Jewel in the Glen by Birlinn Limited

JEWEL IN THE GLEN

GLENEAGLES, GOLF AND THE RYDER CUP

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JEWEL IN THE GLEN

GLENEAGLES, GOLF AND THE RYDER CUP

ED HODGE

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®The GLENEAGLES and GLENMOR words and the EAGLE Device are Trade marks ®PGA is a registered trademark of The Professional Golfers’ Association Limited All images in Chapter 8: The Scottish Cup, © Getty Images The right of Ed Hodge to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 9781909715028 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication data A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library. Typeset in Great Britain by Polaris Publishing Ltd Printed and bound by XXXXX

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For grandpa, Ian Nelson, my inspiration; and Iona, Andrew and Kirsty, my world.

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements Foreword by Jack Nicklaus

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7 11

CHAPTER ONE

The Magicians of Medinah

CHAPTER TWO

Gleneagles 1921: ‘An Inspiration to the Ryder Cup’

CHAPTER THREE

Braid to the BBC (1919–1982)

CHAPTER FOUR

Tour de Force (1983–2014)

CHAPTER FIVE

The Bid: Winning the Ryder Cup

107

CHAPTER SIX

Muirfield 1973

129

CHAPTER SEVEN

Golden Bear

141

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Scottish Cup

157

CHAPTER NINE

Caledonia Captains’ Log

171

CHAPTER TEN

Pride and Pleasure for Perthshire

179

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Palace in the Glen

189

CHAPTER TWELVE

Scotland’s Stage

205

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Celtic Connections

215

CHAPTER FOURTEEN The PGA Centenary Course: The 2014 Ryder Cup Host Venue, Hole-by-Hole Guide with Colin Montgomerie

223

References

235

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

IFE IS FULL OF journeys in pursuit of reaching a desired destination. If Gleneagles’ journey to stage the brilliant, biennial Ryder Cup, one especially noteworthy given the competition’s humble origins at the resort, was a long and ultimately successful one, then I’ve now come to the end of my own, personal journey. To achieve it, there are so many people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. The journey started growing up in Braco, Perthshire, quickly catching the golf bug thanks to my dad, Kenneth, before my late grandpa, Ian Nelson, and my late uncle, Eddie Nelson, both single-figure golfers in their pomp, deepened my love for the game. Car journeys back and forward fostered my Gleneagles passion, the courses a wondrous sight for a young, aspiring golfer. Caddying and working at the resort in later years, I’m privileged to say The Gleneagles® Hotel holds such a special place in my life. The vista from the 1st green on The King’s Course will always wow. Writing, like golf, is also in the blood. Grandpa was

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a distinguished newspaper reporter, enjoying a career which spanned six decades; and sports journalism, progressing to my current golf media role, has proved my career path. A book has long been a lifetime dream, a craved ambition and the journey ultimately began in 2005. It was then that I began freelance golf writing for Golf Publishing Limited (GPL). Ian Ferrier, the managing director of Gleneagles Golf Developments who owns GPL, Keith Rose and Audrey Walker took me under their wing and how I owe them so much. Writing across various publications, including the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles programme and the Hotel’s own shopping magazine, has provided me with a platform and planted the seed for this book. The years 2013 and 2014 were always in the back of my mind. If I was to write a book, it seemed I had the perfect subjects; golf, Gleneagles and the Ryder Cup – all great passions. I felt I could use my extensive local knowledge and deep love for the topics to pull it off. It was 2009 when I emailed Ian Ferrier for advice

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on the matter and the rest, as they say, is history. We came up with the concept of a publication in association with Gleneagles, at one of the most exciting times in the resort’s history – 2014 is also the 90th anniversary of the Hotel. Heather Edment, initially, and then Dorothy Welsh drove the project forward, gaining the support of Patrick Elsmie and Bernard Murphy, before Billy Murray, an old Gleneagles colleague, almost became my ‘boss’ on the book. I thank you all so much, especially Billy for the endless emails and telephone calls. You will miss it all, really. Gleneagles’ backing allowed me to harness the support of a mainstream publisher, initially BackPage Press through Neil White and Martin Greig, before Peter Burns and his Birlinn team took the project to the next level. Pete is a brilliant, intelligent operator, full of creative ideas and a fellow University of St Andrews graduate and golf nut to boot. I thank him for keeping me sane, working with Gleneagles and delivering the finished product. Like Billy, he will miss all those emails... It was 24 March 2011 when I achieved my first book interview, with James Braid’s kind granddaughter, Marjorie Mackie. Over the next two years, hunting down celebrities and personalities became something of an addiction, with the majority of targets achieved. Indeed, it was wonderful speaking to so many differing personalities to document the history of golf at the resort and share their love of Gleneagles. There are too many names to mention but special thanks to Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Paul McGinley, Bernard Gallacher, Sam Torrance, Paul Lawrie, Henry McLeish, Alex Salmond, Sir Jackie Stewart and Judy Murray. Many of these interviews would have been

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impossible to achieve without the help of management companies, and I especially want to praise Kelly Fray (Trevino and Watson) and Guy DeSilva (Player) for their assistance. Many of my journalist colleagues also assisted in this process, notably Phil Goodlad of the BBC and Martin Dempster of The Scotsman. My Gleneagles contributors, past and present staff, were also brilliantly supportive. I take my hat off to the fountain of all knowledge, former Gleneagles professional Ian Marchbank, along with Peter Lederer, Ian Ferrier, Scott Fenwick and Jimmy Kidd. The support of Diageo was also welcomed, and I thank Ian Smith and Christine McCafferty. Indeed, Christine ably assisted in tracking down stunning photography from the Diageo archives, as did other ‘photo helpers’ Billy Murray, Keith Rose, Audrey Walker and Jimmy Kidd. Unearthing old photos became as much of a coveted chase as interview targets. I’d also like to give honourable mentions for their help to Ken Schofield, formerly of the European Tour, and current tour employees Mitchell Platts and Scott Crockett. Sandy Jones and David Wright, both of the PGA, were also invaluable in terms of their historical knowledge, as was ex-Ryder Cup player Harry Bannerman. Robbie Clyde and Alan Grant at EventScotland, as well as Anne McCarthy, a vital source of assistance at Muirfield, were also important to me. I must also personally thank Colin Montgomerie and Lynsey Knowles of the Elizabeth Montgomerie Foundation. Colin kindly took time out from his busy schedule to provide a hole-by-hole guide to The PGA® Centenary Course and his assistance was hugely appreciated. I like to think I gave him something back

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by running a 10K for his charity. Above all, working closely with Jack Nicklaus and his team, in particular Scott Tolley, has been an absolute honour, the stuff of dreams. I thank them both sincerely for all their assistance, especially to Mr Nicklaus for agreeing to write the foreword and approve the front cover. Of course, I could not have achieved the book without my expert proof reading team of Keith Rose, Audrey Walker, Geoff Holder and Janette Dewar. Thank you all for correcting the odd typo as I rattled out another late night chapter and for all your kind words in encouraging me to complete the project. Janette is a Scottish Golf Union colleague and the notable support of other SGU staff, including Ross Duncan, Hamish Grey, Jackie Davidson, Kate Sheppard and

Audrey Rees was also hugely appreciated. Finally, thanks with all my heart to my family. My mum, Nicola, dad and my sister, Geraldine, have been my biggest fans, driving me on to fulfil this dream. I hope Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made them proud, and I only wish grandpa and uncle Ed were here to see the finished article. My wife, Iona, has also given me unstinting support, allowing me to work all manner of crazy hours and often taking sole charge at home to help look after our two little ones, Andrew and Kirsty. Writing a book with two children aged three and under has been a challenge, but hugely worth it. They have excellent bedtime reading in the years ahead. Iona has lifelong bragging rights for the book anyway... she came up with the title! Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the best, as grandpa used to say. Ed Hodge

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FOREWORD

BY JACK NICKLAUS ‘Gleneagles is among the great places in the world to visit and play golf ’

HAVE ALWAYS had a great affinity for Scotland. For as long as I’ve played the game professionally, and actually as early as my introduction to the country as a 19-year-old amateur, I’ve enjoyed a love affair with the golf and the golf fans there. Scotland has always been considered the ‘home of golf ’ and, in some ways, it has felt like a second home to me, because of the way I was treated so warmly over the years by the Scots, as if I were one of their own. Competitive golf virtually began and ended for me in Scotland. I made my Walker Cup debut at Muirfield in 1959, at age 19, and I chose to conclude my Major championship career at The Open Championship in 2005 at St Andrews. In between, I was fortunate to win three Open Championships – fittingly at the courses that bookended my lifelong connection to Scotland, my first win coming at Muirfield in 1966 and the others at St Andrews in 1970 and 1978. The history and significance of St Andrews in our game are very obvious on every visit. So the emotions that washed over me when I walked up the 18th fairway of the Old Course in those two Open victories resurfaced during that final hole in 2005. The

Left: Courtesy of Jim Mandeville / Nicklaus Companies

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people were truly wonderful; the moment overwhelming; and the memories forever etched in my mind. I take pride in what I achieved as a player but I have said for many years that my legacy within the game of golf could very well be the golf courses I have had the opportunity to design over the past six decades. That is why the opportunity I was given more than 20 years ago to add to the historical significance of golf in Scotland by designing a sibling course to James Braid’s King’s and Queen’s Courses at Gleneagles is among the most meaningful in my design career. When our creation of The PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles was awarded the 2014 Ryder Cup, it underlined that honour. I was fortunate to play on six Ryder Cup teams and captain the American squad twice, so I understand and respect how important these biennial matches are to the game of golf, especially in Europe. It is gratifying when given the opportunity as a designer to bridge my connection to this highly anticipated event. Gleneagles is among the great places in the world to visit and play golf, and we are highly confident The PGA Centenary Course will showcase itself and Gleneagles 11

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well in the 2014 Ryder Cup matches. The course is situated on a wonderful piece of land with breathtaking views across the Perthshire countryside. When the layout opened in 1993 – known at that time as The Monarch’s Course – the focus was on the course’s playability, as it was designed for the Hotel guests who would play it on a regular basis. It had good shot values and challenge, but by design, it was not overly difficult. As technology advanced over the last 20 years and equipment, especially the golf ball, made many golf courses obsolete, we felt The PGA Centenary Course needed some alterations in anticipation of taking on the best players from the United States of America and Europe in 2014. I am pleased with what the collective effort from Nicklaus Design and Gleneagles achieved, as my team and I worked closely with Gleneagles’ managing director Patrick Elsmie and Scott Fenwick, the golf courses and estate manager. When you look at the end result of our renovation, you will find plenty of opportunities for

birdies to add excitement and drama, yet the course also demands quality golf shots and decision-making. It is a course we hope will challenge and inspire all. Given my association with Scotland and Gleneagles, it is a privilege and pleasure to have the opportunity to contribute a foreword for Ed Hodge’s book, Jewel in the Glen. This book offers insightful reflection and a wonderful celebration of golf at Gleneagles, with interviews from so many personalities who have been associated with the famous resort through the years. Ed paints a unique portrait of Gleneagles, Scottish golf and the history of the Ryder Cup. Gleneagles is a special place, rightfully one of The Leading Hotels of the World, and I congratulate Patrick and his team on hosting the 2014 Ryder Cup on The PGA Centenary Course. I look forward to returning to Gleneagles in the future, where the welcome always has been, and remains, very special. Good golfing. Jack Nicklaus

Right: An aerial view of the par-4, 419-yard, 8th hole on The PGA Centenary Course. Getty Images

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CHAPTER 1

THE MAGICIANS OF MEDINAH ‘The amount of things that had to happen, that did, for us to win, you’ll never see it again.’ Paul Lawrie, 1999 Open champion and two-time Ryder Cup player

N THE MILWAUKEE District West Line, the 8.30 a.m. Metra from Chicago’s Union Station set off for Elgin, calling at Medinah en route. It had become an enjoyable, familiar journey, the downtown train snaking its way west and providing immediate eyecatching visuals of the iconic city skyscrapers with the 110-storey Willis Tower, the tallest building in North America, at its heart. It was a scheduled journey time of some 46 minutes, yet on Sunday morning, 30 September 2012, there were inevitable delays. At the 13 railroad stops before Medinah, passengers poured on in the largest numbers seen that week, an extra spring in an expectant American step. Cries of ‘U-S-A’ were louder and prouder. They were united in dress too, resplendent in red, answering the call to action from their captain. Glancing out the window at Elmwood Cemetery in River Grove, as vast a burial land as you will see, it was hard not to feel the foreboding, that this part of Illinois was proving a graveyard for European golfers. Quite simply, Medinah Country Club had been rocking to the home team’s beat, providing the razzle-dazzle Chicago’s jazz scene is famous for. The city’s sport-mad, passionate fans, disappointed

