Tom English: Azinger asks the questions

A follow-up to the a story we had in Scotland on Sunday last weekend, the news that according to Nick Faldo, Paul Azinger was having misgivings about his assistant captains, Raymond Floyd and Dave Stockton. On Tuesday, Azinger was asked about it. Here's the transcript.

Journalist: Nick Faldo said that you had regretted your choice of vice captains. I just wonder, is that true?

Azinger: That he said it?

J: Well, no. I know it's true that he said it.

A: Do you think it's true that he said it.

J: I think it is.

A: Did you hear him say it?

J: People heard him say it and reported it

A: Did you hear him say it? I question whether he said it and if he did say it, it's completely not true.

J: So why would he say it?

A: Go ask him.

J: Do you have an opinion on the opposition captain giving away secrets from your team room?

A: Did he give away a secret? I don't know where you're going with that. I mean, I really don't. I don't believe he said it. It's completely not true."

The journalist doing the questioning was at a disadvantage in that he wasn't one of the four reporters who had interviewed Faldo. I was. And, Zinger, I have news for you. I heard him say it. I have it on tape. Give me your email address and I'll ping it off to you. But, then, I suspect you already know that Faldo said it. It was, after all, entirely consistent with Faldo's character to attempt to wind-up his opposite number, to attempt the low blow he talked about in another interview last week. Faldo, of course, was trying to be too clever, just as he was when trying to explain away that photograph of his match pairings, which he first claimed, in excruciating style, was his sandwich list before suggesting it was his groupings for Thursday's session.

Many of us thought coming here that Faldo could prove a disastrous captain of Europe. He's certainly made a slapstick beginning. He's making Azinger look sure-footed for heaven sake.