Tony Jacklin thinks
Ryder Cup captain Mark James is not up to scratch.
Just over a week before
James leads the defence of golf's most prestigious team trophy at
the Brookline Country Club in Massachusetts, Jacklin criticised the decision
to leave Cup veteran Bernhard Langer out of a European side that will field
seven rookies against one for the United States.
Reopening a wound
that has festered since James was chosen to succeed Seve Ballesteros as
European captain, Jacklin warned that pitching Cup debutantes against a
star-studded American line-up could be sending "lambs to the slaughter".
Jacklin, who masterminded
Europe's emotional win at The Belfry in 1985 and the side's first
victory on American soil at Muirfield Village two years later, said: "As
captain, I wanted the strongest possible team.
"I would have put
Langer in. He had a wonderful mind and mentality for match play. Apart
from his vast experience as a player in the Ryder Cup, he was always wonderful
in that he could play with anybody."
Langer, a veteran
of nine Cup campaigns, retains the distinction of partnering the most players
- 12 - in Ryder Cup history.
The 42-year-old German
was desperate to win a 10th cap at Brookline, but finishing four places
outside the top 10 in the Ryder Cup points list and missing out on automatic
selection was a personal disaster. Langer still clung to the belief that
his form and experience were good enough to secure the second of the captain's
two wild-card picks - the first was always going to go to Sweden's
Jesper Parnevik, who won on the American Tour earlier this season.
But that hope was dashed
four weeks ago when James named Andrew Coltart as his second pick. The 29-year-old
Scot joins Open champion Paul Lawrie, Jean Van de Velde, Sergio Garcia,Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jarmo Sandelin in Europe's
rookie squad.
The only player making
his debut with the American side is David Duval, and he just happens to
be second to team-mate Tiger Woods in the world rankings.
Jacklin, winner of
the British and US Opens, surveyed the opposing teams and said: "If you
are planning to put two rookies out together (in the foursomes or fourballs)
against, for example, Woods and Mark O'Meara, it could be lambs to
the slaughter.
"I must say I would
have preferred to see a little more experience in there."
Speaking on BBC Radio,
55-year-old Jacklin insisted that James was "always a fine player and certainly
one I enjoyed having in my team".
But he went on: "Being
a captain and being a player is a completely different thing altogether.
It will be very interesting to see how he handles it."
Of the decision to
appoint James as captain of the European side, he added: "It has to be
said, in my view, that he is very fortunate indeed to have this opportunity."
