ONE of America's most insightful professionals, John Cook, has blamed his country's poor showing in the Ryder Cup on a crop of one-dimensional players who need to take a leaf out of Tiger Woods' book and win more often by learning to play the right shot at the right time.
A contender at Royal Troon for the Senior Open, where he carded an impressive 69 in blustery conditions yesterday, Cook spoke of his desire to give something back to the game as a coach and help the next generation expand their repertoire beyond shee
r power.
"They are very, very good, so why don't they win more than they do?" Cook said of the new breed of young American players. "I don't think they understand a lot of the (nuances] of the game and how to hit different shots.
"Now it's all strength and power and they don't play the little shots any more that can help them win championships. Why they don't, I have no idea. Just look at the world's No 1 (Tiger Woods]; that's as far as you need to look.
"And it's not so much about the short game, just hitting the correct shot at the right time."
Cook, who along with Mark O'Meara was one of the senior pros who befriended Woods when he first came on the US Tour, added: "Tiger was all about power, which was okay, but to be where he is now, he had to learn some new things, and as great as he is, he's never been afraid to ask Mark or myself or whoever to seek advice on how you hit the little, little shots.
"And now I know he takes more pride in hitting 7-irons from 135 yards into the wind than he does the 390-yard tee shot, I can promise you that. I think that just says so much about how he's matured in his game and why he has no rival; there's none."
Cook saw Woods two weeks ago after the world No 1 underwent a knee operation. "He was already scary-looking," Cook said. "When he comes back, he'll be stronger, there's no doubt in my mind. Wait another nine months before he can do anything, but I think he's going to be just fine."
While Woods is a player of imagination, Cook, who played on a winning side at the Belfry in 1993, was asked if the US had struggled since then in the Ryder Cup because too many US golfers are one-dimensional. He replied: "Absolutely, no question about it. I totally agree.
"You look at the guys who are successful on our Ryder Cup team, and those guys, they are not so much the big power guys, but the guys who have learned a little bit; the Jim Furyks.
"I think that you're right. There's a lot of young talent on the US Tour, but they need to start winning something in my eyes."
The full article contains 507 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
