Summary Tom Watson was named captain of the 2014 US Ryder Cup squad by the PGA of America.
Eight-time major golf champion Tom Watson was named on Thursday to be captain of the 2014 US Ryder Cup squad by the PGA of America, making him the oldest captain in US history at age 63.
Watson, a five-time British Open champion, was selected in hopes of ending an American slump in the biennial golf showdown. Europeans have won five of the past six Ryder Cup matches, including at Medinah near Chicago last September.
"I ve lived for that pressure and lived underneath that pressure all my career," Watson said.
The prior US Ryder Cup captain age mark belonged to Sam Snead, who was 57 when he guided the Americans in 1969.
Watson will be 65 when the next Ryder Cup is contested in 2014 at Gleneagles in Scotland. Watson won his first major title in Scotland at Carnoustie in 1975 and took four major crowns on Scottish soil.
Watson first served as the US captain in 1993, the last time a US squad won a Ryder Cup on European soil.
"I was waiting for about 20 years to get the call," Watson said. "I loved it the first time. It s just a great honor to be able to do it again.
"This time we need 14 1/2 points."
Watson becomes the first repeat US Ryder Cup captain since 1987, when Jack Nicklaus guided the Americans at his Muirfield Village home course but the Americans suffered their first defeat on US soil.
Tiger Woods and Brandt Snedeker, both on this year s losing US squad, were quick to support the selection of Watson.
"I would like to congratulate Tom Watson on his selection as Ryder Cup captain," Woods said in a statement. "I think he s a really good choice. 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."
"Obviously they were looking outside the box, given our recent failures," Snedeker said in a posting on the tour website.
"They wanted to get a guy who has had success and commands respect. I think that s why they went this way: to get the US to rally around him as a way to rejuvenate the American side.
"Tom is one of the best competitors of all time. He s going to bring that fire and unwillingness to lose and mental strength that has defined his career."
The PGA of America, whose president Ted Bishop announced the choice on the "Today" show telecast by US Ryder Cup broadcaster NBC, had chosen captains who were more recent PGA Tour players in more recent selections.
This time, the governing body selected a man in Watson who has not played full-time on the PGA circuit in 14 years.
