my mind. Sure, Harrington hasn't been playing well in stroke play and in the Ryder Cup but that means nothing in golf. We all know how quickly the game can turn around. The fact that he's 2-2 in the last two majors shows you that the guy can play. I'm definitely playing him in one of the crucial first matches.

Just my .02.

[Ty_Webb]

Originally Posted by deronsizemore

But it does matter, doesn't it? I mean, I agree, if Westwood and Harrington would have won their matches, the Euro's would have won, but the Ryder Cup was over before Poulter, Westwood and Harrington's matches were complete, so how can you say it doesn't matter when your best players tee off if they are shut out before they even finish? Faldo had to take into consideration that the US could potentially have the Ryder Cup locked up before three of my best players finish? I think you've at least got to send what is considered your "guns" out first to at least try to get some early points and tie everything up and let everything fall where they may from there. It would have been a fantastic move on Faldo's part had the first couple guys off won their matches and then Poulter, Westwood and Harrington could have brought up the rear and closed it out, but that didn't happen and their three matches ended up having absolutely not bearing on the outcome since the cup was won on Match 8 (should have been match 7 if Furyk holed some putts).

True, Westwood and Harrington ended up losing their singles matches, but I don't think you can look at that. The US locked the cup up an hour or more before all play was finished. Westwood and Harrington knew this, so there's really nothing to play for at that point.

I agree he did put the Euro's best Ryder Cup player out first and lost, he did the right thing there, but not following it up with his other "best" players was a mistake in my mind. Sure, Harrington hasn't been playing well in stroke play and in the Ryder Cup but that means nothing in golf. We all know how quickly the game can turn around. The fact that he's 2-2 in the last two majors shows you that the guy can play. I'm definitely playing him in one of the crucial first matches.

Just my .02.

My point is really that if the order had been different, so Harrington's, Westwood's and whoever else played at the top of the order, but each match finished up with the same result, the end result would have been the same. If you don't win 7.5 points, it doesn't matter where you did or didn't win them. You just didn't. That's why the whole order thing doesn't make sense to me. The captain should put his players out in the order in which he thinks it most likely they win the necessary number of points. Faldo evidently thought holding back Harrington, Westwood and Poulter gave them the best chance of getting the 7.5 points they needed. If they lost five games early on, it's no different from losing five games at the end.

[colourblindchameleon]

I thought that Faldo was a bit of an embaressment the whole week. He was trying too hard to be funny, a comedian, and not a captain.....with some people it could work (i.e. Trevino), but not with Faldo imo.

I heard that he was embaressing at the opening ceremony too, (mispronouncing a european`s name, and anothers nationality). I wouldn`t be surprised if he deliberately dropped Westwood and Garcia on the Saturday, just so that Poulter would have had the chance to be top points scorer (and vindicate his pick/choice to the critical press). Poulter did play very well though, that I must admit.

He (Faldo) seemed to be playing to the cameras too much, but still looked aloof to his team, and I don`t think that he even mentioned the caddies at the closing ceremony.....just other stuff about his daughters enjoying the local nightlife instead.

Those niggles aside, America would probably have won no matter what he`d have done. The only way he would have stood a chance of captaining a winning team would only have been transferring the final two days play to a wet and windy Welsh course instead ! But that`s for another day.....or perhaps another 739 of them!