Tony Jacklin Shares His Ryder Cup Thoughts

With the Ryder Cup being held in Paris for the first time, we caught up with former Captain Tony Jacklin to get his views. He spoke about the course, the pressure and what it takes to be a Captain. One things for sure he backs Ian Poulter for a Ryder Cup spot!

What do you make of the course?

I’ve never played it before, but I’ve seen it on TV a few times. It’s got a good layout to it and there is sure to be lots of excitement near the end, with water coming into play on the final holes. How it plays out will depend on how Thomas Bjorn wants the course to be set up.

People forget that the captain of the home side has the right to set up the golf course any way he sees fit for there to be an advantage for his team. At Hazeltine last time Davis Love had very little rough there, which played into his hands with the longer hitters. So, he put the flags pretty central, which caused a stir with some European players wanting the pins to be a bit tougher, but that was how Davis wanted it. Maybe Thomas will grow the rough up and narrow the fairways so there is that aspect to think about.

Format Like Nothing Else

Beyond that match play is very different to what they play week in week out. Normally you can take risks in match play that you wouldn’t normally. Then taking into account the team, it’s a great recipe for camaraderie with players who will never experience that on a weekly basis. All of a sudden there is someone other than yourself to care about and it changes everything. So many competitions have emerged from the Ryder Cup due to people seeing how much fun people had at the tournament.

Jacklin backs Poulter to secure Ryder Cup Spot

Clearly Ian Poulter, his Ryder Cup record and the way he plays, he’s still in there as one to consider. He’s a good match player so Thomas Bjorn will have him in his sights I would think. McDowell is another one who will be doing his all to be considered. I still think it was a shame that Paul Casey wasn’t in the last competition having already played in three Ryder Cups and not to have him just because he wasn’t a member of the Tour I thought was a poor choice.

It’s always going to be a close event, but you need to know you have the 12 best and Casey was one of those last time and he wasn’t there. It was the same situation for Russell Knox who also should have been there. Not having those two players made a considerable difference last time I think.

Current Team Europe Qualification Race

Home Crowd an Advantage

The other thing to consider is home team support, I think a lot of British fans will go over to Paris. Golf is not the most popular game in France. The event is so big now however, that people will come from lots of different countries to show their support. I believe that if Europe can forge some sort of a lead early on, the crowds will get right behind them which will certainly help them. If USA dominate early on for whatever reason, it might subdue the crowd. So, there’s plenty of factors to consider.

Will going somewhere new inspire people?

I believe it will have a lasting effect in some way and equally when it goes to Italy in 2022. It is a European team and I think that taking it to different places will help popularise the game. America has some very strong young players, but so do we with the likes of Rahm and Fitzpatrick and they are an inspiring bunch. Sergio Garcia is another one who always seems to step up to the plate in the Ryder Cup as does Rory McIlroy. The stage is set for a great week.

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Fleetwood Comes of Age

Tommy is the real deal, he’s come through this last year to prove he’s not a fluke. I hope he is able to maintain his form and there’s a lot of good players in Europe now. I think from Bjorn’s point of view he’ll want the 12 who are at the top of their game as the event gets closer. There is no substitute for this as you can’t play your top men for the first two days all the time. They need some rest bite so you need quality to fall back on.

What did you look for as a captain?

It has been 35 years since my first captaincy and I relied a lot on Major winners. I always felt that as Major champion was maybe 55% of a team, if you had the mental fortitude to win a Major you must be a special player. What happened through my four captaincies was that Europe were going through a golden time. Majors were won by the likes of Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer etc so I leant on these guys quite a bit, but it was a special time for European golf. Once we got the confidence and the self-esteem factor taken care of we were able to play our best stuff.

Selection Changes

People forget that in that first match in 1983, we only lost by a single point in America. I wasn’t brought on board until six months before the matches. I didn’t get any captain’s picks because of everything that was going on behind the scenes at that time.

Historically they picked captains who were about a generation ahead of the team, but this changed when I came onboard, as I was 38 when I was made captain for the first time. I knew all the players, but everything then had to be done all in a rush.
I was forced to take the 12 from the Order of Merit and we still nearly did it!

Mentally Strong

I made sure I upgraded everything. We got a team room that we never had before. We flew first class and made sure everything was taken care of. The response from the players was unbelievable. It shows just how important self-esteem and the feel-good factor is in sport. It meant we were at least standing on the tee with a better chance than previous years. Before we were almost flying on the back of the bus and wearing anything people would give us!

The mental side of things is very important, and I think this has remained the same over the last 30 or so years. The same principles I had have been carried on by different captains. It is important to keep morale up and the best way to do that is to make them feel special.

Prediction

If we can get off to a fast start, which we can do if Thomas Bjorn gets the powerful players out there early, then we have a really good chance. It will certainly be close and we’re going to have some shocks I’m sure. In my experience you just have to wait for it all to unfold as anything can happen. Weather can play a part and all manner of things can contribute. The course setup as I mentioned earlier is important. Whatever happens I can’t wait for it all to unfold in what is sure to be an exciting week.”

Tony Jacklin is managed by the Champions after dinner speaking agency. To hire Tony as a guest golf speaker or motivational speaker, please contact Benny Lawrence @ blawrence@championsukplc.com