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Tom Watson was an interested observer during the final day of the 2012 Ryder Cup, a former U.S. captain and four-time participant in the biennial event.  Expecting to watch a U.S. victory at Medinah, he instead viewed a miracle comeback by Europe from 4 points down and a dramatic 14½ to 13½ U.S. defeat -- the Americans' seventh loss in nine Ryder Cups. Since accepting the position as captain for a second time a few months later, Watson has pointed to that Sunday collapse as a motivator for this year's matches, which begin next week in Scotland. "I go back to the 2012 Ryder Cup," Watson said Wednesday during a conference call. "These fellas, many of whom played on that team, remember that like it was yesterday. I want those players to talk to the players who weren't on that team and tell them how disappointed they were and to get them pumped up and not let that happen again. "It's redemption. ... There is that type of redemption theme that I have used with the players, and I think that's me as a competitor. Whenever I failed, if I had a failure, I wanted to redeem myself in the best and quickest way possible. These players understand. I understand the gut feeling they had in 2012 when the European team did what they did on Sunday, and to me that is a great motivator." Watson, 65, an eight-time major champion, will be the oldest captain in Ryder Cup history when the U.S. takes on Europe at Gleneagles starting on Sept. 26. It will be the 40th Ryder Cup, the second ever played in Scotland. The team will convene in Atlanta on Sunday and take an overnight flight to Scotland with team activities beginning Monday afternoon. The first official practice session on Gleneagles' Centenary course will take place Tuesday. Watson also captained the U.S. team in 1993 -- the last time the Americans won an away Ryder Cup. He is the first captain since Jack Nicklaus in 1987 to get a second term. Of the 12 U.S. players, seven were part of the team that built a seemingly insurmountable 10-6 lead through two days at Medinah -- Keegan Bradley, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Webb Simpson. Ryder Cup rookies Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed join them, along with former U.S. Ryder Cup players Hunter Mahan and Rickie Fowler. The U.S. won just three singles matches on the final day, losing eight and tying the last. "It was what affected me the most, when I watched that Sunday, and I had a pit in my stomach for several days afterwards," Watson said. "It just stayed there."
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