U.S. team captain Tom Watson finally broke his silence after being heavily criticized for the poor showing of the U.S squad during last month’s Ryder Cup. Through an open letter, Watson took full responsibility for the poor showing, admitting he made some mistakes in leading the team over at Gleneagles.
Watson had been heavily criticized for his lackadaisical leadership, something that led to dissention within the team that contributed to the squad’s downfall. Vocal among the group was no less than Phil Mickelson, one of the top golfers today.
Curiously, Watson was the last team captain to win in the Ryder Cup back in 1993 and apparently the feat was something that earned him another shot at leading the U.S., which, unfortunately, went for naught.
A report from ESPN put Watson in a more precarious position, especially after four unnamed sources bared that he would take no responsibility for the Ryder Cup debacle. And apparently the open letter was made by Watson to shed some light into the growing turmoil, something that in all sums up his admission that he did a very poor job this time around in leading the team.
Watson’s alleged new strategy backfired for team U.S., veering away from the previous system used in 2008 which Mickelson believed would have been better. The system in mention was actually a four-man pod system said to be something taken from the Navy SEALS that emphasized on more bonding and time among team members on and off the golf course.
He eventually gave praise to his team members in the end, crediting them for playing their hearts out and taking full responsibility for the team’s poor performance.
After this poor showing, would it be Watson’s last to act as the U.S. team’s leader? From the looks of it, it may seem to be the case despite his admission of poor leadership which may have come a tad late.
