Tom Watson returns as Ryder Cup captain

• Tom Watson was named Thursday as the captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team for 2014
• Watson played on four Ryder Cup teams that went 3-0-1, and he posted a 10-4-1 record
• The PGA of America changed its usual policy with the selection of Watson

Sick and tired of losing the Ryder Cup, the PGA of America turned to a proven winner — Tom Watson, who has never been involved with a losing team in the biennial scrap with Europe.

Watson was announced as the captain for the 2014 matches in Scotland on Thursday during a segment on NBC's Today in New York. A formal press conference was later held in the Empire State Building.

The eight-time major champion played on four U.S. Ryder Cup teams that went 3-0-1 as he posted a 10-4-1 record. Watson also is the last captain to win on foreign soil, as his troops defeated Europe, 15-13, at the Belfry in England in 1993. The USA has just two wins since then — in 1999 under captain Ben Crenshaw and 2009 under captain Paul Azinger.

"I was waiting 20 years to get the call. I loved it the first time. It's a great honor to be able to do it again," said Watson, who was contacted more than a year ago about the job. "This time we need 14.5 points. ... I just hope to set the table for the group of guys. I'm the stage manager. In two years I hope to get it done.

" ... I wanted the challenge to do it again. This responsibility is a challenge but I've been there before and I welcome it. ... I prepare the stage for the actors, the players in this case, to perform."

Tiger Woods, who has been on the receiving end of some strong criticism about his behavior from Watson, sent along his congratulations.

"I think he's a really good choice," Woods, who has been on only one winning team in seven tries, said in a statement. "Tom knows what it takes to win, and that's our ultimate goal. I hope I have the privilege of joining him on the 2014 United States team."

The anticipation about the selection of Watson already has been drawing big attention.

Keegan Bradley, a member of the 2012 team, tweeted this: "All this Ryder Cup talk is getting me excited. Can we play now??!!!! #2moreyears"

To which Rory McIlroy responded: "You wanna get beaten again already!?"

Europe has won seven of the last nine Ryder Cups, including a 14½-13½ defeat at Medinah Country Club near Chicago at the end of September, when the Americans blew a 10-6 lead on the final day.

"We're tired of losing," said Watson, who went to a Broadway show Wednesday and likened his captaincy to a stage manager. "I always said that early in my career, I learned to win by hating to lose. It's about time to start winning again for our team. That's the attitude that I hope that my players have, and it's time to stop losing."

Watson will be 65 when the 2014 Ryder Cup is played, making him the oldest captain in U.S. history, and has not played a full PGA Tour schedule in 14 years. He will be the first repeat captain since Jack Nicklaus in 1983 and 1987. The span between his two stints as captain is 21 years, the longest ever.

Watson said he expects some backlash for the PGA of America picking "the old guy." But Watson says he battles against the younger set on at least three occasions — the Masters, British Open and The Greenbrier Classic — and he might add a stop or two to his Tour schedule in the next two seasons. As a lifetime member of the PGA Tour, he can play in most any tournament he chooses on the schedule.

"We play the same game," Watson said. "They understand that, I understand that. ... And it's my challenge simply to maybe set the stage with a little extra inspiration for them to go out along with some Watson luck, which I referred to in an interview earlier today that I think propelled us to victory in 1993."

Europe is not expected to announce its captain until January at the earliest.

Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988, Watson has 39 PGA Tour titles on his resume, including eight major championships, and 14 titles on the Champions Tour, including six majors. He is revered in Scotland, where he won four of his five British Opens at Carnoustie (1975), Turnberry (1977), Muirfield (1980) and Royal Troon (1982). He also was an 8-foot par putt on the final hole from winning 2009 Open at Turnberry in 2009 at age 59, eventually losing in a playoff Stewart Cink.

"It's going to be a great journey these next couple years, and I hope that we will change the tide of losing the Ryder Cup seven out of the last nine years," Watson said. "The bottom line is to win. There's the most important thing. I will do it in style and the grace in which we play the game."

In naming Watson captain, the PGA of America broke the mold of the organization's approach to naming its past captains.

Dating to Watson's first captaincy, the PGA of American has chosen players who were moderately active on the PGA Tour and had at least one major championship victory under their belt. David Toms seemed to fit the criteria perfectly, as he won the 2001 PGA Championship and played on three Ryder Cup teams and seven Presidents Cup teams.

But new PGA of America President Ted Bishop said earlier this year that it was time to "think outside the box" when it came to selecting a captain and said earlier this week at a media luncheon in New York that "we've done something a little bit different this year."

Passed over were David Toms, who is still playing on the PGA Tour, and Larry Nelson. Toms, at 45, fits the more recent tradition in the selection process.

Nelson, a two-time PGA Championship winner, was in line to be Ryder Cup captain until being passed over for Lanny Wadkins in 1995 and Tom Kite in 1997. Nelson was thought to be too far removed from the game to be considered, though there had been a recent push for the 64-year-old Nelson to finally get his chance.