The Scot was able to revel in the centre of attention once more after being only a bit-part player the

The Scot was able to revel in the centre of attention once more after being only a bit-part player the previous day when Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Ernie Els all crashed out. Using this slur as their motivation, the Europeans marched to the defence of their title Floyd later confessed his words were “ill-advised” Understatement.. In an attempt to imitate Ben Hogan’s showstopper of two decades before, Floyd introduced his team as “the 12 greatest players in the world”. The difference was that in 1967 America really could boast that, but with Faldo, Ballesteros, Langer and Woosnam himself in opposition this time, it was nothing short of insulting. Fortunately for his legacy, the Americans dancing across the green with Jose Maria Olazabal still to putt dominated the Brookline inquest.* RAY FLOYD, Captain of USA, 1989Woosnam has admitted that the aspect of captaincy he fears most is the speech at the opening ceremony. Perhaps that’s because he remembers the catastrophe that slipped out of Floyd’s mouth in 1989. Thank goodness for Nicklaus.* MARK JAMES, Captain of Europe, 1999As the doughty Lancastrian only lost the Cup by a point it might seem somewhat harsh to lump him in with the worst Ryder Cup captains, but controversy makes his inclusion in this category necessary.

Apart from making the mistake of trying to win the Cup in two days, by not playing Jean van de Velde, Jarmo Sandelin and the strange wild-card choice Andrew Coltart until the Sunday singles, James also raised eyebrows, not to mention blood pressures, by throwing Nick Faldo’s good luck note into the team-room bin. His counterpart, Sam Snead, found out about this edict and so relationships soured. Its nadir was reached when Ken Still shouted at Brian Huggett after one flare-up: “You can have the hole and the goddamn Cup,” and later continued the argument in a corridor at the teams’ hotel. Alas, it had nothing to do with the home captain at Birkdale that year. Brown had some strange ideas on how to win and they included not helping their opponents look for their balls in the rough. But that is what this Welshman did when dropping Jacklin from the singles after a fierce greenside argument. Jacklin was furious when given a dressing-down from Huggett for having lunch instead of “getting out there to support the lads” The future captain let forth.

He accused Huggett of “sitting in his room and pulling the pairings out of a hat”. “Huggett taught me how not to be captain,” said Jacklin many years later.* ERIC BROWN, Captain of Great Britain, 1969, 1971The 1969 competition became legendary for a final hole concession by Jack Nicklaus that halved the match and became synonymous with sportsmanship. Then Sutton publicly admonished a player – Chris Riley – for admitting he felt tired, then he dropped Mickelson for the Saturday foursomes and then he carried on bungling. Hal’s never been seen again.* BRIAN HUGGETT, Captain of Great Britain & Ireland, 1977It’s not a good idea for a captain to fall out with his most high-profile player, in public, on the last day, when you are getting stuffed. Calamitous captains: Five of the worst Ryder Cup leaders * HAL SUTTON, Captain of USA, 2004Colin Montgomerie’s joke may be cruel, but it is fairly accurate. “Langer was the second best captain Europe could ever have wished for,” says the Scot.

“Sutton being the first.” Sutton, who donned a black cowboy hat for a first day that was more “Blazing Saddles” than “High Noon”, will always be remembered for pairing Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson together in a partnership that made Tom and Jerry look compatible. His efforts were recognised by President Roosevelt after his final victory in 1937, whose words began: “To the greatest general in the world.” No one argued.* BEN CRENSHAW, Captain of USA, 1999Although seen as partly to blame for the over-the-top celebrations at Brookline in 1999, in truth Crenshaw’s main crime was in leading the finest fightback in the Cup’s history. At 10-6 down and seemingly out on Saturday night, Crenshaw did two things to lift his side’s spirits. First he told them and everybody else, “I have a good feeling about this” and then he asked George W Bush – then a governor – to deliver a motivational speech during which “Dubya” evoked scenes of the Alamo. The next morning, Crenshaw packed his top players into the top end of the singles, so precipitating a tide of American points which engulfed Europe.