Hanson Confirms That Captain Ollie Won't Be Teaching Courses On Team Communication Any Time Soon

One of the great unanswered questions from the 2012 Ryder Cup: why was Peter Hanson warming up Saturday afternoon, expecting to play, only to find out 20 minutes before that he was not playing the four-balls?

It seems Captain Winning Outright Is Different Than Retaining The Cup either hadn't made up his mind or had not the near Masters winner this year he would not be playing Saturday.

From an unbylined Sky Sports report:

Asked if he spoke to Olazabal, Hanson added: "I did a little bit, but it's hard. You're part of a team and when I got notified 20 minutes before we teed off on Saturday I got very upset.

"I didn't take that very well, but I just locked myself in a dark room and stayed there for a couple of hours.
"You don't want to let your bad feelings affect the other guys. It's all about getting out there and supporting your teammates, so I was out there Saturday afternoon walking the fairways.

"I think in that respect I didn't damage the team and that was the main thing. You can't let your ego affect the rest of the team.

"I was so sure I was going to play, so I actually went out and played a couple of holes Saturday morning and did my warm up early in the day.

"When I got notified I was actually filling in the pinsheet (hole positions) in my book, so that's probably why I got so upset. I was already in game mode."

Comments

[Ryan]

That's the thing why those post-Ryder-Cup-grades are silly. Olazábal made everything wrong a captain could make wrong and just because his players played out of their mind on Sunday he now has the legacy of a fabulous Ryder Cup captain

[Snaphooker]

Not to some he doesn't! Goodness, he had the audacity to think that a win was better than a tie - what a classless fella!

[carnaptious and camsteerie]

Who'd a thunk it ... a blogger trolling his own blog.

[johnnnycz]

Hmmm...must be a Spanish personality trait when dealing with nordic-blooded people. Didn't Seve once basically order Gallacher not to pick a certain Dane/Swede (sorry name escapes me) during the early mid-90's...all because Seve didn't like how they gripped the club?

Hanson has a really solid swing and is a complete golfer...AND...he won a few weeks before the RC. To have him play only 14 out of a possible 72 holes of golf the first 2 days indicates something else was afoot. Latin folks are notorious for having (petty?) long memories...other than that...they're mostly great people who know how to enjoy themselves wherever they may roam.

[Lip Out]

I didn't understand the Hnson slight myself. He's certainly showed plenty of game this year. Could it be that his well known quiet nature is slightly unsettling to teammates? I know I much prefer playing with an enthusiastic and demonstrative partner. I have to say, though, if I qualified for a team like this and was made to sit an entire day, I'd want to wring the captain's neck.

[Del the Funk]

This is a prime example of the tough decisions that a WINNING captain is required to make -- WINNING captains tell the player how it is going to be. LOSING captains don't have the stomach for telling players how it's going to be -- "Phil, I don't want to hear any bullshit out of you, you've only played 31 holes, now get your ass back out there with Keegan and win me another point" -- I'da phrased something like that.

[Del the Funk]

johnny, I think you are onto something! Upon reflection I'm almost certain that was a Nordic accent screaming bad things about Seve in that video we all saw before!! Good work, another great mystery solved!!!

[Ryan]

Del,

you mean WINNING captains don't talk to their team at all

[Hawkeye]

I don't have any recollection of Seve ordering Gallacher not to pick a Nordic player for the Ryder Cup, the only potentional snub was when Gallacher chose to pick a yip-stricken Ian Woosnam as replacement for then-injured Olazabal in '95 instead of in-form Jesper Parnevik. Seve did, however, mysteriously choose to bench Per-Ulrik Johansson for the remaining three matches after he had closed with two birdies for a 1 up victory in the opening match at Valderrama in ´97, intead letting rookie compatriot Ignacio Garrido play four matches. That did cross my mind more than once last Saturday.
Despite all this, though, I can guarantee that Seve is nothing short of a revered figure in Sweden - he regularly played in the Scandinavian Open in the 70's and 80's, winning it three times and becoming an idol for most Swedish youngsters. Olazabal, on the other hand, nearly ran me over in a Volvo courtesy car once when I worked as a spotter in the Scandinavian Masters in the early 90's, but that's another story...