Left: European hands on the cup once more. Getty Images

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to miss out on a bid for the 2016 Olympic Games, had lived up to their reputation, playing their part to set up a singles shoot-out where their team needed just four-anda-half points from 12 to reclaim the cup. After tasting six defeats in eight matches, the US train was firmly on track for a rare success, at times steamrolling their visitors during the opening two days’ play. A derailment seemed improbable. Indeed, to many home fans, boarding an early celebratory return train was more likely. ‘I like to watch major golf events, especially the final stages. The Ryder Cup is brilliant. The atmosphere is incredible. I’ve always loved team events.’ Andy Murray, Grand Slam and Olympic tennis champion During virtually every week of the year, golf is a game about player, caddy and ball versus the rest. It’s individual, selfish and played, at the highest level, for huge sums of money. However, for three days every two years, it changes – completely. Not just for players, but spectators too. Individualism is replaced with a team dynamic on the course; polite applause is replaced with an explosion 15

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of football-style noise off it. It offers no prize money, but players either side of the Atlantic are still desperate to make their respective teams. Points matter, not pounds. It’s played for patriotism and pride; on the one side for the ideals of the American Dream, on the other for a united Europe, a rallying behind the blue and yellow flag not seen in almost any other sport. Interest and popularity in this absorbing head-to-head contest has grown phenomenally year after year since the 1980s. Loud, tense,

passionate, emotive, electric, thrilling, brilliant, brave and boisterous – a descriptive list could run and run. The third-largest sporting event in the world and the most eagerly anticipated tournament on the golfing calendar. Two continents collide in the biggest rivalry in golf. The Ryder Cup holds us all completely transfixed. It never ceases to amaze, to provide the unexpected. Is there another event which provides incessant drama and causes us to go through such highs and lows? Then, as

‘Do it for Seve’ is written in the sky during day two of the morning foursome matches at Medinah. Getty Images

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the conclusion comes, typically finely balanced, you start scanning the leaderboard ... and count. We’ve all done it, played the numbers game. Is there enough blue to outweigh the red, and vice versa? Who will sink the defining putt, to provide a historic Ryder Cup memory à la Sam Torrance’s time at The Belfry in 1985, or Paul McGinley’s moment on the same green in 2002? You’re on edge; be it on the couch, on the course, in the car, wherever, it’s nailbiting in the extreme. ‘The greatness of it lies in its sheer improbability,’ says Andrew Cotter, the broadcaster, who worked at his sixth Ryder Cup at Medinah. For every winner (think Graeme McDowell v Hunter Mahan in 2010 at Celtic Manor), there is a loser (think Bernhard Langer v Hale Irwin in 1991 at Kiawah Island). It reduces grown men to tears, in victory or defeat. How Samuel Ryder could never have dreamt it. It’s truly unique. ‘I played seven Ryder Cups and it’s welded in my heart. I had a chance to play with Seve and saw how much it meant to him. Somehow he passed that attitude to me.’ José Maria Olazábal, 2012 European Ryder Cup captain1 It was the first Ryder Cup since he had passed away; frail, after a courageous battle against brain cancer, aged only 54 in May 2011. For all, especially of a European persuasion, there was an obvious poignancy. Nobody represents the modern Ryder Cup more than he. In his own inimitable style, he inspired Europe to victory in his native Spain at Valderrama in 1997 and played in the contest eight times, winning 22.5 points from 37 matches between 1979 and 1995. He and Olazábal won a staggering 12 points from their 15 games together, an incredible double act, the best in Ryder Cup history. We all miss Severiano Ballesteros, but Olazábal more so. The 46-year-old lost his great friend, partner and compatriot, but not the many magical memories. Invoking the spirit of Seve at Medinah had

been in Olazábal’s thoughts from the very outset. Ensuring he would be with his team, each of the players’ bags was adorned with his most famous pose, his clenched-fist salute to the crowd after winning the 1984 Open. ‘Seve always said that was the sweetest moment of his career, winning at St Andrews and making that putt to beat Tom Watson,’ said an emotional Olazábal, his own captaincy the culmination of a remarkable personal journey spanning 26 years on the European Tour. ‘We came up with the idea that it would be nice to have Seve’s silhouette, so that every time somebody grabs a club or something from the bag they can see it.’2 Olazábal, of course, had a rather different source of inspiration, namely Brookline 1999. With America’s final day comeback unrelenting, Justin Leonard holed a 45-foot putt on the 17th green. He was mobbed by gleeful teammates, who trampled over Olazábal’s line ... before his putt to keep the match alive. It was an unsavoury incident, one of many during a rowdy and, at times, unpleasant week. After the chaos died down, the Spaniard missed and later cried in the locker room after the crushing 14.5-13.5 defeat. That’s what the Ryder Cup does, what it means. It proved uncanny how Olazábal would achieve redemption. ‘European golf is in such a strong place, there are established names and a lot of good players coming through who are only going to get better and better.’ Marc Warren, 2007 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles winner In the grandeur of Gleneagles’ ballroom on 27 August 2012, Olazábal finalised his team. Unlike the dilemmas facing previous captains, his two picks looked straightforward. Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts were odds-on choices. Poulter’s outstanding Ryder Cup record and love of the matchplay format saw the Englishman handed a fourth cap, while Colsaerts, the big-hitting

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Belgian, was rewarded for a hugely impressive season. Poulter was 11th and Colsaerts 12th on the European points table, meaning Olazábal’s 12-man side, featuring eight men who won in 2010 and just the one rookie in Colsaerts, was formidable. So too was counterpart Davis Love III’s line-up. The six-time Ryder Cup player had the luxury of leaving out the likes of Mahan, Rickie Fowler and Nick Watney, opting for Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker and Steve Stricker as his four wild cards. Resultantly, all 24 Ryder Cup players were in the world’s top 35 for the first time. ‘Two phenomenal teams treated us to an absolute spectacle,’ states Andrew Coltart, the 1999 Ryder Cup player and a member of the BBC Radio 5 live reporting team at Medinah. During practice, huge crowds stretched every sinew for a closeup, an autograph, a photo of these golfing gladiators. If America just held the favourites tag, as Europe chased victory on away soil for only the second time in 13 years, Olazábal was quietly confident. The majority of his team were regular performers in America, with proud Chicago resident Luke Donald playing an away match on home turf. The European skipper was also quick to play down the concerns over Martin Kaymer’s form, the 2010 US PGA champion and former world no. 1 hanging on to the final qualifying place after a relatively mediocre spell. ‘I don’t think I’m going to have any issues regarding Martin,’ said Olazábal.3 They were to prove prophetic words.

seats are filled when it’s still dark. No other occasion when two sets of supporters trade songs, many humorous, in a tit-for-tat vocal contest. No other occasion when the world’s best golfers struggle to place ball on tee ... then fear not making contact. It’s the 1st tee on the opening morning of the Ryder Cup and it takes the breath away. It made rising for a 5.39 a.m. train all the more worthwhile. If the Chicago weather had a distinctly Scottish feel – cold and crisp with the sun emerging on the horizon under fluffy clouds – the heat was generated in voice. Boy, it was loud. Boy, it was colourful. Boy, it was unforgettable. Almost 1,000 fans crammed into seats; standing crowds lined ten deep. It was a furious frenzy of flag-waving, stomping, screaming and high-fiving. The sight of a team member starting the walk from the nearby putting green, on to a bridge and up to the tee triggered a deafening din, certainly to welcome those decked in home colours. Indeed, it was as if America was hitting back in the supportive stakes. At Celtic Manor, Europe won the opening tee X Factor show. ‘The weather was absolutely abysmal and yet the atmosphere on the 1st tee was ridiculously good. Europe were 6-0 up in terms of lyrics,’ says Coltart, with a smile. If the Americans still lacked imagination at Medinah, they made up for it in volume. ‘Even though we had a lot of European support, you get dwarfed. They are so loud. I woke up for days and all I could hear every night was “U-S-A, U-S-A”,’ reveals Paul Lawrie amusingly, back in the European side after a 13-year absence. The scene rekindled memories for Lawrie. It was he, Friday 28 September: Day 1 sweaty-palmed, who struck the opening blow on his cup debut at Brookline. Given his surprising omission ‘There is nothing like the 1st tee of a Ryder Cup in sport.’ from Olazábal’s opening foursomes line-up – Lawrie’s Andrew Coltart consistency, particularly off the tee, appeared perfect for It’s bonkers. There is no other occasion in sport where the alternate shot format – there was no repeat. Instead, the thousands of spectators are horse-shoed in to make as much ‘pleasure’ fell to a Northern Irishman. McDowell was the noise as possible. No other occasion when the grandstand hero at Celtic Manor. Two years later he took centre stage 18

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again, this time to start proceedings not end them. You felt for him. He is a US Open winner and a Ryder Cup legend, but can anything prepare you for hitting the first ball in such highly charged circumstances? McDowell looked to his left, puffed out his cheeks and tried to settle. Alongside me, my brother-in-law Nick Cook, a PGA pro, questioned his own ability to grip the club in such circumstances. It was tongue-in-cheek, but said it all about the magnitude of the moment. Of course, the situation suddenly becomes more overwhelming. Hysterical, fever pitch noise turns to

a deathly hush. Not a word, not a murmur. You could hear a tee drop. ‘I couldn’t ignore the silence,’ McDowell admitted after pulling his drive. ‘The silence was deafening and it made my mind go blank. It was very strange.’4 The noise soon returned. Indeed, the pumped-up vociferous home crowds, numbering some 40,000, were to roar for their heroes on tees, fairways and greens for virtually three days. It was a sight and sound to behold. At Valhalla in 2008, the fans were America’s 13th man in victory, a fact Chicago’s sell-out crowds sought to repeat. There were

The flags flutter in the breeze at Medinah as play gets under way. Getty Images

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light-hearted chants – Donald and Sergio Garcia, playing Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in the second match out, reminded of their opponents’ glories and not their own, with the repeated line ‘Major winners’ – but as the week went on there were various unsportsmanlike shouts. Medinah did not plumb the depths of Brookline, but it proved raucous and hostile on occasions; partisanship was, at times, excessive. Nevertheless, it was some place to be. ‘The captain was upset on Friday night. He didn’t think we had played well enough, made enough birdies, or were into it enough as you need to be for a Ryder Cup. He was quite angry, I’ve never seen him like that before. You can put your arm around people or you can shout at them, and he decided to shout at us.’ Paul Lawrie Big, bold and brash. Medinah fashioned its reputation in the Roaring 1920s and, on first glance in 2012, little appeared to have changed – three golf courses, a large, distinctive clubhouse and a forest of 4,200 imposing trees. It’s a site of more than 600 acres. In some respects, Lawrie was always destined to sample its expanse. After all, the No. 3 course, venue for the Ryder Cup, was designed by Tom Bendelow, a fellow Aberdonian, who carved out some 600 courses in a 35-year span from around the turn of the twentieth century. Medinah No. 3 boasts an illustrious history, having hosted five Major championships, and has evolved to a 7,658-yard layout under the guidance of architect Rees Jones – making it the longest in Ryder Cup history. Love III sought to give his big hitters every advantage possible, offering a generous course set up with little rough to speak of. Players could, frankly, hit the ball anywhere off the tee, encouraging bold, aggressive golf. It made for a compelling birdie feast, but whether it helped the home team is a moot point. The Europeans

were hardly short drivers themselves, Colsaerts’ prodigious length aiding his selection. Early on, the course and the cold breeze certainly proved to Europe’s liking. For a brief spell, as we stood at the 8th green, Olazábal’s team were up in all four matches. McDowell and Rory McIlroy reeled off four birdies in a row against Furyk and Snedeker to go to the turn in three under par and held on for a slender triumph, with Poulter and Justin Rose also edging out Stricker and Tiger Woods. Poulter, the perfect showman, had walked on to the opening tee pumping his chest. He liked nothing more than defeating Woods, making his omission in the afternoon fourballs all the more puzzling. It was an afternoon session that began locked at 2-2 after America’s morning riposte gave them precious momentum. Donald and Garcia had never lost a foursomes match in Ryder Cup play but, from the 9th, Mickelson and Bradley recorded a dazzling five wins in seven holes for a 4&3 victory. Bradley, excited and exuberant, one of four American rookies, proved the early star of the show, lighting a fire under Mickelson who had a history of Ryder Cup underachievement. ‘We’ve played our best [in the Ryder Cup] when we’ve had fun, enjoyed each other’s company, and enjoyed the competition, embraced the gallery and felt the momentum,’ said a giddy Mickelson.5 Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson were equally impressive on the back nine to see off Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari. Lawrie’s wait was soon over, starting the fourballs with Peter Hanson. It was a proud moment for the re-energised 43-year-old, the last golfer from mainland Britain to have won a Major. Following his triumph at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Lawrie fist-pumped the air in a rare act of gleeful celebration. Now he was back on a stage where fist-pumps were trademark. Bubba Watson, of course, took crowd/team interaction a step further. The flamboyant leftie, the Masters champion, was swept up in the moment and urged the gallery for noise 20

