Whenever Tom Watson has spoken about his role as Ryder Cup captain he has been at pains to stress his desire, and that of opposite number Paul McGinley, that the 40th contest at Glen- eagles this year be played in the right spirit.
But scratch beneath the surface of the platitudes and it does not take long to realise just how badly Watson wants to regain the trophy after years of European domination.
Europe have won seven of the last nine biennial contests, causing the PGA of America to ask Watson to reprise his role. He was captain at the Belfry in 1993 – the last time the United States tasted success on European soil.
Watson will be 65 by the time of the matches on September 26 to 28 but has lost none of the competitive fire which in 2009 almost saw him pull off a fairytale sixth Open championship victory at Turnberry at the age of 59.
Take, for example, his suggestion that the purest form of the Ryder Cup would see teams revert to 12 automatic qualifiers and no wild cards, because then he would know for sure which players “want to make it the worst way”.
Then there is his description of watching Europe’s remarkable fightback in the Miracle at Medinah last year and having a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach because he could not do anything about it.
Last but not least is his vow that he will not play anyone who is out of form just for the sake of giving them experience before the singles.
“I will be honest with the players, if you’re not playing very well you might not play very much. That’s the way I handled 1993,” said Watson, who 21 years ago gave Lee Janzen, Chip Beck and John Cook only one game each before the singles.
“I think the team got behind me in 1993 and said we are going to win this no matter what. That’s my call, that’s where I get second-guessed but I will take the arrows.”
That is certainly where previous captain Davis Love III came in for criticism, acceding to a request from Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley to be rested for the Saturday afternoon fourballs at Medinah.
The pair had won all three of their previous matches comfortably, including needing just 12 holes to beat Lee Westwood and Luke Donald on Saturday morning. Europe split the afternoon session 2-2 and then came from 10-6 down in the singles, where a refreshed Mickelson and Bradley lost anyway – to Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy respectively.
Love did at least have the nerve to sit out Tiger Woods for a session for the first time in the world number one’s Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup career, although Woods still only managed half a point from four matches. But anyone expecting Watson to be able to explain Woods’s poor record in the Ryder Cup should not hold their breath.
“Search me. It’s an enigma to me. I don’t know,” said Watson.
When Watson’s previous criticism of Woods’s on and off-course behaviour is factored in, it is no wonder that the captain wants to sit down with the 14-time major winner to clear the air. Whether he succeeds remains to be seen, but the impression remains that McGinley’s captaincy will be a study in meticulous preparation while Watson is projecting a slightly more laissez-faire approach.
Watson said of his players: “I make sure they have what they need, their clothes fit, all the mundane stuff, but the bottom line is that I am a stage manager, they are the actors and they go out and perform.
“Medinah was great theatre and a great match, just the wrong team won.”