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• Hal Sutton hits back at captaincy criticism by Phil Mickelson
• “He needs to search his own soul a little bit,” said Sutton
• Mickelson said he and Tiger Woods were ‘put in a position to fail’

HAL SUTTON | PHIL MICKELSON

Former US captain Hal Sutton has hit back at criticism directing at him by Phil Mickelson, branding the five-time major winner ‘self-serving’.

Sutton, who was playing in a Captain’s Challenge at nearby Minneapolis Golf Club ahead of this week’s Ryder Cup, was at the helm for the USA’s disastrous 18.5-9.5 defeat at Oakland Hills and is famed for pairing together Mickelson and Tiger Woods – who were pointless from their two matches.

“There’s a lot of controversy that follows Phil everywhere” – Hal Sutton

At his pre-Ryder Cup press conference, the 46-year-old said he and Woods ‘were put in a position to fail’ by Hal Sutton and that’s why they ‘failed monumentally’ – even though Mickelson had just changed Callaway driver and metalwoods the event previous.

“The thing the Ryder Cup doesn’t need is drama,” Hal Sutton told Golf Channel. “It creates enough drama on its own. Phil created a lot of drama that week, if we remember, because he switched his clubs and his ball prior to that week.”

Read more -> Jordan Spieth makes *huge* Ryder Cup claim

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“It was very self-serving for him to do that prior to the Ryder Cup in 2004. So, if he needs me to shoulder the blame for his poor play, I can do that.

“There’s a lot of controversy that follows Phil everywhere, I’ll leave it at that,” Sutton added. “He wasn’t even prepared with the ball that he brought to the tournament, much less Tiger’s. So, I think he needs to search his own soul a little bit.”

Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, who got in a fiery on-air exchange with David Duval on Tuesday evening over Mickelson and Woods’ poor Ryder Cup records, then continued to berate ‘Lefty’, saying the perfect captain for him is one who let him have is own way.

Check out the video clip below.

Hal Sutton v Phil Mickelson :: Fallout

What do you make of the fallout between Hal Sutton and Phil Mickelson over the 2004 Ryder Cup? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.

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