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as he struck his opening tee shot, à la the movie Happy Gilmore. ‘It’s the Ryder Cup,’ Watson said. ‘Why not have fun?’6 It was an unprecedented act in golfing terms, one Poulter also encouraged the following day, and sparked an early birdie barrage – Watson and Webb Simpson were six up after eight holes en route to a 5&4 victory. ‘I played nicely, even though we got beaten,’ says Lawrie, the first Scot to play in the Ryder Cup since 2006. ‘I was under par on my own ball. But the American boys, I mean they were ten under for 14 holes, seven under for nine, it’s a Ryder Cup record.’ A fast start from the hosts, coming coincidentally as the sun shone and the breeze died, saw them take the ascendancy in the top three matches. Soon, from 2-2, it was 5-2, with only the heroics of Colsaerts in the final game, firing a stunning eight birdies and an eagle on his own ball in partnership with Westwood, helping claim a vital closing point against Woods and Stricker. It has long been felt the Europeans care more about the Ryder Cup, but day one was a public show of emotion and intent from Love III’s side – particularly exhibited by the wonderful camaraderie of Mickelson and Bradley, who took out McIlroy and McDowell 2&1 after lunch. Against a strangely subdued European dozen, it was only going to get better for the stars and stripes ... Saturday 29 September: Day 2 ‘Sports broadcasting requires objectivity and a certain detachment, as you simply concentrate on doing it properly. But then events come along where you can’t help but lose yourself in the excitement, the tension and the sheer drama of it all. The 2012 Ryder Cup was one of those events.’ Andrew Cotter, a BBC Radio 5 live on-course reporter at Medinah

In the ‘Windy City’, Europe was being blown away. Woods was dropped for the first time at a Ryder Cup in the morning, but the US refused to drop their overall standard. Bradley and Mickelson were at it again, six under par for 12 holes in foursomes – Donald and Westwood this time on the receiving end of a record-equalling 7&6 beating. Dufner and Johnson triumphed once more, while Furyk and Snedeker gained revenge on McIlroy and McDowell. It was left to Poulter and Rose to dig deep and see off Watson and Simpson, but it was now 8-4 and America, driven on by the huge crowds, smelt blood. Europe, however, received some unexpected good news around lunch. There was no sign of the dominant pairing of Mickelson and Bradley for the fourballs. Despite turning on the style and feeding off the galleries in their three straight successes, carding 21 birdies in 44 holes, they were to down tools. Citing fatigue and a desire to be fresh for the singles, Love III agreed to Mickelson’s adamant request. It was to prove a critical decision. ‘When you’ve got a partnership like that – the two of them were on fire – I just don’t get how you sit them out,’ questions Lawrie. ‘The captain’s job is unbelievably tough, it’s impossible to get it right every step of the way. But, we were like, man, he’s sitting out his two best players.’ Europe’s task remained formidable. Lawrie, disappointed to again be left out of the morning foursomes, knew as much. ‘History has shown they’re stronger in the singles,’ he adds. ‘At 8-4 down, we needed to make sure, at worst, we got back from four points behind to a little bit less playing the singles, because it was going to be a mountain to climb otherwise.’ ‘O Flower of Scotland’ could be heard as Lawrie, playing with Colsaerts, prepared to set off in the fourballs. ‘There was a huge amount of Scottish people,’ he notes, with a broad grin. ‘There was a group of about ten guys from Stonehaven Golf Club wearing kilts and Lawrie masks.

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They followed me every shot, they were brilliant.’ A huge saltire flag was also a regular sight, impressively carried aloft by Roy McAllister, originally a member at Elderslie Golf Club. ‘It’s nice Paul recognised the support of his Tartan Army,’ Roy says. ‘At the end of it all, he gave me a signed glove on the 18th.’ A talented team of four lads from Liverpool, wearing old-fashioned tunics and capes, were visible too, writing little rhyming songs for most of the European players and achieving fame on the BBC and Sky Sports. ‘One of my mates was walking round singing the song made up about me,’ laughs Lawrie. There were also Viking hats, ‘Rory’ wigs and full Union

Jack outfits from the Europeans, while numerous home fans donned Captain America costumes, their patriotic fervour fuelled by celebrity sightings – Michael Jordan, the Chicago Bulls basketball legend, and two former US presidents, George W and George H W Bush. It was a wonderful scene, splashes of colour everywhere, fans swarming over the course like giant ants. ‘I’ve never been on a course with such big crowds, trying to get to tees is unbelievable,’ said Bernard Gallacher, a Ryder Cup veteran.7 If Medinah was a pretty picture of autumnal blaze in the glorious weather, the sun appeared to be setting on Europe. Watson and Simpson gained the upper hand on Rose and Molinari and refused to surrender it, running out comfortable 5&4 winners against a European duo who, worryingly, lacked passion. Lawrie and Colsaerts, meanwhile, were in great form against Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar, but the white ball was disobedient on the greens. ‘How we lost that game is just incredible,’ states Lawrie, annoyed by the one-hole defeat. ‘The feeling in your gut is just horrible, when you know you should have won and you’ve actually lost. When you play on your own and you shoot 80 you’re disappointed, but it’s not a big issue, you get on with it. When you are there with 11 other people, a captain and vicecaptains, it’s a horrible feeling letting your team down.’ ‘All of a sudden you could feel a momentum shift, there was a chink of light. Had they been half points in those last two games on Saturday, Europe would have been gone.’ Andrew Coltart America was ganging up on Europe Al Capone-style, Chicago’s most infamous ‘Mob’ boss. Olazábal’s side

Ian Poulter celebrates after making birdie on the 18th green to help the Poulter/McIlroy team defeat US duo Dufner/Johnson 1up during day two. Getty Images

Right: Bubba Watson of the USA hits his tee shot on the 1st hole during the singles matches. Getty Images

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looked bruised, almost beaten. It was 10-4 with 14 points remaining; and the US required only four-anda-half. A skywriter puffed out messages of support for both teams. ‘DOWN BUT NOT OUT, GO EUROPE’, read one, but Olazábal needed a catalyst to spark his charges to life. Step forward Poulter. ‘Things were pretty dire,’ recalls Coltart. ‘The Europeans weren’t hitting good shots at the right time and they were putting the ball in the water, which had, predominantly, been an American trait over the years. Even at that point, half points were not going to be any good for them, so Garcia and Donald and McIlroy and Poulter absolutely had to

get the points.’ The former pairing had been four up at the turn against Woods and Stricker, before bravely resisting their furious rally to finally win on the 18th and inflict a third defeat on the out-of-sorts American duo. Meanwhile, behind them, Poulter was penning another extraordinary Ryder Cup story to tell the grandchildren. Two down to Dufner and Zach Johnson on the 13th tee – the difficult par-3 over Lake Kadijah – McIlroy made birdie to reduce the arrears to one. What followed was, frankly, miraculous. Poulter displayed indomitable spirit to post five brilliant birdies on the spin to see his team home, wild-eyed in celebration as each putt fell in. ‘It was

Rory McIlroy of Europe celebrates after holing out for birdie on the 6th hole during the singles. Getty Images

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almost by sheer will and self-confidence,’ believes Andrew Cotter, who commentated on the contest. McIlroy was a virtual spectator, shaking his head and smiling in disbelief as Poulter almost single-handedly hauled a punch-drunk Europe off the canvas. The seeds of belief were sown. ‘I’m not sure any other player on either team would have holed all five putts,’ claims Lawrie. ‘The shortest one was about 12 feet. Man, Ian just loves it. I was sitting with [one of the European vice-captains] Darren Clarke on the last green, when he was over his putt. I said to Darren, “What do you think?” And he said: “Not only will he hole it, but he’ll take ten minutes to hole it!” It’s just a great line and Darren was right, he was pacing and strutting about! Ian just feels as though he was born for moments like that.’ Suddenly, Europe was energised. ‘It gave the guys an opportunity to think they might win it,’ continues Coltart. ‘Then the singles draw came out while they were all in the team room and each guy really fancied his chances.’ Lawrie confirms as much: ‘We talked about the draw on Saturday night and José went through it. “I need you all to know, I’m looking at that and I’m telling you, this is possible, this is possible,” he said. All of a sudden the whole team room was up for it. He was good at that, to be fair, Ollie, the motivational stuff and his speeches.’ There is a pause from Lawrie and a puff of his lips. ‘I’ve never cried so much in my life,’ he admits. ‘All of us were crying just about every meeting. Unbelievable, you’ve no idea the stuff he was coming away with. One of the meetings, the night before the Gala Dinner, he went through each individual player and told a story about playing with that player and what that player meant to him. We were all just bubbling. At team meetings he was just phenomenal.’ Overturning a 10-6 deficit for victory had been achieved before. Olazábal and Lawrie, among the veterans of 1999 at Brookline, knew all about the biggest

comeback in Ryder Cup history. Europe this time had to pull it off on foreign soil. Simply, they had to rewrite the record books. ‘I believe momentum will come our way – and why not tomorrow?’ asked Olazábal, tellingly.8 Sunday 30 September: Day 3 ‘It was just one of those days. I don’t know how often they come around. You couldn’t have written it.’ Craig Connelly, Scottish caddy to Martin Kaymer Olazábal laid it on the line. Donald – starting off in the singles against Watson – Poulter, McIlroy, Rose and Lawrie were given strict instructions. ‘The pressure was just incredible,’ reveals Lawrie. ‘We were sitting in the team meeting [on Saturday night] and José said the first five guys must win or we’ve no chance. I was fifth. So you say “Right, I’ve just got to beat him, take him down.’’’ All decked in navy blue to honour Seve, with his image also embroidered on the sleeve of their white shirts, Donald began a monumental task. ‘Everything just fell Europe’s way, somehow. If you want to be religious in any certain way, Seve was kind of inspiring them, his ghost, if you like, was almost willing the ball into the hole.’ Andrew Coltart Medinah was eerily quiet, save for growing cheers from Europeans dotted around the course. On the boards, blue was the colour. Donald was leading from the front, like Colin Montgomerie at The Belfry in 2002, with Poulter fighting back against the US Open champion, Simpson. McIlroy, meanwhile, moved two up after seven holes on Bradley. That bare fact was impressive, given the bizarre mix-up which had given his entire team, and an entire 25

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continent, an almighty scare. Remarkably, the world no. 1 arrived via police escort just ten minutes before his teeoff, allowing time for only a few practice putts. Failure to turn up would have brought disqualification, ignominy, embarrassment and certain European defeat. The young Irishman, confused over US time zones, had two quickthinking transport officials from the PGA of America and a deputy police chief to thank for reaching the course. Relief washed over away fans, just as it did Olazábal. The players, though, remained focused. Lawrie, for instance, actually knew nothing of McIlroy’s troubles until he had finished his tie. The Scot, meanwhile, rose to his challenge, chipping in at the 4th and eagling the 5th to go two up on Snedeker. Rose too started well, only for Mickelson to claw back. Thousands of eyes watched on, captivated, Jack Nicklaus, Michael Phelps and Pep Guardiola among them, as the golf warmed up, just like the weather. ‘There is so much pressure playing in the Ryder Cup. I don’t think you can get bigger [pressure], to be honest.’ Sam Torrance, 2002 victorious European Ryder Cup captain It was advantage Europe. At lunch, America was not up in any of the first six matches. Momentum had astonishingly swung. ‘When you see a singles draw, you know our guys, on their day, can beat anybody,’ states Craig Connelly. ‘It was just a determination the boys had. The guys at the start wanted to lead by example and they did that.’ Donald, Poulter and McIlroy all emerged victorious, together with Lawrie. Suddenly, it was 10-10. Poulter was superb, a fourth win giving him a proud 100% record and the highest individual contribution on either side. ‘We have actually revised the qualification for next time,’ Westwood joked. ‘It’s nine (qualifying) spots, two picks and Poults. It’s the Poults clause.’9 Lawrie, too, was majestic, six under par for his 15 holes in his 5&3 success;

the best singles performance. Snedeker snapped up the $10 million FedEx Cup jackpot the week before, but was clinically demolished. Incredibly, Lawrie knew he would pocket a precious point on the 3rd green. ‘When I holed my 12-footer for par there I knew I would beat him,’ he reveals. ‘It’s amazing how you get feelings. I played unbelievably tee to green.’ After an emotional year, losing his coach Adam Hunter – the mastermind of his 1999 Open triumph – to leukaemia, he was close to tears. ‘I think everyone gets a bit emotional as they get older,’ he says. ‘For some reason, standing five up on the 14th tee, I kind of backed off a couple of times because I just couldn’t focus on what I was doing. I was thinking of Adam, it’s the only time he has been that much in my thinking that I’ve had to come away from the ball. It’s just incredible how strong our bond was. We all miss him, but there has not been a day gone by I haven’t thought of him.’ European fans still did not dare to dream, such was the margin for error. ‘Even when flashes of blue appeared on the board, it was a certainty the home side would find four-and-a-half points,’ felt Cotter. ‘They had to.’ Dustin Johnson secured America’s first singles point against Colsaerts, before, arguably, the turning point came. Rose was one down against Mickelson with three to play, lucky not to be two adrift. The Englishman, ranked fifth in the world, then showed his class. ‘When Justin turned his match it was then that I thought we had a chance. For him to hole putts on 16, 17 and 18 to win was just huge,’ summed up Lawrie. Looking across the water to the 17th green, a cauldron of noise at the elevated par-3, we saw Rose drain his 35-foot birdie putt. Seconds earlier, Mickelson had almost chipped in. It’s on such margins Ryder Cups are won and lost. Mickelson, to his credit, smiled and gave his opponent the thumb-up approval after he holed. ‘It’s the most incredible day I’ve ever had,’ said Rose afterwards.10 26

