MINNEAPOLIS – Early on Wednesday Phil Mickelson was asked how much impact a captain can have on the outcome of a Ryder Cup, and the example he used did not paint a flattering picture of Hal Sutton, the 2004 U.S. captain.
Sutton paired Mickelson and Tiger Woods in ’04 at Oakland Hills, a last-minute decision that forced Lefty to learn how to play Woods’ high-spin golf ball and didn’t give him enough time to prepare.
“That's an example of starting with the captain, that put us in a position to fail and we failed monumentally, absolutely,” Mickelson said.