Azinger, players back selection of Watson

• Paul Azinger says the selection of Tom Watson was the right move at the right time
• The USA has lost seven of the last nine Ryder Cup matches
• Fowler: "I love his attitude on the course and it will carry over to the team"

In naming Tom Watson the new Ryder Cup captain, the PGA of America did the right thing — at the right time — according to Paul Azinger.

"Tom Watson will be an excellent captain, as he was in 1993 when I played for him," said Azinger, the last captain to lead the USA to victory in the biennial match-play bout with Europe. "I liked all the captains I played for. Tom is straightforward and knows how to win."

Watson was named the captain Thursday on NBC's Today in New York, less than three months after the USA blew a 10-6 lead in losing 14½-13½ at Medinah near Chicago, the team's seventh loss in the last nine matches. Watson led the team to victory in 1993 at the Belfry in England, the last time the USA won on foreign soil, and is the first repeat captain since Jack Nicklaus in 1983 and 1987.

Azinger led the U.S. to victory in 2008 at Valhalla in Kentucky. Two of Azinger's captains that year were Raymond Floyd and Dave Stockton, two grizzled veterans, two proven winners on all stages and two former captains.

"I saw tremendous value in having Raymond and Dave's old school, no nonsense way of thinking," Azinger said. "I believe Tom will bring that same intangible. He will preach the gospel of preparation.

"I wanted older assistants with an attitude. I didn't want it to be fun and relaxing because the Ryder Cup is the most stressful week of the year. You are making four trips to the bathroom stall. You have to create an environment where preparation is the key, not having fun. Watson will make sure they are prepared. The players have fun naturally, but when the bell rings on Friday in 2014, the fun ends and the work begins. If you're not prepared, you're going to get killed. Tom will have them prepared no matter the situation."

That could mean foul weather, something Watson relished while he won eight majors championships among his 39 PGA Tour titles, including five British Opens where the weather is not normally sunny without wind and rain.

"I remember the Saturday at Royal St. George's in 2011, when the rain was coming down sideways, and Tom had a smile on his face when he went out to play the third round," said Rickie Fowler, who was on the losing Ryder Cup team in 2010 in Wales. "He enjoyed every moment of making the best of the weather. I saw that and I wanted to do the same and I played my best round.

"I love his attitude on the course and it will carry over to the team."

Watson's past history in Scotland will help, too, said Steve Stricker, who has been on the last two losing teams. The 2014 matches are in Gleneagles, Scotland, and playing in front of a hostile crowd might not be as bad with Watson being there every step of the way.

"Tom Watson makes perfect sense to me," Stricker said. "He's one of the all-time best players and winners, and he's beloved over the pond.

"He has the respect and admiration of the players. I don't think it's a prerequisite to have to be out on the PGA Tour playing on a continual basis to keep in contact with the players. He'll know who is playing well, and his reputation and resume has to be respected and admired.

"It's a great choice."

Agreed, said Brandt Snedeker, who was on the losing side at Medinah.

"I'm a huge Tom Watson fan. I'm thrilled the PGA of America was thinking outside the box and Tom is a great choice. He's a decorated winner over the world and his success in Europe and Scotland gives us a lot of credibility going over there," Snedeker said. "He's loved in Scotland and fans there treat him like one of their own. It will be interesting how we're treated over there because of Tom.

"(Watson) not playing on the PGA Tour won't play any role in whether he's a great captain. The job of the captain is not to be buddy-buddy with the players; it's to put the best team on the course. He's respected in any given role and he knows plenty about what's going on and how to win."

Even players from Europe said Watson was a good choice.

"It's very hard to quantify how much difference a captain makes to the end result but Tom Watson will be very much welcomed in Scotland. He has a no nonsense approach to golf – he's all about winning and I'm sure his players will feed off that mentality," said England's Luke Donald, a member of Europe's winning teams in 2004, 2006, 2010 and this year.

Europe is expected to name its captain in January at the earliest. Darren Clarke, a member of winning teams in 1997, 2002, 2004 and 2006 as a player and in 2010 and 2012 as a vice captain, is in the running.

"(Watson) is one of the legends of the game. I am sure he would be a fantastic captain, not just to the team but that whole aspect of the Ryder Cup," Clarke said at the Australian PGA Championship. "The man is a huge name in the world of golf and rightly so. I think he will make a fantastic captain for the Americans."