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‘I remember Lee Westwood summed it up well: “Once it starts going wrong, and once one or two start faltering, it just goes down the whole team.” You can’t fail to look at the boards. It just snowballs down everyone.’ Paul Lawrie From being drowned out, now you could hear the 3,000 European voices. It was 11-11, soon 12-12. Zach Johnson edged out McDowell, Westwood replied against Kuchar. The ebb and flow was relentless. Rose’s turnaround win was critical, but Garcia’s equally so. Furyk bogeyed the

last two holes to lose agonisingly, the stalwart American holding his head in his hands after key putts refused to drop. ‘There was no doubt Seve was on our side. I mean, just on my match, some of the breaks I got you don’t get every day,’ admitted Garcia.11 Dufner provided a quick US pick-me-up, beating Hanson for 13-13. Both final matches were all square. Extraordinarily, it was going to the wire, a situation barely conceivable 24 hours earlier. Yet again, the Ryder Cup was refusing to disappoint in terms of spectacle, excitement and tension. Chicago, the finest sports city in the US, was, fittingly, serving up

A jubilant Paul Lawrie under the saltire with caddy, David Kenny, and wife, Marian. Getty Images

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an unbelievable sporting story. Out on the 16th, in the penultimate match, a Scots caddy learned the situation ... ‘José came up to us and said “Listen, Sergio has won his match, we need two halves from you and Francesco [against Woods],’’’ remembers Connelly, the Glaswegian whose timing that week was impeccable – working just his fifth event back with Kaymer after leaving Paul Casey. ‘From 10-6 down, in the penultimate game, you’d give anything for it to go down to your match. When it did, well it was surreal. Martin could never really get away from Steve [Stricker], but the 17th was huge. Steve hit a great shot in, right over the flag and just off the back edge of the green. We hit a 6-iron and Martin just caught it a bit heavy. It kind of spun up in the air. It was a little bit further away than we wanted but we two-putted, holing a five-footer, to win the hole and go one up. We got fortunate with Steve not getting up and down.’

‘Only when Kaymer sneaked ahead of Stricker did I really start to believe that Europe could, and perhaps would, win.’ Andrew Cotter It was nerve-shredding golfing theatre. Kaymer’s tee shot on 18 ran out into a bunker. Stricker was in the middle of the fairway. The German reached for an 8-iron. ‘Martin hit a great shot,’ continues Connelly. ‘There was not so much discussion about the club selection, but about where exactly we wanted to leave it on the green. Anywhere beneath the hole was perfect, at no stage did you want to take the flag on or go past it, because the putt coming down the hill was so slick. So he pulled it a little bit, just got above the hole and it was left-to-right down the hill.’ Stricker went long and hit a poor birdie attempt. It looked over. Kaymer had two putts to retain the

Martin Kaymer celebrates his putt which retained Europe the 39th Ryder Cup. Getty Images

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Ryder Cup from 25 feet. But, as Connelly suggested, two putts were harder than it appeared. ‘It was one of those ones, the higher you hit it the harder you had to hit it,’ he remembers. ‘It looked as if it was just falling short right of the hole and then it went past and just kept on going. You’re like “stop, stop, stop!” All of a sudden it’s six feet away and your heart is in your mouth.’ In a BBC commentary booth, Coltart was standing with his eyes shut. Elsewhere, fans peered

through gaps in their fingers and the players held collective breath, the tension now almost unbearable. Stricker, somehow, managed to take his putter back and holed from eight feet for par. It was down to Kaymer. Just like his idol, mentor and countryman Bernhard Langer 21 years previously, he had a putt for Ryder Cup glory. Langer, of course, missed his own six-footer, one of the most dramatic putts in the history of golf, to hand America victory. On a giant screen behind the swamped

European team captain José Maria Olazábal breaks down at the closing ceremony while reminiscing about his old friend Seve Ballesteros. Getty Images

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18th green, we were reminded with a ‘FLASHBACK’, as Langer’s putt slipped by. To those watching, it just heightened the astonishing drama; a mass of faces frozen by the occasion. Europeans, though, shouldn’t have worried. ‘We just went over and lined it up,’ says Connelly, coolly. ‘I had no doubts at all that he would hole it, none at all.’ The nerveless German rolled it right in the middle. ‘He wanted it, wanted to hole the winning putt [to retain],’ admits Connelly. ‘I think every European golfer wants to hole the winning putt for the Ryder Cup, so when you have the opportunity you’ve got to grasp it. I don’t think he was ever going to let that go.’ Cue mayhem. European players engulfed Kaymer and went wild in swarms of jubilation, scenes that will live with me, and for anyone present, forever. Metaphorically, the huge American flag behind the green had already been lowered to half-mast. ‘This is a feeling I’ve never had before,’ said Kaymer. ‘On Friday night I sat down with Bernhard [Langer] and talked to him about the Ryder Cup because my attitude wasn’t the right one. He told me I must not hide away from the rest of the team just because I felt I was playing poorly. He said I had to relax.’12 It’s funny how sport works. After the pre-event fears about his form, the 27-year-old was the Medinah hero. Woods was one up playing Molinari on the 18th, before sportingly conceding the Italian’s three-footer. It was the only halved match of the week. Woods was termed defeatist, but also classy. Questions about his attitude remain – he has been on the winning side in only one of his seven Ryder Cups – and his Medinah gesture handed Europe outright victory. It was their fifth success in six matches, a golden era like no other. There was an immediate outpouring of emotion. ‘We’ve got Seve on the arm, Seve on the bag, we’ve got Ollie, it’s pretty special,’ said Poulter, welling up.13 ‘It means everything for him [Seve] and for me ...’ admitted Olazábal, trailing off in tears.14 Lawrie was still bubbling

weeks later, proving yet further the significance of the win. ‘I was watching it one night at home,’ he reveals. ‘I had a bit of jet lag after playing in China and I watched the whole singles programme again from start to finish. I was sitting there on my own, with the cover around me, greetin’ [crying], it’s just incredible! This big tough guy from Aberdeen sitting in his lounge greetin’! For me, Carnoustie in 1999 will always be the most special. But, as far as team events go, nothing even comes close to what happened that week.’ If America had, at times, proved untouchable, a neversay-die Europe was spurred on by Olazábal and the legend of Ballesteros. ‘It was just a miracle really, I can’t find words to explain it all,’ admits five-time Ryder Cup player Sandy Lyle, summing up the greatest Ryder Cup comeback in the 85-year history of the event, on a par with anything seen in sport. ‘It was three days of perfect autumn weather in Chicago and one perfect European storm on the last,’ continues Cotter. ‘Seve would have flashed his famous smile.’ Gallacher, the former European captain, offers: ‘I think it was the greatest Ryder Cup ever.’ The Americans were numb. ‘SHOCK AND AWWW’ screamed the front page in the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘Medinah Meltdown: Europe’s Unexpected Gain is America’s Pain’ headlined The Wall Street Journal. ‘We’re all kind of stunned,’ Love III said. ‘It’s a little shocking. We were playing so well.’15 At the closing ceremony, there were nods to 2014 and the first Ryder Cup on Scottish soil for over 40 years. European feet tapped in unison to the Scots classical violinist Nicola Benedetti and Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis, before Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, received the symbolic silver putter, linking the past and future of the Ryder Cup, to denote the official handover from Medinah. The joyous chants of ‘Olé! Olé! Olé!’ continued on our return train to Chicago; a rather different journey to that experienced only hours before. Full steam ahead for the European Express. Next stop Gleneagles. Right: The Magicians of Medinah. Getty Images

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CHAPTER 2

GLENEAGLES 1921: ‘AN INSPIRATION TO THE RYDER CUP’ ‘I think my grandfather would be very pleased at how far the Ryder Cup has come, how big it is now, but he would just take it all in his stride. He was a very modest man.’ Marjorie Mackie, James Braid’s granddaughter Dateline: 29 November 2011, Gleneagles. Time: 8.40 a.m. pencil in family birthdays, a wedding or a christening on the calendar, yet here was a diary date to usurp SENSE OF ANTICIPATION, a sense of history them all – a date for a biennial international sporting hung in the air of the stylish, newly refurbished occasion like no other, indeed arguably the greatest Dormy Clubhouse at Gleneagles. Within the event in golf. Here was Gleneagles’ date with destiny. Having shuffled into seats, two large plasma TV impressive Mitchell Room – appropriately named after the iconic golfer Abe Mitchell who adorns the distinctive screens set the scene for an expectant, eager audience. Ryder Cup trophy – a significant, long-awaited day had A powerful, evocative film lasting six minutes and 23 arrived. Peering outside, the rain still lashed down, the seconds, EventScotland’s official video to signal the start wind whistled through the glen, and light barely pierced of Scotland’s journey towards hosting the Ryder Cup, the morning darkness. Inside, the contrast in conditions caught the mood emotively and passionately. It was could not have been greater. A rosy glow radiated from spine-tingling stuff. Then a pause, a draw of breath from the cheeks of busy, expectant staff, catering for the Richard Hills, European Ryder Cup director, before, to needs of a formidable media, event and administrative a worldwide viewership of millions, he revealed the dates team presence. There were warm handshakes to renew for Gleneagles’ Ryder Cup, Scotland’s Ryder Cup, perhaps acquaintances; jovial chitter-chatter; an overwhelming the most notable sporting competition ever to grace the bonhomie. It was no wonder. Some 40 years after a Ryder home of golf. Friday to Sunday, 26–28 September 2014. Cup at Gleneagles was first mooted, some 20 years after Rarely has a set of words and numbers meant so much formal discussions on the subject began – indeed those to Gleneagles, to Perthshire, to Scotland. The cameras meetings were held in a room just yards from those now clicked, the writers scribbled. ‘Breaking News’ bars quickly gathered – and ten years after Gleneagles won the right flashed up on rolling sports news bulletins and numerous to host the 40th Ryder Cup, today it was official. We websites across the globe, before the official press release

Left: An aerial shot of the Hotel, 1930. © RCAHMS

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from the European Tour dropped into email inboxes. The countdown clock was soon turned on, ticking away on Gleneagles’ website. Now it truly was official. The contest was returning to the place where it effectively all began; Gleneagles, the spiritual home of the Ryder Cup. Birth Definition: An emergence, beginning or commencement. Rarely has a noteworthy birth, arguably one of the most important in golf ’s long and illustrious history, received such little detailed documentation, reporting or heralding. Search the internet, trawl the archives and the date is certainly recognised, but full, thorough accounts are notable only by their absence. Like any birth, it was a special day, but 6 June 1921 at Gleneagles held farreaching status. Put simply, here was the day the Ryder Cup ‘unofficially’ began; an event which was an inspiration behind the forming of the biennial competition proper six years later; an informal gathering that sparked a golfing rivalry which has lasted nearly a century. Never, perhaps, has a ‘friendly’ in world sport meant so much. Gleneagles was the undisputed venue for the first international match between Great Britain and American professionals. 1921 at Gleneagles: a tale known by some, yet one unfamiliar to so many. ‘It is a wonderful piece of golf history,’ says legend of the game Gary Player. ‘A lot of people don’t know that story, but I’m sure they soon will,’ continues John Collins, the esteemed Scottish ex-international footballer. ‘[1921 match] Is that so? That’s wonderful. I certainly wasn’t aware of that,’ admits Sir Jackie Stewart, the three-time F1 world motor racing champion and a Gleneagles connoisseur. ‘I didn’t know that history,’ confesses former Scotland rugby captain and keen golfer Gavin Hastings. Here the first-ever complete picture of the precursor to the modern Ryder Cup is accurately painted, at last doing justice to its humble beginnings.

