Should we blame Nick Faldo for Ryder Cup defeat?
Just like he infamously sang when he won the Open Championship in 1992, Nick Faldo did it his way.
It was always going to be fascinating to see if a man who built a tremendous career as a player by being single-minded and often insular, could turn his hand to captaincy. His strengths were always based around the individual, so could he inspire a team?
The European players all rallied round their leader throughout the week, sprinkling the word "respect" whenever they were asked about him. But there is no doubt Faldo ruffled feathers even within his own side.
He left Lee Westwood out of the Saturday morning foursomes against the Englishman's wishes and then opted to load the bottom end of the singles pairings with his big-name players, by which time the match was already over.
Faldo said afterwards that he would not have done anything differently, but should he have done? Did his tactical naivety cost Europe the Ryder Cup or would they have lost anyway? Did his slip-up in revealing his Friday foursome pairings have any bearing on the result? And would the atmosphere within the team have been any better had Faldo attempted to get the press on his side, rather than mocking them with his "sandwich menu" lie?
Or is this more about the American team? Was Paul Azinger simply too clever? Were the American players just too good?
Read The Times's analysis of Faldo's captaincy and then let us know below if you think he was to blame for Europe's Ryder Cup defeat.


