Fred Couples has been involved in several Ryder Cups over the years, both as a player and a vice-captain, and the 66-year-old has recently called for some big changes at the biennial event.
Speaking on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, Couples stated that the players need more space, believing that there are now too many faces in the camp:
“I think in the team rooms, I would really like to just see the 12 guys and maybe even their caddies, but there’s no real reason for the caddie to be in there unless he’s telling them, hey, in my locker I got my rain gear, it looks like it’s going to rain.”
“I just think less is more to these players. When they go play in the majors, they don’t have people around them. And I think in the Ryder Cup, you just have too much around you, and I think it’s upsetting.”
The former Masters winner continued:
“And then when you get behind, then guess what happens? Everyone pats you on the back; ‘we’re going to get them today.’ You’re not going to get them today unless you go out and get them.
“I’m not a rah-rah guy, never have been. The Presidents Cup is much, much, much easier to run than the Ryder Cup for a captain. But I just feel like there’s so much sensation of it’s a rah-rah thing, and I just don’t see it — I see it as golf.”
Couples also believes that there are now too many spectators on the ground at the event, calling it a “cash cow,”:
“I think it got out of control in New York. I wish, let’s just say you and I were golf fans and we went to New York to watch. Fifty-thousand people watching four groups? It’s impossible.
“And you say, well, how do we do? There wasn’t 50,000 people when I played, and they made money, and they did great. Now it’s a cash cow, but you don’t need 50,000 people watching four groups of golf.
“It’s impossible to see; it takes the sting away.”
Despite being captain at the Presidents Cup three times, Couples has yet to be handed the leading role at the Ryder Cup.
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