[Press Agent]

@ Del I agree wholeheartedly and Ryan, I completely disagree. You have no idea what Ollie did or didn't do in his captaincy, and what ever he did or didn't do resulted in the best comeback in the history of the competition. His team obviously wanted to go out and win it for him, they mentioned that a million times in the pressers, and 99% of the job of being a captain is getting your team to want to play for you. I like Peter Hansen and it saddens me that he had to go through something so crappy, but the captain has to make some tough decisions that are going to upset some people - it's just the way it is with the numbers the way they are. Captains or coaches that try to make everyone happy, often lose - old Chinese proverb.

[Mulligan]

Europe won. End of story.

[BrianS]

It isn't a question of making people happy or not, it is that the decisions made by a winning Captain all are viewed as necessary steps in winning, and all decisions made by the loser are viewed as errors. If Rose's 40 footer misses by an inch to the left, or Phil's chip moves an inch to the right and he makes, Phil likely wins over Rose - which btw should have /would have been a nice little upset for Phil - Rosie is #5WR right now, Phil somewhere near 16 or something - and Love would get congratulated for playing it all just right for resting Phil. Hey, that goes with the territory I guess, but again it comes down to the players not the coach.

[The O]

Maybe this proves what most people know: the Captain isn't that important. If he picks respectable players then its up to them. Sure, you can have strategy of who plays with whom, but really its about the players. And Europe keeps winning because their players care; the U.S. players do not. You could have two identically programmed robots picking pairings and you would get the same results.

[Hawkeye]

Loved the send-off comment: "You play to win the cup. Hello."

[Elf]

Maybe we can now put to rest the idea that Euros win bc they are more together as a team. If anything the US is more closely knit at this point. Maybe the US spends to much time worrying about team bonding rather than just concentrating on winning the cup. Most teams don't all love each other.

[Ghillie]

Give a look at some of the video. Hanson is there. He buried his own disappointment, and made the best effort possible at a comeback on Sunday, when he was originally being dusted. As he said, he coped with his disappointment -- yes, even anger -- in his own way, then shook himself down and remembered what he was there for.

The Euros are hardly saintly. James was a lousy Captain, and JMO made many similar mistakes, but got away with them this time. Nobody suggests the US team was not committed -- we saw their faces too. You have a dramatic weak link that no captain in 15 years has been able to cope with. Deal with that and we won't see you for your dust.

The US played wonderfully. That's why the win is so sweet -- we can keep up with, and in this instance beat, your best, at their best. That's why it's such a magic event.

[johnnnycz]

Sorry for opening up a smallish hornets nest...I never said Seve didn't support Nordic events...but I am 100% sure I read it correctly that Seve did in fact strong-arm the captain to NOT pick a certain player all because of how that player "looked" like over the ball.

Now that I think about it, it could have been a UK player...maybe Welsh? Sorry name escapes me...WhooHoo...gots me somethin' to do on them 'ole Internets today...apologies for hitting a nerve folks.

[Hawkeye]

Hope you didn't take my comment wrong, johnnycz! Just because I haven't heard about it doesn't mean that it didn't happen, I just found it an interesting discussional topic! Many Swedish players feel that they have more in common with American players than Spanish players (I myself certainly relate easier to Americans than people from the Mediterranean countries), and just becuase we play on the same team every two years doesn't mean there's no friction. Let's put it this way: If a Spaniard had led The Masters after three rounds, qualified for the team via the Euro points list and won two weeks before the Ryder Cup, then that player would NOT have been benched the entire Saturday...

[digsouth]

Liking one another and respecting ones another are 2 different things. I can assure you that there is dislikes when you have 12 people together, but that doesn't mean they can't perform well for a common cause.

shoot, I was in one band where I virtually got in the face (And vice versa) of a bandmate once or twice a month, but we made great music, and that was that. I am always amazed at baeball, and the new guy comes up from AAA, and turns a brilliant double play with the regulars the first day out. Playing as a team, be it music, baseball, or golf, seems to be a human need, and the personal differences a cast aside in all but the petty losers.

I really don't think it is the same for a captain. Players harbor grudges against managers, captains. And so the Euros really did an incredible feat, and seriously, with only the slightest change of fortune, it wold have been the Americans victory.