One of the most anticipated sporting events of 2014 will be the 40th Ryder Cup to be held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland in September.
Tom Watson won 39 PGA Tour titles including eight major championship victories. He was a member of four Ryder Cup teams and amassed an overall record of 10-4-1.
He was named U.S. Team Captain a little over one year ago to bring the Ryder Cup back to America.
Ted Bishop had just ascended to the top spot at the PGA of America and wanted to shake things up. He not only went outside the box with the Watson announcement, he went old-school.
The Europeans have won seven of the last nine Ryder Cup matches. Their record breaking comeback from a 10-4 deficit with just 14 points remaining in 2012 at Medinah was too much to bear.
Bishop wanted someone that players would respect and give their maximum effort for at Gleneagles. He wanted a captain that understood the value of every single point and would get the attention of each and every millionaire prima donna on the U.S. team.
At the age of 64, Watson will be the oldest Ryder Cup captain ever. His last win on the PGA Tour came at the 1998 MasterCard Colonial.
He did thrill golf fans everywhere, when he nearly won the 2009 Open Championship at the tender age of 59. Failing to make par at the 72nd hole at Turnberry, however, he lost the four-hole playoff to Stewart Cink.
Only Harry Vardon with six, has more Open Championship victories than Tom Watson’s five.
Watson knows Scottish golf and he is afforded god-like respect in Scotland. He will bring an old-school feel to the U.S. team and will expect them to scratch and claw for every single point.
Elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988 Tom Watson’s legacy is safe, even if the U.S. team fails to win the Ryder Cup for him.
The 40th Ryder Cup matches will not be held until the end of September, 2014, but the hype has already begun.
Players are already juggling their schedules to give them the best chance of earning the points needed to make the team.
Captain Watson does not suffer fools lightly. Anyone that makes his Ryder Cup team will be required to conduct themselves in the appropriate manner and give full attention to the task at hand.
Let the games begin!