Ryder Cup Champers High Wore Off Quickly .. Strain Of It All Made Me Ill For A Year

Apr 13 2008 Euan Mclean In Augusta

Exclusive Ian Woosnam Augusta National Golf Club

THE grin across Ian Woosnam's round face is borne from relief as much as amusement.

Like the rest of the golfing world he had a laugh last week as the first spat broke out between this year's Ryder Cup captains Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo.

But the stocky Welshman's smile is rooted deeper than the simple thrill everyone else took from reading a USA skipper calling his opposite number a p**** that everyone hates.

His is the grin of a guy just delighted to be out of the game's biggest circus.

It's a year-and-a-half now since Woosnam stood in Faldo's shoes as European captain copping slights on his character that would make Azinger's outburst look like gushing praise.

And it's only now that he can start to feel he is getting over the toll it took on his health.

Stupid, bumbling, boorish, boozy.

Just a handful of the insults thrown at him amid savage media criticism during the weeks leading up to the K Club showdown.

From the moment Thomas Bjorn publicly slated him for not phoning to break the news he wasn't among the captain's two wild card picks, it was open season.

Suggestions Woosie had no strategy and favoured Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke in the wild cards because they were his drinking buddies looked even worse in contrast to the sleek, eloquent campaign being run by USA captain Tom Lehman.

But when it came to doing the talking on the course, the result - another record winning margin for Europe - gave Woosnam the perfect response to those who had queued to take a swing at him.

Yet the aftermath brought little satisfaction as he believes the pent-up stress from his captaincy caused the illness that has floored him in the 18 months since.

Woosnam said: "It feels great to watch this stuff with Nick and Azinger kick off and know I'm not involved. It's a relief to be out of it.

"Some things said about me really, really hurt. Maybe that's a big reason why I have been ill for a whole year because it stressed me out a lot.

"I've been suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and I'm only just coming out of it now.

"I don't know if it was the stress of all that I had gone through, building up and finally bringing me down.

"When people wrote that stuff about me I didn't like it but at the time, as captain, I had to keep my counsel on it.

But now it's easy to turn round and say 'Well I didn't do such a bad job in the end, did I?' "The people who wrote what they did have egg on their

face now.

"Maybe I haven't got the words to make myself sound as good as Tom Lehman did but deep down in my heart I knew what I needed to do. I tried my best and everybody could see that.

"A good captain knows how to shepherd his sheep. As an experienced player I know how to get the best out of other players."

Woosnam's strength was his ability to foster the team spirit that has been the hallmark of Europe's success in the last three Ryder Cups.

It was summed up memorably by Sergio Garcia who described Woosie as "a small man with a big heart" in a staunch defence of his skipper.

Whether Faldo - a loner on tour with a knack for annoying his fellow pros - is able to foster that unity is one of the biggest question marks as we look ahead to Valhalla in September.

But one thing Woosnam is in no doubt about is that last week's highly-publicised spat between the skippers is GOOD for the Ryder Cup.

The contests at The Belfry, Oakland Hills and theKClub have been friendly affairs - a necessary goodwill response after the ugly scenes at Brookline in 1999 when abusive fans and overzealous celebrations by the USA players shamed the tournament.

With that water long since passed under the bridge Woosnam reckons it's time we put the niggle back into this big biennial clash.

So hearing Azinger launch the first verbal salvo so early in the year is music to Woosnam's ears.

He added: "It's not going to do any harm, is it? I was quite surprised when I heard what was going on because I thought Azinger and Faldo were quite friendly.

"Probably Paul has said something he thought was off the record and it's ended up in the article.

"But it certainly puts a bit of added spice into the Ryder Cup and that can only be good for it.

"The event has been a friendly encounter in recent years.

"Althoughwe all still wanted to win the edge was missing and perhaps that was needed at the time after Brookline and post 9/11 as well. It's great that golf can be played in that spirit and we don't want it to go back to the way it was at Brookline.

"It's out of order to cheer the opposition's bad shots but there is definitely a place for rivalry among the players.

"There have been a few incidents in past Ryder Cups.

"Everybody remembers Seve Ballesteros and Azinger having a go at each other about gamesmanship in 1989 - and that's good fun.

"It just shows how much they want to compete against each other and win. That passion is what the Ryder Cup is all about.

There is no cash involved - the players just want to represent their team and win. That's how much they think of the event.

"There's a view that the Americans will start to lose interest in the tournament if they don't win this year but I don't agree - they are keen to win back the Ryder Cup and take it off Europe.

"It should be a good match at Valhalla and closer than in recent years.

"But this time I will be pleased to stay well away from it all.

"I'll send the lads a telegram wishing them luck then watch it on the TV at home, enjoying the peace and quiet."