Does Watson second-guess himself for going without Mickelson on Saturday at Ryder Cup?
AUCHTERARDER, Scotland -- From that day nearly two years ago when he was named for a second go-round to captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Tom Watson had been held up as an example of "going outside the box" to try and win this biennial competition.
Well Saturday, the iconic Watson went so far outside the box that he did something that has never been done in the previous nine Ryder Cups.
He sat Phil Mickelson for both sessions. An entire day. Gave the five-time major winner a free pass to sleep in, have a leisurely lunch, then slip into a cheerleader's role as he strolled the sprawling Gleneagles Centenary Course.
A competitive Ryder Cup day without Phil? We haven't seen that since the singles session of 1993 at The Belfry. The fact that Watson was the captain then, too, is an intriguing common denominator, but enough of that. How exactly did Mickelson, 44, who knew he'd be sitting for the morning four-balls, take the news when the captain told him he'd have the afternoon off from foursomes, too?
"I expected exactly what Phil said to me," Watson said. "He said, 'We can get it done, captain. We want the chance.'"
Mickelson, of course, was pushing hard for him and Keegan Bradley to be included in the foursomes lineup. They had been paired for a long, arduous Friday, going 18 holes to edge Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia in four-balls, then getting whipped pretty good over 16 holes of foursomes by Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson.
Despite the 1-1 day and improving to 4-1 as a Ryder Cup team, Mickelson and Bradley didn't have an easy time of it Friday. In four-balls, Lefty kept the team in it while Bradley struggled early before making a dramatic eagle at 16. But fatigue seemed to set in late Friday when a pair of fresh legs, McDowell and Dubuisson shined.
"I am surprised," McDowell said late Saturday, after his Euro teammates had forged to a 10-6 advantage with a rousing foursomes session, one that was without Mickelson and Bradley.
"But I saw him after six or seven holes (Friday, in their foursomes game) and he was tired. You could see it. But I thought we'd see him Saturday afternoon."
Asked about Watson's decision to bench a guy with the most Ryder Cup appearances (10) in U.S. history, Paul McGinley shook his head. He said he was so focused on his lineup, he didn't notice who Watson put out in the afternoon foursomes. "My house was in order," McGinley said, though he finally conceded that "I wasn't taken aback, no."
McGinley's most veteran player, Lee Westwood, was asked if he were shocked that the Americans went both sessions without Mickelson. "Not shocked. Surprised. To sit out a full day? Yeah, surprised," he said.
Watson fully comprehends that the second-guessers will have a field day, offering criticism that the captain didn't put Mickelson and Bradley in for at least the afternoon foursomes. They had gone 2-0 in that format in 2012 -- by 4 and 3 and 7 and 6, no less -- and from the outset, Mickelson-Bradley had figured to be one of Watson's dynamic teams.
But the captain did not like what he saw from this team Friday, despite a four-balls win over the heralded team of McIlroy and Garcia.
"They were disappointed. They wanted to play," Watson said. "I like that in a player. I like the push-back that I got from them.
"(But) he didn't play very well yesterday. I mentioned that and I told him that. I said, 'You struggled yesterday.'"
Having been whipped soundly in foursomes late Friday, 3.5-.5, Watson's team rallied to win the morning four-balls, 2.5-1.5, and in doing so got positive efforts from Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, and Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker. Those six, Watson decided, were in good form and deserved an afternoon foursomes game, as did a rested Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar, who played decently in a four-balls loss in the morning.
"You can question my decisions on that. That's fine," Watson said. "But I made the best decisions I possibly could at the time I was making them."
Since hindsight is flawless, Watson indicated he may have pushed the envelope by playing Mickelson and Bradley twice Friday, that he could have paid the price by playing Fowler and Walker a third straight match. They had played well in securing a halve in each of their Friday games, though the halve they got against McIlroy and Ian Poulter Friday morning was a bit of a letdown.
Perhaps that was a signal that they had reached the finish line and needed a rest.
Already 1 down to McDowell and Dubuisson in the fourth session, a foursomes match, Walker "on three hit a tee shot that not many people in this media center would be proud of," McDowell said. "I mean, that had to be tiredness. It had to be."
The leader of his pairing, McDowell turned to Dubuisson, 24, and a Ryder Cup rookie and said: "Listen, let's show these guys how energetic we are, let's show these guys how up for this we are and really try not to give them an inch."
They may be an Irishman and a Frenchman, but there's clearly no communication problem. Dubuisson did as he was told. The team was 4 up through six and romped, 5 and 4.
"It may have been a mistake that I put Jimmy and Rickie out four matches," Watson said.
But not playing Mickelson and Bradley either session Saturday? He was adamant when asked if he had any regrets.
"No," Watson said.
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