Phil Mickelson is beginning to look more like Mickey Mouse after Europe gave the Americans another beating in the Ryder Cup.
After the 161/2-111/2 defeat, Mickelson pointed a furious finger at team captain Tom Watson and blamed him for the loss.
To take a wild swing at Watson, whose career includes eight wins in the majors, is ludicrous.
The American players, including Mickelson, lost the battle. It was not the team captain.
Speaking afterwards, Mickelson, who has lost eight of his 10 Ryder Cups, spoke about the strategy adopted by team captain Paul Azinger in 2008 when the USA won at home in Valhalla.
“Paul Azinger got everybody invested in the process,” he said.
“We use that same process in the President’s Cup and we do really well. Unfortunately, we have strayed from that for the last three Ryder Cups and we need to consider maybe getting back to that formula that helped us play our best.”
The American star does not hold an impressive record in the Ryder Cup, losing 19 times, winning on 16 occasions and halving matches six times. It’s hardly a Donald Duck performance, but I would have expected more from a man who has won five major titles, including the Masters Green Jacket at Augusta three times, in his career.
Early in the final day’s play at Gleneagles in Scotland, a country which Watson likes to call a second home, the USA were leading in the singles and it looked like they could make a run for the crown. It looked like Watson’s selections and strategy were paying off.
After Welsh wizard Jamie Donaldson wrapped things up with a superb wedge shot at the 15th hole to win his match against Keegan Bradley, Watson told Rory McIlroy the Americans had given him a fright. And the young star agreed.
All the talk by Mickelson about the winning formula under team captain Paul Azinger is spurious.
“Phil the Pill” just wouldn’t take his medicine at Gleneagles. His outburst sparked criticism from former European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, Nick Faldo, the losing team at Valhalla and American TV commentator Brandel Chamblee.
Montgomerie and Faldo said Mickelson should have kept his mouth shut while Chamblee accused Mickelson of corrupting the Ryder Cup.
“Should we go into this one hour after we’ve been defeated?” Montgomerie said.
“The answer is a flat no. You support your captain under all circumstances. In public, you respect and honour your captain.
“The PGA of America selected Tom Watson as the best choice to try to win the Ryder Cup back. Unfortunately, the team didn’t perform for Tom.”
Montgomerie added that Mickelson had been the only player on the 12-man USA team who did not travel on the private jet to Scotland.
“I have a big problem with that,” Montgomerie said.
“The team should fly as a 12. We have to start out as we want to finish, as a team.”
Faldo echoed Montgomerie’s comments.
“That should have been a private conversation. Phil certainly doesn’t respect Tom Watson. He threw his captain right under the bus,” he said.
Chamblee said that it was “as close to a one-man mutiny as I have ever seen”.
“I think that’s a moment that Phil would like to have back,” he said.
“If you are looking for a reason why the United States continues to lose, you just saw it, you saw it in one man – Phil Mickelson.
“Phil Mickelson, along with the best players of that era, have so corrupted the experience of the Ryder Cup for their fellow competitors by not having records anywhere near what they should, given their rank in the game and what they’ve achieved.
“Players of an era who are the best go to the Ryder Cup and show off, not goof off. Phil Mickelson in 2004 changed clubs at the Ryder Cup and the day before he went to practise at another golf course. This is yet another example of (Americans) not coming together as team.”
The European team were all heart and Ian Poulter showed this by pounding his chest at every opportunity. Justin Rose, Europe’s standout player, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Poulter all bounced back.
My heart went out to Hunter Mahan, who fluffed his chip shot on the last hole (shades of the Celtic Manor defeat), giving Rose a half point.
McIlroy led the way and Martin Kaymer followed in his spike marks while Donaldson pointed a finger to the sky after sealing victory for the men in red the blues again.
Mickelson should know better than to criticise team captain Watson. He should also remember that when you point a finger at someone, three fingers point back at you.
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