Lanny Wadkins knows plenty about what it takes to succeed at the Ryder Cup. The 1977 PGA Championship winner has been a part of nine of them in his storied career, eight as a player and one as a captain.
The Wake Forest product has amassed as many Ryder Cup points as any living American — he’s tied with Phil Mickelson at 21½ — and his 18 total overall match victories are the most by any living player on the U.S. side.
And although he’s 73, Wadkins is showing no signs of slowing down. He still dabbles in PGA Tour Champions TV commentary and his Lanny Wadkins Design firm continues to help with new designs (his BlackJack’s Crossing at Lajitas Golf Club in Texas is Golfweek’s Best Course you can play in the state) as well as redesigns. In fact, on Wednesday, he was in Austin, Texas, to unveil a massive club rebranding at the former Lost Creek Golf Club. Wadkins’ group helped with a complete redesign of the property at what will now be referred to as Westlake Country Club.
As part of the proceedings, Wadkins gave Golfweek some exclusive time to talk Ryder Cup strategy, discuss his loss as U.S. captain at the 1995 event at Oak Hill, and his recent comments about Mickelson.