The European Ryder Cup Team Must Wipe the Egg Off Its Face and Get It Right

Don't blame Henrik Stenson for having his captaincy stripped after signing with LIV Golf, Alex Miceli writes, blame those who gave him the job to begin with.

When the DP World Tour announced on Wednesday they were taking away the Ryder Cup captaincy from Henrik Stenson, it was understandable.

Stenson signed a contract and, according to anyone familiar with that document, it did not include LIV Golf membership as acceptable.

In fact, prior to announcing Stenson as the pick on March 15, the European Ryder Cup selection panel members — which included the last three European Ryder Cup captains, Padraig Harrington, Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke, the Chief Executive of the European Tour group Keith Pelley and DP World Tour Tournament Committee Chairman David Howell — were adamant about LIV.

Stenson even addressed it in his press conference at Marco Simone announcing him as captain.

“Yeah, there's been a lot of speculations back and forth, and as I said, I am fully committed to the captaincy and to Ryder Cup Europe and the job at hand,” Stenson said when asked specifically about joining LIV in the future. “So, we're going to keep busy with that and I'm going to do everything in my power to deliver a winning team in Rome.”

Isn't it just amazing what four months and millions of dollars will do to your moral compass?

Stenson jumped to LIV, and the European Ryder Cup team needs a new captain / Stephen Spillman-USA TODAY Sports

It would be easy to go on and put pins in Stenson like a voodoo doll, but he would not be in this mess if those five on the committee would have done their job correctly.

It’s not hard. You have one requirement: Pick a captain that will do their best and hopefully bring back the cup.

With multimillions of dollars riding not on the outcome but the competition itself, you can’t mess up the job of picking a competent captain.

When Lee Westwood declined the job because he wanted to focus on playing golf, the next logical step was to find the next-best candidate you can with no baggage.

Stenson immediately came with baggage. He was always on LIV’s radar and Stenson, who has had his own financial setbacks, would have been a perfect choice for what was, at the time, a fledging tour.

The five committee members knew all this and actually postponed the announcement so they could get the I’s dotted and T’s crossed before giving Stenson the job.

But why give him the job as all? Others fit the bill if needed -- Luke Donald and Thomas Bjorn, to name two. Neither had the potential baggage that Stenson had.

Instead, the group moved forward with Stenson and now, with egg dripping from their faces, must decide where to go next.

On Wednesday, Harrington said the Ryder Cup is 15 months away, meaning plenty of time to pick a new captain.

If that was the case, then why didn’t you wait a little bit longer before picking Stenson?

An extra month or two may have forced Stenson’s hand and the embarrassment of picking a captain only to then fire him would not have occurred.

The actions by the five were clearly irresponsible and negligent.

The Ryder Cup has evolved from an exhibition to one of the largest events in sports, and both the European Tour Group and the PGA of America have a duty to grow and protect it.

On Wednesday, the Europeans had to make a statement that potentially could harm the Ryder Cup.

Beyond finding a new captain, the Europeans should take a serious look at how they messed this up and make sure it never happens again.

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