THE fall-out from Europe's Ryder Cup defeat has been typically fierce towards Nick Faldo, but like a lot of players in his team, I have sympathy for the captain.
His selections, ultimately, did not result in defeat; Ian Poulter, for example, had a
fantastic few days in Valhalla. More importantly, it wasn't as if the European team played poorly in losing the famous trophy, the United States merely had a fantastic weekend.
Oliver Wilson, for example, was two under par through nine holes on Sunday and found himself three down to Boo Weekley. If Wilson had been playing against Chad Campbell, he would have been four up.
Other circumstances worked against Faldo. Paul Casey didn't putt as well as you would normally expect him to and Padraig Harrington seemed to suffer from neck trouble. You couldn't make plans for either of those eventualities, Harrington has enjoyed the year of his life so far. Given that he wasn't fully fit, it made sense for Faldo to put Harrington out last in Sunday's singles rather than relying on him at the top of the draw.
I remember from losing a Walker Cup in Chicago how sore it is to take and also how the American crowd can really get behind their players. I heard a lot of comments, particularly from Lee Westwood, regarding the conduct of the crowd but it goes without saying that fans in America go over the top. Anthony Kim was geeing up the crowd in that Walker Cup, so it is going to be even more noisy at a Ryder Cup.
The one difference would be if players were being put off before they hit shots but, as home crowds go, I didn't think this one was too bad. That only one person was ejected over the whole weekend probably says it all; we shouldn't get caught up too much in home fans supporting their team or players celebrating moments of magic such as Hunter Mahan's putt against Casey on the 17th on Sunday.
Admittedly, I saw a little more of the Ryder Cup than I would have liked having missed the cut at the Kazakhstan Open. It wasn't a great week in a place I wouldn't choose to visit for a holiday, but the next week or so is an exciting one.
Firstly, I am defending my World Hickory Championship title at Craigielaw – time to dust down the old plus fours and wooden-shafted clubs – before I compete in the Dunhill Links Championship at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews next week, following a late invite. It's not often you can claim to be a world champion and the hickory event is great fun, even if you are almost certain to snap a few clubs along the way.
Last week wasn't a complete write-off, as my older brother Elliot did brilliantly in making it past stage one of European Tour qualifying school in Oxfordshire. Two opening rounds of 67 set him up perfectly – that is one event where you just pray you don't have a bad time of it – and he now joins me in the second stage.
• Lloyd Saltman is sponsored by life and pensions group Aegon UK.
The full article contains 555 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
