Golf365 and Sporting Life - Ryder Cup

Nick Faldo divides opinion amongst golf fans (and golfers) like no other figure in the game. You either love him or... you don't. No other player has been so driven to succeed and few have achieved so much. To put a highly successful career on hold for two years while he remodelled his swing because he felt the old version could not win majors. To start from scratch and risk everything... what a story. The fact that he put plenty of noses out of joint along the way to three Opens and three Masters will not bother the man himself one jot. For such an individualistic personality, Faldo - even more than Monty - could be described as 'Mr Ryder Cup'. He played every match from 1977-97 and is Europe's record points-scorer. The six-time major champion is a hero to a younger generation who watched him take European golf to a new level - and plenty of those youngsters are now in his Ryder Cup team. Hence Ian Poulter and Paul Casey as his wildcard picks rather than Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie - two far more popular figures amongst fans. Of course Faldo has gone out on a limb and unfortunately plenty are hoping he fails. He won't. He will do it his way and succeed, because that is what he does.