Wilson, Mickelson..."Winning cures all ills"..

In the aftermath of all the acrimony that was bound to follow the US loss in the Ryder Cup, even before Phil Mickelson virtually called out his captain in the post loss presser, then again yesterday as I watched one of golf's good guys Oliver Wilson finally get his first win after 10 years, with 9 runner-up finishes no less, I was reminded once again of the old adage,  winning cures all ills..


First Wilson.. Dougie Donnelly is a very fine Scottish sports broadcaster and I trust his analysis and judgement. His main bailiwick these days is golf and I could tell from the emotion in his voice as Olly as he is known hung on until his playing partner Tommy Fleetwood missed a 12 footer on the final hole to give Wilson his win that his struggles, especially in the last 2 years have touched everyone on the European Tour.


He held off Rory McIlroy for a one-shot victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, shooting a 2-under 70 in the final round on the Old Course at St. Andrews. Wilson finished at 17-under 271, with McIlroy (68) in a three-way tie for second with Richie Ramsay of Scotland and Tommy Fleetwood of England.

Now 34 he is currently ranked 792nd in the world, had finished second nine times in his 227 previous tour events, but lost his card two years ago and was competing this week on an invitation. He was once ranked in the world top 50 and was a member of the European Ryder Cup team at Valhalla in 2008 before losing his game..

Barely able to speak, overcome with emotion in his post round interview, he did manage to say it had been a long, long time coming, but the win while yet to sink in would wash away all those bad times, and probably change his life forever !!

Now for the Ryder Cup acrimony... Let's be honest, if the US had of played better in the afternoon foursomes, they lost 7 and only halved 2, and had gone on to win the Cup, Captain Tom Watson, Hall of Famer, straight shooting, no nonsense, fully committed, would have been hailed as just the tonic the spoiled, pampered US players needed.

Did he make a mistake in not playing Speith and Reed in Thursday's foursomes, probably, did he make a mistake in sitting Mickelson and Bradley all day Saturday, probably, not that either were playing all that well both last week and all year long.

However to now to suggest on many fronts, including from Mickelson, that he was too old, out of touch with modern systems like Azinger's pods, unsympathetic, praising only his rookies while leaving out others just smacks of a team that just got their asses kicked, for the 8th time in the last 10 outings.

Phil Mickelson is great for golf and is a great golfer and will be a Ryder Cup captain soon. What he had to say at that press conference should have been said behind closed doors and to Tom Watson directly.

This Cup from the get go was conducted by all concerned including captains McGinley and Watson in the gentlemanly manner that I feel Samuel Ryder envisaged way back in the mid 1920's.

While a bitter pill for the American's to swallow, I saw them all doff their caps and shake their victorious opponents hands after every match..that's the way it should be. Remember from 1926 - 1983 it was the Yanks who won all but 3 times with one other match halved in 1966 and on each occasion it was the players from GB & Ireland who were offering their hands... the way it should be

For it to end with Mickelson's well thought out public criticism of his captain, and therefore the PGA was wrong and sadly disappointing..

Like I said if the US players had of played better in the foursomes and went on to win I wouldn't be writing this because after all is said and done winning cures all ills..

Bryan Angus