Ian Woosnam is bemused by European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley’s decision to opt for five vice-captains instead of the usual four and believes it could be a sign of weakness.
McGinley raised a few eyebrows last week when he drafted in 2012 captain José María Olazábal, Padraig Harrington and Miguel Ángel Jimenez to join Sam Torrance and Des Smyth as his deputies for the biennial team event at Gleneagles later this month.
2006 Ryder Cup captain Woosnam said: “I honestly thought he was going to go for four vice-captains. It took me a little bit by surprise when he went for five. I guess he’s trying to get a little bit of advice from everybody but sometimes you can get too much. At the end of the day he’s the one who has got to make the decisions.
“Is it a sign of weakness having that many? It does seem a lot. Maybe he’s trying to get as much experience as he possibly can. He might need a bigger team room, he might as well have 12 vice-captains, one for each player.”
McGinley’s playing record, he has won four times on the European Tour, pales in comparison to United States counterpart Tom Watson who is one of golf’s true greats having collected eight major victories including five British Opens.
However, Woosnam, who was captain when Europe pummelled the US in 2006, believes that the 47-year-old Irishman has got what it takes to deliver Ryder Cup glory.
“Paul may have only won four tournaments but I think he’s going to be well respected by his players. He’s very professional,” said the 56-year-old Welshman. “If you put it in football terms, you don’t always have to be the best player to be the best captain. Not at all.”
McGinley will have four of the world’s top five players in his 12-strong team in Scotland – Rory McIlroy, Sergio García, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose – but Woosnam said no-one should underestimate a US side led by Watson.
“The American team is very well balanced and with Tom running that team, he’s not going to take any nonsense,” he explained. “If Tom Watson talks, you listen – if you don’t there must be something wrong with you.
“He doesn’t like losing, he’s got a great mind, he’s a very intelligent guy and he’ll be working it all out. This is not going to be the walkover everyone thinks it’s going to be.
“Tom’s going to have more authority in that team room. He’s going to say: ‘I’m the captain and you’ve got to do what I say.’ All the players will have respect for him as captain. He’s going to demand respect.“
On his fellow countryman Jamie Donaldson, who will be making his debut in the event, Woosnam said: “It’s fantastic to have another Welshman in the team. Jamie’s got a great putting stroke, he’s got a lot of bottle and I think he’s going to be a tremendous addition.
“He could play with anyone in the team and I can’t see any faults in his game really. I played with him three or four years ago in an event in Barbados. I didn’t see him as a potential Ryder Cup player back then but he’s come on in leaps and bounds and is now a really solid player.”
