CHASKA, Minn. — The “task force’’ is on trial.
When we last left the U.S. Ryder Cup team two years ago it was in such a state of disarray, it seemed they might never win again. In a stunned interview room at Gleneagles in Scotland, Phil Mickelson verbally undressed then-captain Tom Watson with Watson sitting just a few feet away.
The Europeans had just won their third consecutive Ryder Cup and a staggering eighth of the last 10, and the blame for the latest loss was being place squarely on the rigid Watson, who many players felt should never have been named captain in the first place.
Enter the “task force.’’
Days after the debacle at Gleneagles, some U.S. players, spearheaded by Mickelson, developed an idea to form a task force to right all of the wrongs they believe have kept the Americans from hoisting the cherished gold chalice.
The premise was to bring the same continuity to the team that Europe always seems to have. Players wanted more input into the decisions made, beginning with selection of the captains.
They got all of those things. And now, two years later, that task force is on trial this week at the 41st Ryder Cup, which begins Friday at Hazeltine. The presence of the task force essentially means no more excuses for the U.S. side.
It could turn out to be an albatross for the Americans, adding to the intense pressure they’re already under on home soil to break the European dominance. More than any single player on the U.S. team and more than captain Davis Love III, the task force will be under the most scrutiny this week.
Has it made a difference? Or is it simply something straight out of one of those leadership seminar handbooks and mere mental gymnastics?
As the Americans have clinged to the hope that the task force pays immediate dividends this week, there’s been some public snickering among the Europeans, who see it as nothing more than desperation on the part of the Americans.
“You form a task force and it doesn’t go right this week, where do you go from there?’’ Lee Westwood, the longest-tenured player on Team Europe, said Thursday. “You’ve done pretty much all you can do. So we’ll see how that goes. It gives us a lot of confidence and puts added pressure on them.’’
There is little question there’s more pressure on the U.S. to win, because of the task force, because it is a home game and because Europe has six rookies on its roster.
“The numbers don’t lie,’’ Sergio Garcia said. “Obviously, the European Team has been very good the past 20 years or so, so obviously [the Americans] are looking for something extra to make sure that they can get back winning more Ryder Cups.’’
The 11-man task force — composed of Love, Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Tom Lehman, Ray Floyd and PGA of America officials, CEO Pete Bevacqua, president Derek Sprague and VP Paul Levy — has a primary goal of continuity. It’s trying to achieve that by bringing in vice captains who are likely to be future captains. This is something the Europeans have been doing for years.
“I think the system has worked because we’ve been more organized and more structured and had more input,’’ Love said. “We have a plan that’s going to put us in the best position to win Ryder Cups, not only this year, but beyond.’’
One obvious criticism of the task force is that one of its members, Love, was named captain, a move that was hardly considered to be outside the box.
Brandt Snedeker said be believes the task force already has “accomplished a lot of things,’’ adding, “I feel like for the first time there’s a plan in place for us to be successful.’’
Australian Jason Day, the world’s No. 1 player, made a statement recently that many will ponder as this Ryder Cup unfolds.
“If America doesn’t win,’’ Day said, “I wonder what’ll happen to that task force?”