NEWLY-APPOINTED US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson says Rory McIlroy will be the main threat to their chances of regaining the trophy at Gleneagles in 2014.
The Americans let a 10-4 lead slip to lose at the Medinah Country Club in Illinois earlier this year, and are without a win on foreign soil since 1993 — when they prevailed under Watson’s guidance at The Belfry in Warwickshire.
The 63-year old — who will be the oldest Ryder Cup captain in history when the tournament takes place — believes McIlroy will be a frightening prospect in two years time if his improvement continues.
“Rory McIlroy is — we’ll see in the next two years, if he continues to ascend as he is, the number one player in the world,” Watson said.
“He’s a great player, he’s got natural ability. He is a fierce competitor and as a Ryder Cup player he’s done pretty well already. He may be the next Seve (Ballesteros) on that European Ryder Cup team.”
Watson said he still has faith in Tiger Woods, who is yet to recapture his form of old. Since the issues surrounding his private life surfaced in 2009, Woods has won just three titles, and no major championships.
“The only explanation is he (Woods) hasn’t played well enough, he just hasn’t hit the shots and he’d be the first to tell you that,” Watson said. ”The bottom line is, you get right back to what I am as a captain.
“I’m a stage manager. I go out there and set the stage for these players. I pick the teams to go on stage. They go on stage and they have to perform.
“They can’t forget their lines, they can’t miss their cues. They have to hit their marks to win and bring this cup home. And Tiger will be the first to say ‘I haven’t played well enough’.
“Tiger is probably the fiercest competitor there is out there. He’s disappointed. He doesn’t show his emotions very much as you may well know but his disappointment I’m sure is there and he wants to rectify that.
“I certainly expect him to be in the team.”
The five-time British Open champion, who won four of those titles in Scotland, believes that experience will stand him in good stead ahead of the American team’s visit to Gleneagles in 2014.
“I just hope that I can bring a winning air to this team,” he said. ”My experience over there (in Scotland) has been good, I’ve had a pretty good record over there over my career. I’ve had a pretty good Ryder Cup record too.
“So the trust that the players will have (in) me making the right decisions for the team will be there.”
