Watson still has zest for a fight

Tom Watson’s amazing return as American Ryder Cup captain — he will be 65 at Gleneagles in 2014 and the oldest skipper in history — was not a knee-jerk reaction to their latest defeat.

Watson was contacted more than a year ago and asked if he was interested in trying to repeat his 1993 victory at The Belfry — the last time Europe have lost on home soil.

“Boy, I’ve been waiting for this call for a long time,” came the reply from the five-time British Open champion to PGA of America president Ted Bishop.

Watson instantly made it clear he wants Tiger Woods on his side, even though he had harsh words to say in the wake of Woods’ sex scandal in 2009 and the fact that since 1999, the only time the United States have triumphed was the one time Woods was not playing.

Watson has not decided yet how many wild cards he wants, but if Woods fails to qualify automatically, he can expect to be the number one choice for a pick.

“He’s the best player maybe in history,” Watson added. “Our relationship’s fine and I want him on my team.”

Woods has already said he hopes to win an eighth cap under the man who deplored his club-throwing and swearing and commented back then: “I feel that he has not carried the same stature as the other great players that have come along like Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan.”

Ryder Cup veteran Des Smyth, 59, is a huge fan of Watson but believes that appointing the 63-year old smacks of desperation by the PGA of America.

And he’s also called for the European Tour to overhaul its selection system and eliminate “politics” and “vested interests” from the process given the boardroom war developing between leading Clarke and McGinley.

“I was surprised,” Smyth said of Watson’s appointment. “Tom was captain before a long time ago and there are lots of guys who’ve played in the Ryder Cup who I feel it was their time. It’s a peculiar decision.

“I do think they are getting a bit desperate and I am a big fan of Tom Watson’s. He’d be in my top six of all time but he is out of the loop a bit. What was wrong with Fred Couples? He has won two Presidents Cups for them.”

Smyth admits, however, that he’s a fan of the way the US goes about picking a captain and believes the European selection system needs to be overhauled by taking the decision out of the hands of the Players Committee and handed to the European Tour board of directors.

“I’m disappointed that there is a competition for the Ryder Cup captaincy in Europe,” Smyth said. “That’s why I like the American system. They like somebody, find out if they are interested and that’s it. There is no competition.

“We are going to have to change our system because it is becoming a competition. There is a lot of politics going on and that is not the way it is supposed to be.

“We are going to have to take the Tournament Players Committee out because there are vested interests and that is not the way it was supposed to be. They have to take it up to board level where they nominate the captain and that’s it. What I am hearing is that there are management companies involved, players backing up players, because they are going to back them next time. It’s not the way I would envisage the process going and the Tour need to do something so that it is kept on the moral high ground.

“I don’t like the fact that they are playing politics with the captaincy. I want an Irish captain and it looked like Paul was going to be the man.

“Now there is a competition. That’s not the way it should be.”