Ryder Cup legend warns Team USA has already made | Golf News

Paul Azinger believes America has made a colossal blunder by deciding on Bethpage Black as their Ryder Cup venue.

The former United States captain is deeply vital of the difficult New York course and insists Keegan Bradley’s squad will share his sentiments when they face Luke Donald’s European group.

Bethpage not often options on the Tour schedule due to its public course standing, and Azinger considers this choice a major miscalculation by the PGA of America. It comes after Donald stoked the rivalry with a warning to Team USA over the Bethpage crowd.

The 2008 victorious captain explained: “We don’t know the course. Our guys aren’t going to necessarily be rolling in there a month early or two months early because we only have six guys that know they’re on the team.

“I feel one of the largest errors that the American Ryder Cup group always appears to make, or the PGA of America, is that they go to programs that we’re not acquainted with.

“This course, I couldn’t stand it. I did my two rounds and think I was 18 over [par] for two days there in the US Open. The media loved it because it was a public course.

“I actually do not like Bethpage Black. There’s a lot of awkward angles, downhill tee photographs to fairways that angle away, uphill second photographs where you possibly can’t see the touchdown space. It’s just exhausting and you can’t fluke your manner around there.

“I feel like Keegan’s going to have to get these guys on a mission and on a mission quickly. Single-minded to figure out how to fall in love with Bethpage Black. I guarantee you they don’t love it. Europe doesn’t care if it’s what the course is. Our guys might. I feel like they have to be there enough to fall in love with the course. They have to play their way in.”

Azinger is also puzzled as to why Bradley and the home management cannot set up the course to gain some benefit over Europe. He added: “I don’t know where they’re going to put the tees or how long they’re going to make it or how deep the rough is. I know that neither team has control of the course now, allegedly.

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“Europe’s always managed the course on us. I’ve spent so a lot time with Tony Jacklin, I’ve even been with him publicly when he said, of course, we have managed the course.

“I’m the only American captain that ever was the first captain that wanted to control the course in some capacity and so I don’t know if they’ve lost that opportunity or that ability now to do that, but I feel like now they’ve maybe stopped that altogether.

“I assumed it was enjoyable. It’s another aspect of being the captain. Look, let’s face it, in Italy, you are making an attempt to inform me they did not control the course?

“All their analytics proved that they were better than us with their fairway woods and long irons and all the par fours and the par threes played fairway wood and long irons and they destroyed us on those holes. I see no advantage and I feel if the US gets off to a bad start, even the crowd could become volatile there.”