Lefty lets ’em have it: Mickelson bashes another Ryder Cup captain as he says US team are prepared this time

Phil Mickelson criticised another past Ryder Cup captain Wednesday in explaining why he thinks this American team will be prepared to play its best.

Mickelson was the catalyst for change in 2014 when he publicly questioned Tom Watson’s heavy-handed role – with Watson sitting at the same table – after another American loss at Gleneagles. That led to the PGA of America creating a task force that allowed for more player involvement.

“When you look back on what the difference is, when players are put in a position to succeed, more often than not they tend to succeed,” Mickelson said. “And when they are put in positions to fail, most of the time they tend to fail.”

That opened the conversation of how much a captain can mean in the Ryder Cup without hitting a shot or making a putt.

“Let me give you an example, if I may,” Mickelson said, stopping just short of wagging his finger.

He went back to 2004 when the Americans suffered their worst loss ever in the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills. Nothing illustrated their failure more than when US captain Hal Sutton sent out Mickelson and Tiger Woods twice. It was their first time playing together, and they lost both matches.