British Media Happily Teeing Off on Nick Faldo

First, I'd like to apologize to the European Ryder Cup team. Not for Anthony Kim allegedly welcoming Ian Poulter to Kentucky, or the pranksters that rung Lee Westwood's folks at the hotel (By the way, just a thought, but ever heard of checking in under an assumed name? It's outside the box, I know, but it's just crazy enough to work.) but because they had to play for the egomaniacal nutter, Nick Faldo.

It's not like Faldo suddenly became a media whipping boy; he's been at odds with the British press, as well as most of his European counterparts, his entire professional career. And now, it's raining schadenfreude in the United Kingdom. And while we have yet to hear from Colin Montgomerie or Darren Clarke, two Ryder Cup veterans who Faldo left off this year's team, the media have more than picked up the slack.

"Faldo's thin skin, the need to have his sports shrink by his side even out on the course and his grating sense of humor, had confirmed what we knew all along, which is that he is no natural leader," the said. "But what we had not expected was that a man who had dedicated himself so much to this job would make such a colossal mistake."

So, um, yeah, let's hang Faldo in effigy! Or something.

I suspect the British media were quite happy with the outcome of the 37th Ryder Cup, and if the Euros had retained the cup, the coverage would've been muted, probably some form of "they were supposed to win it; Faldo just didn't screw things up."

As it turned out, Faldo did screw things up, although, to his credit, Poulter played incredibly well when he wasn't unbunching his panties, and Oliver Wilson and Henrik "Stevenson" earned a big-at-the-time point over Phil Mickelson and "Bruiser" during the Saturday morning foursomes. The European captain was bashed for sending Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington out late during Sunday singles, virtually guaranteeing that they wouldn't factor into the finish should the Americans jump out to an early lead.

"Faldo's gamble on the big finish ... left Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington, thrashing at thin air, their legs amputated by a hopelessly incontinent ego," the Times said.

The Telegraph said the Valhalla fallout would leave Faldo "about to pay the price of a lifetime of self serving, of devotion to the cult of the individual."

A lot of people have been anxiously awaiting this moment, it seems.