The fallout from America’s loss at the Ryder Cup dominated all conversations in golf the past week, before a fairy-tale ending on Sunday at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship shifted the focus back to the golf course.

I have followed what happened at Gleneagles, and then subsequently in the Sunday evening post-match press conference between captain Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson with great interest. Most fans thought Lefty was out of line in his veiled criticism of his captain. But support has been growing for the American star.

I have the greatest respect for Watson as a player, but I wasn’t too impressed with him as a captain. I thought he made too many decisions based on his gut feelings — like the choice of Webb Simpson as one of his three wildcard picks, the decision to bench Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed in Friday’s afternoon session after they were so impressive that morning, and then keeping Mickelson and Keegan Bradley out of the golf course the whole of Saturday.

Now it has emerged that Watson’s autocratic style and his criticism of the players did not go down too well in the locker room.

Watson has since apologised to the players and accepted full blame for the American defeat. But given his stature and his age, his behaviour as a captain was hardly surprising to me.

The whole of Team USA, including Mickelson, would struggle to match what he has achieved in golf. I am sure that, in his heart, Watson felt he could do better than what his team members were dishing out at Gleneagles. That in itself creates frustration.

And secondly, unlike Paul McGinley, who I can vouch was at more European Tour events than any other player even when he wasn’t playing these last 18 months, Watson was rarely at PGA Tour events and trying to connect with his players. As it transpired, McGinley’s meticulousness won over Watson’s gut feelings.

I have written this before, and I will say it again, what USA needs at the Ryder Cup is a younger captain, in the 45-50 age group, who is currently active on the PGA Tour. If it is not possible for the PGA of America to hand over the reins to Paul Azinger once again, then I think the two perfect candidates would be either Steve Stricker or Rocco Mediate.

Moving on to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, it almost seems like Oliver Wilson was a winner that everyone wanted on Sunday, including the 155 other players who played in the tournament.

Oliver is one of the nicest human beings you can come across, and it is well documented how he never managed to win a tournament despite finishing second nine times when his career was at a peak a few years ago.

And then, he lost his form, and even his European Tour card. His ranking, from being inside the top-50 of the world and in the elite bracket, slipped close to 800 when he started this week on a sponsor’s invitation.

Well, Oli made the most of it. All his hard work, determination and self-belief has paid off.

— Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour