Lee Westwood disappointed by US criticism of Tom Watson
Europe Ryder Cup star says he is disappointed that the Americans' post-event criticism of losing captain Tom Watson was done in public
Lee Westwood was disappointed to see stories from the American team room at the Ryder Cup complaining about Tom Watson as captain, saying those matters should be kept private and "nothing good can come of all this".
Westwood has played in nine Ryder Cups, winning for the seventh time when Europe beat the Americans at Gleneagles two weeks ago.
In recent days, various reports have quoted sources in the US team room as saying that Watson was a heavy-handed captain who was dismissive of the team, spoke negatively to his players and did not communicate with them.
Yeah, maybe Tom got a few things wrong. Maybe the US team just didn't quite play well enough in general. If the other team plays well, you're going to lose
That led to Watson writing an "open letter" over the weekend to say he regrets it if his message to the team came out the wrong way and that he takes full responsibility for any mistakes.
"It's very difficult to pinpoint in a team environment whose fault it specifically is. It's a combination of different things. Yeah, maybe Tom got a few things wrong. Maybe the US team just didn't quite play well enough in general. If the other team plays well, you're going to lose.
"I'm just pleased that I don't have to sort it all out because I don't like to see people with great reputations ... being brought down by something that shouldn't really happen in public. It should all be done behind closed doors and sorted out there, and the analysis should start there, and not be done in the press."
