Trevino: Mickelson should’ve kept “mouth shut” after Ryder Cup loss

Lee Trevino thinks Phil Mickelson wasn’t the right guy to call out Tom Watson after the American Ryder Cup team lost for a third straight time.

“If Phil Mickelson wants to say what he said, it’s up to him,” Trevino said to Golf.com. “I thought it would have come out a lot better from someone like Patrick Reed, who went 3-0-1, instead of a guy who has been a part of so many losing teams. If I had a losing record in the Ryder Cup, I’d keep my mouth shut.”

Mickelson, who went 2-1-0 at Gleneagles last September, has a career mark of 16-19-6 in 10 career Ryder Cup appearances — eight of which the U.S. lost. After the loss, he laid into the leadership style of Watson after the U.S. lost by a 16 ½ – 11 ½ count to the Paul McGinley-led European team.

The five-time major winner clamored for a return to the system employed by 2008 winning captain Paul Azinger. Mickelson’s comments ultimately led to the formation of an 11-man task force, charged by the PGA of America with examining the entire American approach to the matches. Davis Love III, one of the task force’s members and losing 2012 Ryder Cup captain, is expected to be named to the same role for the ’16 matches on Feb. 24.

Trevino approves of Love’s second chance.

“Davis did a hell of a job [in 2012],” Trevino said. “He just got run over on the last day and it wasn’t his fault. His players didn’t play very well on Sunday.”

However, Trevino cautions Love shouldn’t just have more say over who makes his team, but that the captain should have complete say.

“I think the captain should be able to pick all 12 of his players,” he said. “He’d pick out the ones who are playing the best at the time. You left out two great players who were playing extremely well, Chris Kirk and Billy Horschel, last time. If you’re going to take all the heat, and the captain does, then goddam it, you should be able to pick your own players.”

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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