The 1921 British team. Standing (left to right): J Taylor, JH Taylor, A Mitchell, JG Sherlock, J Ockenden, H Vardon, AG Havers Sitting (left to right): G Duncan, J Braid, E Ray The Gleneagles Hotel

The 1921 American team. Standing (left to right): W Hagen, W Mehlhorn, C Hoffner, F McLeod, T Kerrigan, G McLean Sitting (left to right): E French, J Hutchison, C Hackney, WE Reid The Gleneagles Hotel

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Dateline: 29 December 1913–1919, UK Not for the first time in his life, or the last, James Braid was on a train. He was the champion golfer of the time. By 1910, only 14 years after turning professional, he had remarkably become the first player in history to win The Open Championship five times. Now he was steaming north from his Surrey base at the famous Walton Heath course where he had taken up the role of club pro in 1903, a position he filled until his death, aged 80, in 1950. For the Fifer from the village of Earlsferry, who had honed his game on the Elie links before relocating south, a distinguished career as a course pioneer was in its infancy – and trains were his preferred, almost only, mode of transport. He was one of the dominant ‘Great Triumvirate’ of the sport alongside Harry Vardon and John Henry Taylor – indeed, Braid’s 1906 victory in The Open Championship was the last successful defence of the title by a European until Padraig Harrington replicated the feat in 2008 – but his fear of flying and motion sickness on ocean travel meant he never contested a golf event in America, or even worked on a course in the US. While his design contemporaries Harry Colt and Dr Alister MacKenzie, he of Augusta National fame, were drawn elsewhere, taking the new game of golf to America, Braid limited his work largely to the UK. A train journey north was typical of his lifestyle. ‘He travelled by train anywhere,’ recalls his granddaughter Marjorie Mackie. ‘Harry Vardon and J H Taylor he played with a lot. Vardon won quite a few things in America, but my grandfather would never travel there. His whole life was golf and trains took him where he wanted, because he was such a very bad traveller. We didn’t see an awful lot of him because he never took holidays. We saw him occasionally, first when we were in Cheshire and then in Dumbartonshire. James Braid. The Gleneagles Hotel When he came up to take a look at a course or look at 35

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The bridge on the 18th hole of The Queen’s Course, 1920. The Gleneagles Hotel

grounds to make a course, he would stay with us for a night. But mostly he didn’t even do that, as he was a quick architect. He took the train up, walked the ground with his stride – he never measured with a tape measure or anything like that – strode the course out, stored it in his head and organised the course on his return train. It was just like that, quite often. He could create a course from just going over the ground once. That was it. That didn’t apply to Gleneagles in the end, but for a lot of courses it did. He simply lived for golf; he was just an all-round golf man. It’s often said that, if anything, even though he won The Open five times, his course design was even more important to him.’ Braid’s background, keen eye and understanding of design allowed him to set a standard the rest of the world had to follow. Here was a man in whom hard labour,

craftsmanship and core values were deeply ingrained. Originally trained as a carpenter and joiner within a family living on small means, he reconditioned old clubs for his own use – after all, this was the era of the hickory shafted club and guttie balls – and later, in 1893, took up the position of clubmaker at the Army and Navy Stores in London. Allied to such skills, he used his Fife farming background to ensure that courses were properly laid out and well drained. Braid went on to design or remodel more than 250 courses around the UK, with Stranraer in Scotland’s south-west his final layout in the year of his passing. In 1913, this tall, slim, quiet Scot was already a formidable architect at a time when course design was in its infancy. Braid’s legacy to golf was much more than his feats on the fairways aided by an elegant, powerful swing that gave him considerable length; he remains one of the 36

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well-earned and significant holiday in Strathearn. Matheson was a small man, of charming personality, with big ideas. His railway line ran through the picturesque valley and, given it was the era of ‘Grand Hotels’, he was so impressed by the surrounding countryside that the astute businessman had a vision for a large, luxury country house hotel, built in the style of a palace which would provide leisure in the form of golf to the travelling

most prolific golf course designers and was pivotal to the profession’s development. He alighted from his train at Gleneagles, on the southern edge of the Scottish Highlands, eager to plot and fulfil another man’s wonderful dream. In 1910, Perth native Donald Matheson, the general manager of the Caledonian Railway Company (CR), a prosperous and enterprising Scottish group, had enjoyed a pleasant, Gleneagles station in the 1920s. The Gleneagles Hotel

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Joe Kirkwood watching Bryce Morrison putting up scores at the 1923 Glasgow Herald Thousand Guineas.The Gleneagles Hotel

public. Then, the travelling public were either royal or rich and golf was very much the ‘in’ sport with the wealthy and famous in the early days of the century. ‘Amid all the provinces in Scotland, if an intelligent stranger were asked to describe the most varied and the most beautiful, it is probable he would name the County of Perth,’ famously noted Sir Walter Scott, the distinguished Scottish novelist, playwright and poet. ‘Perthshire forms

the fairest portion of the Northern Kingdom.’1 It wasn’t to be the first Scottish golf resort constructed to take advantage of the railway – that distinction belonged to Cruden Bay at the end of the nineteenth century, closely followed by Turnberry in 1906. But Gleneagles was an ideal site. It was on the main West Coast railway line from London to Aberdeen, with the Grampian Express engine regularly puffing its way up and down. The station was 38

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The King’s Course 4th hole, Broomy Law, 1920s. The Gleneagles Hotel

originally called Crieff Junction before it was renamed Gleneagles in April 1912. A hotel would not only feed and develop the railways but would be a national asset to Scotland, drawing visitors – armed with golf clubs – north. Up until the 1960s, when the private motor car became more common, the railway ruled supreme for all journeys across the UK. Matheson believed that once he had the traveller in his pocket on the train, then he should aim to keep and look after them at the end of the journey.

It was October 1912 before he submitted proposals for development of the Gleneagles area. In keeping with Matheson’s impressive plans for the hotel by Easter 1915, agreed by CR shareholders in August 1913, he looked for the best in the creation of golf courses in the grounds to continue the theme of excellence. Three courses were initially planned – a first-class 18-hole main, a very good 9-hole ‘relief ’ and a beginners’ 9-holer – but the immediate emphasis was 39

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Crowds follow play on The King’s Course as a steam train puffs by in the background. The Gleneagles Hotel

on two. Braid was excited, but focused. Throughout his glittering career, he remained grounded and always demonstrated restraint whatever the circumstances. For example, at Walton Heath, he was an honorary member of the club for 25 years but it was typical of his unassuming nature that he always insisted on entering the clubhouse by the back door. ‘James was a very modest

man, he just got on with his business,’ adds Marjorie. ‘He wasn’t a man to show his emotions, he was a man of few words. He went over to Ireland a couple of times and designed some courses there, and he did go to France, in fact he won the French Open in 1910. He did the faraway courses of New York and Singapore by post. I think he did very well staying where he did, working 40

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Abe Mitchell hits his drive at the 4th hole on The King’s Course, 1921. The Gleneagles Hotel

director of golf development at The R&A in St Andrews, is Gregor’s daughter. ‘My father always referred to him as “Mr Braid”,’ she notes. ‘He was very well-respected, highly revered among his peers. My father was very happy there working alongside him.’ Back on 29 December 1913, Braid arrived in glorious Gleneagles. It oozed history. Since the twelfth century, the Haldane family owned the estate and there were later disputes between the family and Gleneagles over the use of the name for the station and Hotel. Contrary to the

hard and enjoying his golf and design work.’ Exhibiting no pretensions, Braid earned respect within the golf fraternity and was immensely popular with his fellow professionals. Later, during the Second World War, his assistant at Walton Heath was a fellow Fifer, Gregor McIntosh, a clubmaker originally from Leven. McIntosh, who later refereed in the Ryder Cups of 1973 and 1977, had the opportunity to work with Henry Cotton at Ashridge Golf Club in Hertfordshire, but instead turned to Braid. Alison White, the assistant 41

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most obvious, Gleneagles, a glen which connects with Glen Devon to form a pass through the Ochil Hills, doesn’t derive its name from the Glen of Eagles. In fact, the glen has long religious connotations and its name is believed to come from the Gaelic ‘eaglis’ or the French ‘église’, which means church. St Mungo appears to have been the principal missionary – a chapel with his name lies at the foot of the glen and St Mungo’s Well is further up – with early French settlers also involved. ‘You could ask why the official Gleneagles logo isn’t an image of a church, but the eagle just fitted from the name, so to speak,’ explains Ian Marchbank, the distinguished and long-serving former Gleneagles head professional. ‘The proof is in a book I have, Gleneagles: A Plan of the Golf Courses, dating from 1921. The eagle is in the logo.’ Major Cecil K Hutchison, the accomplished amateur golfer, was at Braid’s side in December 1913. It was to be a trip that left the pair in awe. Both were instantly bowled over by the majesty of the scenery, a valley on the threshold of the Highlands beautifully framed by the backdrop of the rolling hills. According to Gleneagles’ own course history, the pair saw huge potential. ‘They are determined that the course will be as fine or finer than any inland course in the UK,’ records state.2 Their survey work called for the full measure of foresight and quick anticipation of the possibilities. Happily for both, the ground, then in its rough state, was a natural golf course. Although not by the sea, it resembled the older links courses in Scotland built on sand and gravel, which were deposited when the last ice sheet finally melted some 15,000 years previously, leaving long ridges, flattopped mounds, secluded valleys and enclosed hollows. Gleneagles thus possessed the natural features which golf imperatively demands – resilient turf on gravel sub-soil

easily drained and therefore unaffected by heavy rain; undulating surfaces on a natural plateau some 500 feet above sea level; sandy ridges and hillocks; rough hollows and ravines; the heather, the whin and the broom; even the exhilarating, recuperative northern air. Vardon and Taylor would subsequently also offer favourable opinions of this delightful golfing ground. Braid, understandably, was quietly confident at the opportunities that lay ahead and was soon engaged by Matheson like today’s elite football managers courting a new star striker, only with massively contrasting sums of money. The following April, Braid, the designer, and Hutchison, the supervisor of course construction, were appointed for a fee of £120 plus expenses. Plans were officially sketched – the work was to be carried out by James Carter & Co, Seed Merchants, London, at a cost of £5,500 – while, in June, Matheson ensured that special fares for golfers were to be introduced between Glasgow and golf course stations. His grand Strathearn plan was forming, only for worldwide events to abruptly intervene. Construction work at Gleneagles commenced, but the course and Hotel building had to be halted as the First World War raged from July. ‘Gleneagles was a very big job and it took a long while,’ confirms Marjorie. ‘The war coming from 1914–18 put an end to things for a period.’ Still, for the months and years in between, Braid gave his almost undivided attention to the project, determined that it was worthy of the best that was in him. The master had been forced to wait, but in time his masterpieces were formed – The King’s and The Queen’s, royal names befitting their standard; courses that more than matched Matheson’s goal. The subsequent chorus of praise, given the layouts remain fêted the world over, has been conclusive proof of that. Taylor felt ‘majestic’ was

Left: Spectators on the golf course at Gleneagles, 1920s. The Gleneagles Hotel

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the most apt and only word to properly describe them and Vardon hailed the courses as being ‘as fine as seen in any country’.3 Indeed, The King’s and Queen’s arguably represent the pinnacle of Braid’s work, striking examples of the celebrated architect’s achievements. His influence was such that he lent his hand to the famous Scottish links venues of Carnoustie, Royal Troon and Royal

Musselburgh and weaved further magic, for example, among the Highland valleys and upon its stunning coastline, putting his name to the likes of Brora, Nairn, Boat of Garten and Fortrose & Rosemarkie. Royal Aberdeen, the world’s sixth-oldest golf club, originally designed by the Simpson brothers, Archie and Robert of Carnoustie, was also re-bunkered and lengthened by

Glasgow Herald 1,000 Guineas at Gleneagles. Left to right: Harry Vardon, Ted Ray, James Braid and John H Taylor. The Gleneagles Hotel

