Undermined by poor leadership and a lack of player input, the Americans were throttled at the 2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland, their third consecutive defeat in the biennial matches. In the awkward news conference afterward, a reporter asked any of the 12 team members to identify what worked in 2008 (when the U.S. last won) and what has gone wrong since.
Having made 10 consecutive Ryder Cup teams, Lefty was an authoritative source. He described in detail how every member of the Paul Azinger-led squad was “invested in the process” – the picks, the pairings, the pods. Everything.