Not that anyone was asking, but Scott Hoch offered his solution for the U.S. Ryder Cup woes: get rid of everyone.
“I would go with the younger players and play the heck out of them,” Hoch said ahead of this week's Greater Hickory Classic on the Champions Tour. “They haven’t learned how to lose and they haven’t gotten used to losing. Get rid of all the old guard, and put new guys in there who really want it and aren’t used to losing yet and are good players.”
Hoch, who played on the U.S. team in 1997 and 2002 with a 2-3-2 record, subscribes to a theory many observers share: The crop of American Ryder Cup veterans have grown accustomed to losing, building so much scar tissue that they can't play to win, just not to lose. That's Hoch's explanation for the Meltdown at Medinah two years ago.
As for outgoing captain Tom Watson, Hoch doesn't think he was too harsh. In fact, he would have been more harsh with some of the players.
“Honestly, I can’t tell you what I’d tell the guys,” Hoch said. “It would be hard love for some of the people on the team.”
Hoch's skeptical winning 2008 captain Paul Azinger will take the job in 2016, even if offered the gig.
"’Zinger won’t do it," Hoch said. "He’s living off what he’s done."
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