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Braid. Despite spending the larger part of his life south of the border, his pride in his Scots origin and connections always remained strong. Impressive work at Blairgowrie also raised his profile, but Gleneagles perhaps sits at the top of the Braid tree. Sensing the potential for greatness among the dramatic landscape of heathland and woodland that he encountered on the estate, Braid went about his business like a talented craftsman to carve courses that still challenge and inspire, enchanting the eye at every turn. To nature, Braid added the wizardry of his art. He was never one for moving great amounts of turf, instead shaping from the wilderness using only manual labour, pick and shovel, and horse and cart. The result is an idyllic golfing landscape with many of the large undulating fairways and greens splendidly isolated from neighbouring holes by the gravel ridges, so giving the luxury of almost playing your own private, exclusive course; dreamy golfing tranquillity. Even today, on the busiest days on The King’s and Queen’s, there is no feeling of a crowded course. In the planning, Braid had also given regard to a desire that there should be little walking between the greens and tees, ensuring the player is always moving in a direct line forward. The courses flow unobtrusively, almost poetically, and the turf on each is also firm and springy, never too tiring to play. The King’s was playable in 1918 and officially opened on 1 May 1919, as the delightful sound of club on ball replaced those awful noises of combat from the ferocious battlefields of the Great War. A cairn was erected on the right side of the 18th to celebrate the end of conflict and mark the course opening. The Queen’s, initially nine holes for its opening on the same day in 1919, was extended to 18 by September 1925. On a glorious, crisp, spring morning, playing off beautifully cut fairways, greens groomed to perfection, with the sun emerging above the verdant Ochil Hills in

the foreground and the uplifting magnificence of the rugged Grampian Mountains and the Trossachs beyond, there are few settings that inspire such breathlessness. In the early summer there is a riot of gold from the gorse, in late summer the purple of the heather. Golfers, in those formative days when Gleneagles consisted solely of a railway station and 27 holes, inevitably sometimes missed their homeward bound train, unable to part from the paradise before them. ‘James Braid carved two beautiful designs,’ states Sir Jackie Stewart, a passionate golfer. ‘Clearly both of them have wonderful character. You never really see any other golfers; the manner in which he used the topography of the land was just spectacular. Hardly ever do you find somebody in your fairway so to speak, slice or hook.’ Sandy Jones, the long-serving chief executive of the Professional Golfers’ Association, adds: ‘Braid played a big role in the whole development of the game. How many golf holes, like the 13th on The King’s, are known as ‘Braid’s Brawest’? His impact was huge, especially in Scotland. How he got to these places I don’t know.’ ‘The King’s and Queen’s remain ever popular and are largely unchanged since Braid’s day,’ continues Andrew Jowett, Gleneagles’ head professional. ‘Many of the original bunkers remain, for example. The King’s was designed as an outward-looking course, almost inland links-style with fine vistas, whereas The Queen’s is inward-looking with more tree-lined holes; two different concepts that work well together.’ The King’s and Queen’s also feature a number of doglegs as Braid, credited by some with ‘inventing’ the dogleg, found them to be yet another expression of the golf hole. Most of Braid’s courses are short by modern standards, but contain a variety of hazards that when combined with Scottish playing conditions ask questions of any player’s game, the emphasis being on precision rather than power. By 45

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1919, Braid’s initial work on the Gleneagles courses was finished, his long train journeys up and down paying off spectacularly. Yet his tales of success were to continue, the Scot soon offering a pivotal helping hand towards the Ryder Cup’s eventual emergence.

the professional golfers of Great Britain and the United States. Historical debate continues to rage about exactly who first presented the concept, the origin of the idea to stage an ‘international challenge match’. Past US PGA president George Sargent (1921–26) of the Southeastern PGA Section, credited Jermain, also president of the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, for first presenting the idea in 1921. However, Bob Harlow, founder of Golf Dateline: circa 1920, America World and one-time manager of Hagen, reported in 1951 that the match was first proposed in 1920 by Harnett. News of these expertly crafted, newly opened courses Jermain, it seems, enthused the brilliant and flamboyant at Gleneagles and the shot-making challenges they Hagen, while Harnett gave his backing too. ‘Nobody posed, particularly on The King’s, quickly caught the will ever prove who had the idea,’ claims Jones. ‘How do imagination, reaching the United States of America. This was at a time when leading American professionals, such as the first-ever US Ryder Cup captain, the great Walter Hagen, were starting to come over in numbers to try and qualify for or play in The Open Championship. While Bobby Jones dominated the amateur game in America, Hagen controlled the pro ranks, undoubtedly the first US PGA star, indeed golf ’s first major star. There was also a growing traffic in British players crossing the Atlantic, fuelled by the ambition to play and experience golf in America. Personal rivalries were being joined by national ones. ‘There must have been all sorts of conversations going on between Braid, Vardon, Taylor and all our leading players at the time,’ says Sandy Jones, well-versed on this period of golf history and the Ryder Cup generally. ‘Hagen was a big leader in the States. I know they didn’t have internet and emails, but there was still communication going on. It just took a little longer.’ A light bulb flickered in the head of Ohio businessman Sylvanus P Jermain at such developments. James Harnett, a circulation representative for Golf Illustrated of New York, was also plotting. Here lay an opportunity to pit the leading golfers of the era against each other in Jock Hutchison of the USA tees off in 1921, with the Hotel still continental combat, a potential first-ever contest between under construction in the background. The Gleneagles Hotel 46

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some years of The Open – once the exclusive preserve of Scottish courses – to England. Much to the annoyance of Scots traditionalists, The Open was played south of the border in 1920, 1922, 1924 and 1926. The Glasgow Herald Tournament filled the gap in those years – and enhanced The Open when it was held in Scotland – by attracting leading professionals with a prize fund that was then unprecedented. Given the quality and distinction of Gleneagles already – Tom Fernie of Turnberry won the first tournament held at Gleneagles, the Scottish Professional Championship over 12–13 May 1920, collecting the £150 prize offered by the North British Rubber Co, Edinburgh

you prove when somebody gets an idea?’ But the greatest drive and determination to achieve the fixture appears to have come from Harnett. He attempted to increase his magazine’s readership by raising funds to pay expenses for the professional match, appealing to the golf clubs of America to contribute what they could in order to create one of the great spectacles in the history of the game. Problems were encountered sourcing the cash and it was only at the United States Professional Golfers’ Association’s Annual General Meeting on 15 December 1920 that the advancement of some funds was agreed. Eventually, with their PGA’s financial backing, a ten-man American team – picked by Harnett with Hagen’s assistance – were to be given $1,000 each to cover their expenses. Arguments then followed over whether the side should be made up purely of home-bred Americans or include those British-born professionals who had journeyed to the US to seek their fortune in the New World in the early twentieth century, now playing under the Star Spangled Banner. Regardless, when discussions ended, it was the first time an ‘American’ side had ever been assembled. Of course, a venue was needed for this transatlantic match and Scotland appeared the logical choice. The Open Championship was being held at St Andrews from 23–25 June in 1921 and Gleneagles, located in countryside less than a couple of hours from the Fife links and growing in reputation, was to host the Glasgow Herald Tournament from 6–11 June, a lucrative event attracting the game’s very best exponents. ‘It would be pushing the issue to say the Ryder Cup owes its existence to this very newspaper, but there is a direct connection between the beginnings of the biennial match, first officially taking place in June 1927 at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts, and the Herald, or the Glasgow Herald as it was then,’ wrote the late Herald golf writer, Douglas Lowe.4 The tournament went some way to redressing the balance of the loss in

Tom Fernie and James Braid, 1921. The Gleneagles Hotel

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to defend the title he won at Monifieth a year previously – there was already a suggestion that sooner or later The King’s might be added to the rota of courses on which The Open Championship was played. That was never forthcoming, but Gleneagles’ place in golf history was soon undeniably secured. The Glasgow Herald event, featuring 36 holes of stroke play qualifying before a last-16 match play knockout, began with a prize pot of £650 for the inaugural tournament from 24–29 May 1920. ‘The substantial amount of the money prizes offered by the Glasgow Herald ensures the presence of the cream of the golfing world,’ reported the local newspaper, the Perthshire Advertiser.5 As well as the combatants from Great Britain and Ireland, including Braid, Vardon, Taylor and Ted Ray, France and Spain were also represented with home player George Duncan beating the Frenchman, Arnaud Massy, 3&2 in the final to claim victory and £160. ‘A surprisingly large number of spectators plodded over hill and dale after the players whom they know best by name and reputation,’ continued the Perthshire Advertiser, which contributed £250 to an expanded Scottish Professional Championship a year later. ‘There was sufficient in the immediate surroundings to impress the visitor who was looking upon Gleneagles for the first time. Not only golfing enthusiasts, but Perthshire people generally must feel proud of Gleneagles, Scotland’s greatest inland course.’6 Already, Braid saw the potential to build on the event’s success and publicise Gleneagles still further. He wanted to boost the field, to make it a truly international occasion, with the potential of inviting the Americans over in 1921. ‘In 1921, James Braid was able to convince the Glasgow Herald newspaper to give him 1,000 guineas prize money, which was a lot of money, to play an international golf tournament,’ confirms Sandy Jones. Billed as the

JH Taylor, five-time Open champion. The Gleneagles Hotel

‘Glasgow Herald 1,000 Guineas Tournament’, the cash prize was now considerable, making the attraction for visiting Americans obvious. With The Open and the Glasgow Herald Tournament now in their minds, a one-day ‘International Challenge Match’ between the British and American professionals was also pencilled in for Monday 6 June before the competitive action at Gleneagles began. ‘The match was obviously organised, 48

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Harry Vardon (left), 1921. The Gleneagles Hotel

James Ockenden, 1921. The Gleneagles Hotel

it had to be,’ adds Jones. ‘You couldn’t just turn up and say “Oh look, there are ten of you and ten of us, so let’s have a game.” The Americans were coming over to play in the Glasgow Herald Tournament on The King’s, and then The Open. They obviously knew at that stage when they left the US they were going to play a match. That bit had been fixed before they actually left shore in America.’ An historic, first-ever international professional match between the nations neared. Across the Atlantic, a celebrated US team readied to set sail for the historic tussle.

Dateline: Mid-May 1921, New York Harbour The rms Aquitania, built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank and one of the Cunard Line’s grand trio of ships along with the Mauretania and the Lusitania, was ready to point her way home. On board were ten golfers preparing to become the first USA team to set foot on Scottish soil. Not just any golfers, but legendary golfers, some even with Scottish blood having emigrated to the other side of the Atlantic in search of their fortune. There was St Andrews’ Jock Hutchison, the holder of the US

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PGA title and soon to be the 1921 Open champion back in his home town, Fred McLeod of North Berwick, the 1908 US Open champion, Clarence Hackney from Carnoustie and Harry Hampton of Montrose, now wrapped in the Stars and Stripes. They were a quality quartet. There was also William Earl Mehlhorn – ‘Wild Bill’ – from Texas and Hagen too, from New York. He was twice victor in the US Open, indeed an eventual 11time Major championship winner (a record only eclipsed by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods), but he had not yet made his mark in Britain. They were readying themselves for the challenge of a vastly experienced, classy British side that had at its heart Braid, Vardon, Taylor, Duncan, Mitchell and Ray – heroes all. Duncan was the reigning Open champion, Ray the holder of the US Open. As one, they boasted 20 Major championship triumphs. It was a formidable home outfit. Such was the talent across both sides that by the time the 20 players had retired they had secured 35 Major titles between them and left a majestic mark on the annals of golf history. The world-class ability of both teams has stayed true to the Ryder Cup, especially in recent years when nerveshredding drama, often coming down to the last few matches, or even the last putt, has been the result of two sides playing at the peak of their powers, separated by only the smallest margins. But that is where a common thread between 1921 virtually ends. Yes, there was some media attention for the first-ever fixture, but the contrast between the 1921 contest and the present day event could not be greater. There were no players flying in on private jets, no exclusive luxury accommodation, no grand opening ceremony, no mass nationalistic fervour, no trophy to fight for, no exuberant celebrations, no rolling live ballby-ball, hour-by-hour interactive satellite HD or 3D TV

coverage, no multimedia technology providing live feed to a huge worldwide audience and no dedicated column inches in reams of newspaper print. If the Ryder Cup can today be defined as a numbers game – in 2014 a global television audience of more than half a billion households will watch on; around 250,000 fans will pour through the Gleneagles gates for the week; 24 individual talents will compete as two united forces in partisan team combat for 28 solitary points across three days – then 1921 was a very different ball game altogether. ‘Between 1985 and today is night and day, never mind 1921 and today,’ states Sandy Jones. ‘In fact, Muirfield Village in 1987 was the first time the match sold out, ticket-wise, in America, given they had lost at The Belfry in 1985.’ After some six arduous ocean days, the American team arrived at Southampton the week before the Glasgow Herald event and travelled north by sleeper train to Glasgow. But any hope of a relaxing stay to rest body and soul was short-lived. With the regal splendour of The Gleneagles Hotel still under construction, the visiting side was offered ‘accommodation’ consisting of five waterless railway carriages moved into a siding at the station near Auchtermuchty in Fife. The players were thus forced to fetch and carry their own water for much of the week. It was far from a hospitable welcome and the American contingent was unimpressed. It was certainly far removed from the global hotel lifestyle experienced by today’s elite professionals. On the course, The King’s at least offered the same spectacular scenery as it does today, the delight of the surroundings more than making up for the living quarters experienced by the visitors. Of course, many others were gathering. Indeed, no fewer than 124 professionals – from Britain, America, France, Spain and Australia – entered the 1,000 Guineas

