Sir Nick Faldo goes on rant (!) about Team USA's Ryder Cup and LIV Golf
Sir Nick Faldo has explained where it went wrong for Team USA at the Ryder Cup and why the PGA Tour will prevail against LIV Golf.
Sir Nick Faldo may be retired from golf commentary but that doesn't mean we're not going to be treated to his opinions.
The hall of famer hopped on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio on 25 October for a chat about the Ryder Cup, PGA Tour and of course LIV Golf.
Faldo has never been a fan of the circuit. One of those reasons, we suggest, is because of his bitter rivalry with Greg Norman.
First up the 66-year-old, six-time major champ offered his thoughts on what went wrong for Team USA at the 2023 Ryder Cup.
From his point of view, it went wrong for Zach Johnson because of his captain's picks who were all 'running hot and cold'.
"When you're not playing great at a Ryder Cup, I can promise you it is the worst arena to be playing in because you are under so much pressure to do something for the rest of the team," he said.
He explained: "The big four [European players] came in and you've got to get a huge bunch of points. Then I thought it was very cool that our rookies, America doesn't know a lot about our rookies, [Nicolai] Hojgaard and [Ludvig] Aberg and Bobby MacIntyre, they don't know a lot about these guys and that can be very useful.
"So, which they obviously did, the captains can say, 'Relax, you've all to gain this week. If you can just get me a point you've done a great job.' Well, they did more than that. So we got that added bonus as well.
"And then we had to look at Zach's picks, his six picks, I mean, all those guys are great guys, great golfers, but they were all running hot and cold, or trying to find their games and saying, you know, 'I can turn it on for you, captain.'"
He continued: "But I've been there and got the T-shirt. When you're not playing great at a Ryder Cup I can promise you it is the worst arena to be playing in because you are under so much pressure to do something for the rest of the team. And you won't find it, and we saw all of that unravel. And Europe was extremely focused.
"You could literally see it in their eyes right on the first tee. They stood up there and looked down the fairway. And America, to be honest, I looked and thought, 'These guys, they've got too much peripheral vision. They're just looking at everything.' And Europe was very focused on the job at hand, what they had to do."
Faldo then spoke of the differences between the PGA Tour and LIV, which just concluded their second campaign.
The Englishman said he would have 'loved to earn' more money in his career.
But he's proud of the fact he underwent a memorable, significant swing change to win majors.
The PGA Tour makes you strive, he said.
Faldo said: "It is a different style of golf [LIV]. And the Tour is the Tour, or the Tours, you know, and we would deem it as proper golf, 72 holes, 36-hole cut. All of that is all part of your learning experience.
"Cause you've gotta strive, you know? Here's the bottom line, you know, you've got to strive, you know, everything in life is a struggle, isn't it? So you strive and from striving, you then achieve something.
"So if you've achieved something, you then get satisfaction from doing that. And then from your satisfaction, you then create a memory. Well, if there's nothing to strive for then there's no memory.
"When I look back at my career, you don't think of the dollar sign. You think, I went through a swing change for two years and then came out of it and finally winning, win my first major and what have you, and then became a pretty darn decent golfer for five years.
"That makes you proud of what you did. And that's with me forever. I mean, that's where I see a difference. Sure, I would've loved to earn tens of millions more. I'm not denying that.
"But there's something about competing and putting yourself through the ringer, and then you feel proud of your achievements. … That's why I think the Tour's competitive golf will stand up because their tour is not the same competition. It really isn't."
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Ben joined GolfMagic as Content Executive in September 2021 just before the Ryder Cup and has contributed significantly to the growth of the site. Ben now assumes our Content Manager role, specialising in PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf content.
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