Sir Nick Faldo enjoyed a wonderfully successful career in the game of golf, with six major titles to his name, including three Masters and three Open Championships.
As a reward for his commitment to European golf, Faldo was handed the Ryder Cup captaincy in 2008 for the showdown with the United States at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
However, things didn’t go to plan for the now 68-year-old Englishman at Valhalla, and his European team fell to a convincing defeat.
Faldo was always very focused and tunnel-visioned when it came to his own game during his prime years on tour.
The six-time major champion didn’t let anything distract him on his quest to achieving golfing immortality.
And it could be argued that Faldo should have changed that mentality and approach for the Ryder Cup in 2008. Team unity is arguably the most important aspect of the competition after all, and unfortunately, the Europeans didn’t have any of that with Faldo at the helm.
Why Nick Faldo received criticism for his Ryder Cup captaincy in 2008
Faldo had a fractured relationship with the press before the 2008 Ryder Cup even began.
Not having the media on his side meant Faldo’s Ryder Cup captaincy was doomed from the start.
The Englishman’s reign as captain was slammed as ‘an exhibition of poor leadership’ by the likes of The Guardian.
Faldo suggested that his star man – Sergio Garcia – had a bad attitude at Valhalla, and his lack of leadership contributed to a split team-room.
His decision to put the reigning Open and PGA Champions Padraig Harrington out last in the singles matches despite trailing the US by two points was widely criticised.
That criticism was totally fair – it was a bizarre decision from Faldo.
He was said to have communicated poorly with his team in general and failed to get the European players motivated for the contest.
All of this culminated in a 16.5-11.5 win for the United States.
However, it is worth noting that certain players defended Faldo’s captaincy, including the likes of Ian Poulter who backed his fellow Englishman to the hilt.
That said, the bottom line is that Europe was easily beaten by the USA, and Faldo unfortunately went down as one of the worst captains in recent history as a result.
Nick Faldo’s Ryder Cup record
Faldo may have been a poor captain, but he is one of the most successful Ryder Cup players of all time.
Here are his results from the 46 matches he played in total in the competition:
| Ryder cup results | Faldo’s totals |
| Matches played | 46 |
| Wins | 23 |
| Losses | 19 |
| Halves | 4 |
| Total points | 25 |
Sergio Garcia has since beaten Faldo’s points haul, with the Spaniard now sitting on an incredible 28.5 points in total.
However, Faldo is the second highest points earner in the history of the Ryder Cup.
His methods were clearly not conducive with leading the team at Valhalla 17 years ago, but they worked very well indeed when it came down to him facing off against the American players in doubles and singles matches.