Previous page: The layout of the courses in 1921. Courtesy of Scott Fenwick

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adversaries away. However, as has often been proved, there is no substitute for experience in sport. Duncan, the former joiner from Aberdeenshire, teamed up with Abe Mitchell – who went on to beat trick shot artist Joe Kirkwood of Australia 7&6 over 36 holes to win the 1,000 Guineas Tournament and secure a cheque worth £200 – to halve the opening morning foursomes match with Hutchison and Hagen in a hugely competitive tussle. ‘It was perhaps the most attractive match of the whole day,’ wrote the Glasgow Herald. ‘It was such an excellent fight, with our men never once getting their heads in front, standing even two down with only five to play, and Duncan on the home green bringing off a long putt to save the hole, and with it the match.’11 Vardon and Ray, meanwhile, rolled back the years with a 5&4 roasting of the emerging US pair Emmet French, from Ohio, and Tom Kerrigan, of New York. Attention switched to two more British veterans, Braid and Taylor, up against the transplanted Scots, McLeod and Hackney. Taylor was in superb form, pulling off a succession of shots from trouble spots that kept the Brits in the contest, while Braid used all his course knowledge to help secure a valuable half. A 2-1 lead for the hosts became a convincing 4-1 advantage by lunch as Britain basked in the balmy conditions. Havers (who would win The Open in 1923) and James Ockenden, thanks to his short game prowess, cruised to an emphatic 6&5 demolition of Wilfrid Reid and George McLean, before James Sherlock and Josh Taylor beat Charles Hoffner and Mehlhorn by a solitary hole. The heat was on the Americans and they took drastic action to try and cool fevered brows in the ten singles ties that followed. In a move captain Sam Torrance later used to devastating effect in 2002 at The Belfry, the visitors packed their heaviest hitters at the top of the draw, sending Hutchison out first with Hagen following behind. These

Tournament, commencing after the match on Tuesday 7 June. ‘It is a splendid testimonial to the magnetic drawing power of the course and marks also the appreciation by the golfing profession of the generous provision in prizes made by the organisers of the tournament,’ reported the Glasgow Herald.7 The event featured stroke play qualifying over the first two days on The King’s and Queen’s (27 holes each day), with the top 16 after 54 holes progressing to match play on the three following days. ‘This week will witness the greatest gathering of professional golfers that in its long history the game has ever seen,’ added the Glasgow Herald on 6 June. ‘Only the Open Championship itself, which in a fortnight will be in full swing at St Andrews, will in interest and importance equal the tournament.’8 As excitement for the challenge match grew, Hutchison described Gleneagles as ‘an absolute revelation – a delightful surprise to all American golfers.’9 The weather was uplifting too. Like the golf that was displayed on 6 June, it was simply majestic. Dateline: 6 June 1921, The King’s Course, Gleneagles ‘The sun lit up the golden glory of the gorse,’ beautifully described The Scotsman, before play began in the first transatlantic joust; the combatants blissfully unaware of the imprint they were about to leave on golfing history.10 It could have been billed as a ‘Men versus Boys’ tussle, such was the chasm in age between the sides. Vardon and Braid were 51 years old. The former had suffered terrible illness and had won his last Major seven years previously; the latter had finished his Open Championship domination some ten years earlier. J H Taylor, too, had hit the half-century and only one man in the home team, Arthur Havers, was under 30. Indeed, the average age of the British side was 41. The Americans, boasting young and hungry players, were tipped to sweep their older 53

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Above and below: Players gather for the 1921 Glasgow Herald 1,000 Guineas Tournament at Gleneagles. The Gleneagles Hotel

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were two games that America simply had to win. But unlike Torrance’s brilliant masterstroke which caught his counterpart, Curtis Strange, by surprise and resulted in Paul McGinley’s clinching putt across the 18th green for glory, the American team failed to gain the impetus in the afternoon they so dearly needed. Duncan was at his best to edge out Hutchison 2&1 while Mitchell and Hagen fought an engrossing battle all the way to the 18th where the match was halved. It was the closest possible fight, with never more than a hole between the players. Ray and Taylor both went down, to French and McLeod respectively, to spark lingering hopes of an away comeback, but that was soon extinguished by yet more genius from Vardon and Braid in the middle of the order as they continued to roll back the years in some style. Vardon saw off the gallant Kerrigan 3&1, striking only 64 shots for the 17 holes played. Braid was every bit as good, putting Hackney to the sword 5&4 and certainly offering further impression he knew his own course like the back of his hand. The Scotsman reported: ‘The feature of the day was the superb play of the “old guard”. Braid and Vardon produced sterling golf, which nobody probably could have beaten. The golf of Vardon and Braid was astonishing for men of fifty-one.’12 Havers lost to Reid for a consolation point for the Americans, but Ockenden, Sherlock and Josh Taylor won the remaining three matches to rack up something of a rout for the home team. Nine wins, three defeats and three halved matches – Great Britain had overwhelmed America by the score of 9-3 (no half points were awarded). In today’s Ryder Cup world, the vast crowds are overcome with emotion and swarm on to greens to hail the triumphant heroes, the champagne is quickly uncorked and the tears flow from shattered, now joyous players, tension finally released, as they conduct a plethora of media interviews amid wonderful

scenes. The cup is then hoisted proudly into the air, usually from the clubhouse balcony, to spark yet more delirium and sheer unbridled pleasure for the victors. It’s the twenty-first century Ryder Cup; total crazy golf, so contrasting to that seen every other week in the golfing calendar. Again, in 1921, it was just a little different at the conclusion. To mark the historic occasion, each team member was given a commemorative gold medal by the Glasgow Herald. They were handed over, along with the other prizes, by the Duchess of Atholl at the end-ofweek presentation ceremony. The design on the medals appropriately showed the American and British flags. Duncan, the home captain as reigning Open champion, accepted the plaudits graciously and thanked the visitors. French, his counterpart, did likewise. ‘This is a glorious place to be,’ the American said.13 ‘Magnificent’ and ‘the finest in the world’ was the practically unanimous chorus from the US side of The King’s.14 Hutchison compared it to Pine Valley in New Jersey, USA, as the best in the world. Local press coverage, and that of the Glasgow Herald, was also wonderful in appraisal of the occasion. ‘Britain has come out with flying colours from the first American professional challenge,’ reported the Glasgow Herald’s ‘Special Correspondent’. ‘Today over this magnificent and testing course, a team of America’s best professionals met and were beaten by ten of our own men ... throughout the day there was bright sunshine, which was tempered by a slight breeze. Under these genial conditions, the course was seen at its best [by] the large crowds that gathered to witness the play. The leading matches took away big galleries, but excellent order was maintained, and there was no overcrowding. Those who did not care to follow the fortunes of the matches throughout found the 14th and 17th greens excellent points from which to view the play. The last green, with its encircling crowd, was a fine picture from the higher ground.’15 Summing up the 56

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entire week, the Perthshire Advertiser added: ‘Gleneagles has captured the imagination of the world of golf. James Braid, whose golfing genius and critical eye were responsible for the unsurpassed layout of the course, stands justified of his faith in the excellence of Gleneagles. The course has been fully tested by the cream of the world’s golfers, and has been proclaimed one of the best.’16 Press reports, however, were far from extensive in nature. If there was an overall lack of commercial success, it’s tempered by the fact it was 1921 and these were humble, low-key origins of international rivalry. Certainly, few could have predicted the eventual acceleration to the Ryder Cup drama of the modern day, the unforgettable, edge-of-the-seat, riveting combat. ‘How do you judge success in those days?’ asks Sandy Jones. ‘How commercial was golf? I mean the guys used to play exhibition matches in front of big crowds and people walked around the green with a big bed sheet collecting coins. There wasn’t enough money in the game then.’ Dateline: 3 February 2012, Deseo restaurant, The Gleneagles Hotel An eight-month chase to view arguably some of the most famous film in world golf pays off. It’s here before my eyes – the ‘International Challenge Match’ at Gleneagles, 6 June 1921. It’s grainy black and white footage with no commentary and lasts a mere 28 seconds, but it’s simply priceless, vintage viewing for the golf historian. Sandy Jones remains as enthralled now as when he first stumbled upon the rare clip, produced by British Pathé, some 18 months before. ‘US professionals visiting Gleneagles’ flashes up on his laptop, before the rapid, short newsreel film, so typical of Pathé in the early twentieth century, whirls into action. There they all are, Duncan, Mitchell, Hutchison and Hagen exchanging pleasantries presumably before their opening matches, either in the foursomes or the singles. The 1st green on

The King’s appears to be shown. The galleries, circled around the greens and smartly dressed, are good-sized. A player crouches down and putts on the 18th with the early clubhouse (later known as the ‘Dormy’), completed in late 1920, in the immediate background. The lack of trees illustrates the infancy of the barren course. Then there is a glorious image of all the players, sitting and standing, posing as a group, perhaps after the match. It’s a wonderful glimpse into the bygone days of golf, a snapshot of a truly historic occasion. Uncovered by the PGA, following a chance discovery from their education partner at the University of Birmingham who have the film in their sport library, Jones says the film emphatically confirms Gleneagles’ status as the home to the first Britain–America professional match. ‘The university had identified it as film footage of a golf event in 1921,’ he explains. ‘As soon as I saw it, I said “it’s Gleneagles”. Then I realised what it was. They had no idea. It’s the only footage anybody has ever seen [of the 1921 match]. Just to have some raw footage of the guys being there is brilliant, you can identify it is Gleneagles. If you’re a historian, any discovery like that is important. I was excited when I found it. We have stills of the teams, but just to have some moving pictures I think always adds to it slightly. It’s just further evidence of the match and the guys that played. We think it might be a mix of the Glasgow Herald Tournament and the International Challenge Match.’ It’s brief, but hugely significant. This wasn’t the Ryder Cup as such, but it was the first professional transatlantic match – at Gleneagles. It is documented in words, but here is the pictorial evidence. ‘It is very famous footage, it has got to be right up there,’ adds Jones. ‘I think the whole (Ryder Cup) match has been taken on so much since then, but this was the catalyst and the pictures prove it.’

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Dateline: circa 1921–1925, UK On the night of 6 June 1921, the leading golf professionals of Britain and America toasted the match, more than likely in the bright lights of Auchterarder. ‘The guys probably went down into Auchterarder because there was no place at Gleneagles, with the Hotel not open until 1924. They probably had a good night out,’ smiles

Sandy. ‘From my reading, it talks in those terms. There is some factual evidence in that they did all eat together down in Auchterarder post-match.’ It was agreed the contest should be repeated, that there was the potential for more. A seed had been planted. Could it blossom? ‘The guys felt it had been such a success that there was a promised plan then, as many of us do when we have those great days in our lives, that they would do it all

Ryder Cup captains: George Duncan (left) and Walter Hagen (right) in 1929. Getty Images

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again,’ adds Jones. ‘Unfortunately, it didn’t happen again as quickly as hoped and nothing occurred for a while.’ The Glasgow Herald Tournament continued for a number of years, but the Britain–US aspect was dropped. Essentially, the international match played at Gleneagles had not sufficiently caught the public’s imagination. But it wasn’t doomed to fail, with Hagen continuing to support the idea. Indeed the following year, 1922, saw the first year of competition in the Walker Cup, an event pitting American and British amateur golfers in match play competition. ‘I think back and ask, “How did all this start?”’ Jones continues. ‘Well, it was the natural evolution of the game, the natural development, the natural relationship between America and Britain. So many of our pros went to the States, and even founded clubs. There are so many Scottish connections in the US, in Canada, in Australia in terms of golf. The Scottish influence was huge. Naturally these things connected, the amateur game started to grow and they thought about a match between Britain and America, before the professionals eventually followed. I think there was a natural feeder of one thing to the other.’ Ironically, a seed merchant helped the pro match to flower. Enter Samuel Ryder and his younger brother, James. In St Albans, Hertfordshire, the pair had built up a successful business selling penny seed packets through the post to garden lovers. A devoted Christian and workaholic, Samuel was advised by his church minister to play golf for exercise and relaxation. He began to play relatively late in life in his early 50s and paid the local club professional in 1909 to come to his house six days a week to give him lessons. Within a year, he was off a single figure handicap, was accepted at the local club, Verulam, and within another year was elected captain. In the early

1920s, Ryder’s business, the Heath & Heather Company, sponsored professional tournaments, including matches between Great Britain and American players, as a means of business promotion and to assist professionals. One was held at Verulam in 1923, attracting the leading British pros, such as Braid, the Verulam course architect, Vardon and Duncan, thanks to a first prize that was only £5 less than the winner of The Open received. Abe Mitchell, the professional at North Foreland in Kent, also competed. Mitchell was one of the golfing greats of the era. Born in Sussex in 1887, he went on to become one of England’s most famous professional golfers. An accomplished singles and doubles player, during his lifetime he partnered many notable players including the future king, Edward, Prince of Wales, and a future prime minister, Winston Churchill. He was once described by Henry Longhurst, the renowned British golf writer and commentator, as ‘the finest golfer never to win The Open Championship’ and could still be considered the best player never to have won a Major.17 Ryder and Mitchell became friends with the latter employed from 1925 as the former’s personal tutor for a generous and then princely annual fee of £500 per year. Consequently, Ryder’s interest and fascination in the pro game increased and he, among others, had long harboured plans to create an ‘annual’ match between the leading professionals of Great Britain and America, building on what had been enjoyed at Gleneagles. Official papers from The PGA Minute Book, kept at their headquarters at The Belfry, reveal the earliest records proposing such a game came in March 1926. The minutes of a committee meeting on 29 March state: ‘A letter was read from the Secretary of the St George’s

