ATLANTA -- It has come to this for Nick Faldo, who has endured a bashing unlike any administered to a U.K. sports legend in recent memory, if not the entire colorful history of Fleet Street.
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| If Nick Faldo has been bothered by something he has read or heard, he's not saying -- to anybody. (AP) |
The headlines during Ryder Cup week and its aftermath have been, even by British standards, unfailingly harsh. He was dubbed Kentucky Fried Nick after the Euros lost the opening Friday sessions, and the written assaults only got more personal and pointed from there.
The judgments were swift, unequivocal and brutal. The greatest player in British history was stoned in the public square, then left in the stocks to endure even more ridicule. Note we said greatest and not "most beloved."
In headlines and prose, he's been called Captain Calamity, Captain Cock-up and characterized as Paul Azinger's actual 13th man, previously a reference reserved for the pro-American crowd. In all, one newspaper dubbed the week Faldo's Folly. Past captains and former Ryder players like Colin Montgomerie have questioned nearly every move.
"It's sad," said Masters winner Trevor Immelman, a South African who watched the matches on TV. "The thing is, they had won the thing for so long, whoever lost it as captain was probably going to get buried."
With Faldo in the box, the funeral was made that much easier. Perhaps they already had shovels in hand.
U.S. swing Coach Butch Harmon has worked as an analyst for the U.K.-based Sky Sports network for years, so he's familiar with the media mindset abroad. He got the impression that teeth were bared and knives sharpened before the matches had begun.
"Nick's relationship with the press has never been that good over the years," Harmon said. "I think that they almost were waiting for him to fail, which I don't think is fair, because in his mind, he thinks he did everything he could do.
"The big thing where Nick's concerned is his personality and the way he's been with the British press for the 20-25 years of his career. It hasn't left him on friendly terms with them. So they get beat at a time when they're favored and it's going to be his fault."
American players, or at least the handful who have had time to absorb the press reaction since the matches ended Sunday night, have been flabbergasted at how completely Faldo has been barbequed.
"That's going toward Nick Faldo, who's a Ryder Cup legend, won more points on the European side than anybody, and they're crucifying him right now," U.S. Ryder standout Hunter Mahan said. "That's pretty tough, pretty tough. "I think someone said, 'This kills everything he's ever done in his career.' I think that's a bit much for a guy who's won six majors and was No. 1 in the world for a long time."
Media public enemy No. 1 for a while, too. A notorious loner, Faldo was never loved by the Fourth Estate and he occasionally reciprocated with disdain of his own. After winning one of his three British Open titles, Faldo flippantly thanked the media "from the heart of my bottom."