Next page: The British and American Ryder Cup teams at Moortown Golf Club in West Yorkshire, April 1929. Getty Images

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Hill Golf Club dated 1 March setting out the conditions of a match to be played against a team of four American Professionals selected by Walter Hagen, and asking for approval of the same, also requesting the Association to select the British team and to fix a date for playing the match. After considerable discussion the Secretary was instructed to write agreeing the terms and conditions of the proposed match and accepting the responsibility of the selection of the team and suggesting the date June 4th and 5th.’18 In April 1926, a match over 36 holes at St George’s Hill, in Surrey, followed the next day by 36 holes at Wentworth was discussed. St George’s Hill had held challenge matches already and it was a popular venue. The British soon sent an invitation to their American counterparts to take part in the match, but it was the nearby new East Course at Wentworth which was chosen for the two-day contest. It was to be played out before the Americans’ attempted qualification at Sunningdale for The Open Championship, being staged in the north-west at Royal Lytham & St Annes. Hagen jumped at the opportunity to act as captain and put a team together, with ten players on each side rather than the initially proposed four. Dateline: 4–5 June 1926, East Course, Wentworth Here was to be the long-awaited first ‘official’ match, only for the most significant British labour dispute of the twentieth century to dash hopes. Owing to the uncertainty of the situation following the General Strike in May 1926, it was unknown up to a few weeks before the event was to start how many Americans would travel. Rather than cancelling the contest, the United States team, with Ryder’s input, invited other players to make up the numbers – pulling in four expatriate Brits and one Australian. They probably wondered why they

bothered ... the Anglo-American match resulted in an astonishing 13.5-1.5 success for the hosts. ‘Under the circumstances the Wentworth Club provided the British players with gold medals to mark the inauguration of the great international match,’ wrote Golf Illustrated magazine.19 It caught public attention, the match was fully reported in The Times, but as golf was still considered a pastime exclusive to the privileged classes, it achieved little note elsewhere. As a result of the absence of a ‘full’ US team, the US PGA refused to sanction the contest as the first ‘official’ Ryder Cup match. Yet Ryder, now aged 68, still watched on among the galleries enthralled, particularly delighted to see Mitchell prove the star for the Brits. He teamed up with George Duncan in the foursomes for an emphatic and frankly embarrassing 9&8 win against the legendary Hagen and defending Open champion Jim Barnes, and then beat Barnes by another huge margin, 8&7, in the singles. Ryder enjoyed the obvious camaraderie between the two teams, but he was disappointed the sides did not mix socially before or after the match – a situation he sought to put right. So it could be said the Ryder Cup, like many good ideas, then came to fruition from a relaxed conversation in a clubhouse, this one at Wentworth. As hosts, the British celebrated their win in the typical style of the day – with a pot of tea and a round of sandwiches. Here, Ryder congratulated both sides on their play and wondered why such a match was not organised more often, remarking to Duncan, Mitchell, Hagen and Emmet French: ‘We must do this again.’20 A BBC Radio broadcast from Ryder was even more enlightening: ‘I trust that the effect of this match will be to influence a cordial, friendly, and peaceful feeling throughout the whole civilised world ... I look upon the Royal and Ancient game as being a powerful force that influences the best things in humanity.’21 Duncan suggested that 62

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if there were a trophy to be played for, the competition might become a regular event. Between them they sketched plans and Ryder, being the businessman he was, made immediate inquiries with the PGA. He was soon encouraged by their backing for such a tournament. Ryder commissioned a solid gold trophy, topped off with a figure of a golfer modelled on Ryder’s coach and inspiration, Mitchell, from the Mappin & Webb Company in Mayfair, London. The beautiful, strikingly simple 17-inch high Ryder Cup, a gleaming golden chalice weighing four pounds, was made in Sheffield by the accomplished silversmith James Dixon. It cost £250, an amount split three ways: Ryder paying £100, Golf Illustrated likewise and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club £50. Some newspaper reports claim the Ryder Cup was presented to the winning British captain, Ray, in 1926, but construction was not finished until 1927, just in time for the first official event in Massachusetts. The small statue atop the cup, addressing the ball, stands as a lasting and fitting memorial to Mitchell and his contribution to the birth of the contest. ‘I have done several things in my life for the benefit of my fellow men, but I am certain I have never done a happier thing than this,’ Ryder stated a few years later.22 ‘I owe golf a great deal, Sam. What you’ve done, putting me on top of the cup, is more distinction than I could ever earn,’ beamed Mitchell.23 At a subsequent PGA committee meeting on 19 July 1926, attended by Ryder, he volunteered to offer his trophy for an ‘annual International Match’. Minutes of the committee meeting from The Belfry archives read: ‘Mr Ryder said it was a great pleasure to him to offer a Cup for competition at an International Professional Match and suggested that such a match should be under the control of the governing body, viz: the PGA. It was suggested that the International Match should be played alternately in America and in this country, the first Match for the Ryder

Cup to be played in the first named country next year.’24 Like the Walker Cup, which became a biennial event from 1924, the match would be contested every second year. Ryder can scarcely have believed it would be a cup from which so many magical moments and memories have been spawned. Any player who holds the trophy aloft can still look up to the figure of Mitchell standing atop its lid and warmly and fondly reminisce. Dateline: June 1927 and beyond Finally, on 3–4 June 1927, the first official Ryder Cup match took place, at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts. The course was designed by Donald Ross, the legendary architect from Dornoch. Again, it had not been plain sailing. Even travelling second class by sea, the cost was more than the PGA could afford. An appeal fund, launched by George Philpot, editor of Golf Illustrated, had been needed to raise the £3,000 required for the British team to make the six-day voyage on Aquitania from Southampton. The Ryder Cup – presented to the PGA following a luncheon at the Verulam Club on 17 May by Samuel’s wife, Helen – was securely on board. Sadly Mitchell, the appointed captain, was taken ill at the last minute with appendicitis and was not well enough to travel. Walter Hagen’s USA went on to trounce Ray’s Great Britain side 9.5-2.5, with Duncan the solitary singles winner for the visitors. The rest, of course, is history. Every two years, other than during the Second World War and when the terrorist attacks in the US caused a postponement in 2001, two teams from either side of the Atlantic have met in spirited competition. Regardless of the global TV audiences and lucrative sponsorship deals in the present era, the players are not paid for their play, instead relishing the prestige, camaraderie, honour and glory of intercontinental competition, thereby perhaps

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still honouring the beliefs of Ryder (who died in 1936, aged 77, and was buried with his favourite 5-iron). But it was at Gleneagles, in 1921, where the story began. It wasn’t the focus of the golfing world then, but 93 years after it hosted the first informal match between British and American professionals, it will certainly court attention in 2014. There is obvious nostalgia, a particular poignancy, attached to the occasion. Marjorie Mackie, speaking of Braid, says: ‘To me, my grandfather played his part in helping stage an international match, with the match in 1921 acting as a spur for the Ryder Cup. I think he would be very pleased at how far the Ryder Cup has come, how big it is now, but he would just take it all in his stride. I think he would find it very satisfying.’ ‘I think you’re right to say the contest is returning home in 2014,’ states Ken Schofield, the former executive director of the European Tour, who grew up in Auchterarder, ‘just as Wentworth had every right to say it when they got the matches in 1953. You could say there is an element of justice for Gleneagles, as they alone with Wentworth really were the originals. Wentworth only had to wait a short time, 27 years, but Gleneagles will have waited 93 years. There was a slight hiatus after Gleneagles in 1921 until 1926. They were both matches won by the home team. It’s a pity, given the luminaries that played on both sides, and the fact that to all intents and purposes it was official, we could say that now, the then British team, now Europe, can’t add an extra two wins to the history books.’ Richard Hills adds: ‘The origins, the sort of genesis of the matches, came in and around the tournament in 1921. Sleeping in the railway carriages and the like, it’s done a full cycle and I’m delighted for Gleneagles.’ ‘It’s

a lovely story about this coming back full circle almost 100 years later,’ continues Peter Lederer, Gleneagles’ chairman. ‘It’s a great story, almost a century of golf. For us at Diageo and Gleneagles, Ryder Cup 2014 is in many ways a homecoming. While Johnnie Walker also has a rich Ryder Cup heritage, having been principal sponsor of the competition in 1989, 1993 and 1997, Diageo has also been a proud supporter of Scottish golf over the past 14 years through the Johnnie Walker Championship and before that, the Bell’s Scottish Open, going back to 1986.’ The Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP, First Minister of Scotland, concludes: ‘It was the unofficial game that was played at Gleneagles [in 1921], but nonetheless, it was the inaugural game, it was effectively the thing that started it all off. The Ryder Cup, officially, has only been in Scotland once, at Muirfield [in 1973]. But the Ryder Cup coming effectively home to the magnificent complex at Gleneagles is an exceptional thing as well. Every golfer who plays at all is reverential about the history of the game and what bigger part of history could there be than the greatest golf match in the world coming back to the course and the complex which started it all off so many years ago?’ While the glorious rural venue that is Gleneagles evokes images of beauty, power, tradition and mystique befitting one of sport’s premier team competitions, it is the renowned resort’s rich history as a forerunner for the Ryder Cup that made its selection for 2014 all the more apt. Worthy of Scotland, worthy of Gleneagles ... the transatlantic match, after much travelling, pointed its course back to its spiritual home.

Right: Samuel Ryder presents the trophy to the winning captain, Great Britain’s George Duncan, after they defeated the USA in the second Ryder Cup in 1929. Getty Images

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CHAPTER 3

BRAID TO THE BBC (1919–1982) ‘It was a beautiful, beautiful blue sky morning, I had my back to the pro shop and I was looking down the first fairway on The King’s and up to that gorgeous, gorgeous first green that sits way up on top of the hill, the enormous bunker below. It was just absolutely picturesque, just picturesque. I just kind of threw my hands up and said “If heaven is anything like this, I hope they save me a tee-time.”’ Lee Trevino, six-time Major championship winner

fairways down the years, enchanted and spellbound by the experience. ‘Famous tales, famous faces, the Gleneagles courses are synonymous with both,’ notes Ian Marchbank, the revered head professional at Gleneagles for 30 years, after six previously as an assistant. The Ryder Cup represents the crowning glory for the famed resort, appropriately bookending nearly a century of golf. Back in 1919, after Braid had worked like a creative artist to bring striking colour to a blank canvas, Gleneagles instantly became recognised as one of the most famous championship golf venues on the international stage, enticing both professional golfers and the top amateurs who were the aristocracy of golf. The lure was obvious. Standing on the 1st tee of The King’s, the sense of anticipation was, and remains, overwhelming. The Queen’s is the pretty little sister, offering its own natural beauty – particularly around the small area of water known as Loch an Eerie – on a par with its more illustrious family member. In common with The King’s, countless golfers have savoured the challenge, regularly distracted

HERE IS SOMETHING OF the majestic, something of the romantic in the very name ‘Gleneagles’. It inspires and arouses; drawing one in like a magnetic pull. Nestled in the picturesque glen, it has long been worthy of its setting. ‘Gleneagles is a gift to Scotland and Scotland’s gift to the world,’ boldly wrote Arthur Towle, the great hotelier who was entrusted with the LMS (London, Midland and Scottish Railway) Hotels after the grouping of several railway companies in 1923. ‘Gleneagles lifts Scotland into the front rank of the world’s playgrounds.’1 His confidence was not misplaced. Since 1919, when James Braid’s twin achievements, The King’s and Queen’s Courses, were first opened, quickly followed by the addition of a grand hotel in June 1924, Gleneagles has become renowned for unrivalled golf, five-star luxury and venerated elegance. Its pulling power, particularly in a golf sense, has been impressive. From high handicappers to leading amateurs; from celebrity stars to royalty; from tour professionals to global golf icons, players have come to feast on the

Left: The Hotel, as observed from The King’s Course. Mike Caldwell

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by sweeping views at each corner of the compass. Within months of their official openings, a fascinating history evolved as prestigious amateur and professional events were staged across both celebrated layouts. In 1920 alone, the Scottish Professional Championship, the first-ever tournament at Gleneagles (12–13 May), the Glasgow Herald £650 Tournament and the Scottish Amateur Championship, sponsored by the Dundee Evening Telegraph & Post, all took place. Gordon Lockhart, one of the finest amateur golfers in Scotland, claimed glory in the Scottish Amateur, the men’s event a precursor to the championship being run by the national governing body, the Scottish Golf Union, from 1922. The Prestwick St Nicholas player clearly impressed Braid, who is understood to have suggested to Donald Matheson, general manager of the Caledonian Railway Company, that the Ayrshireman be appointed the first Gleneagles professional. Lockhart, also semi-finalist in

the Amateur Championship of 1911 and winner of the Irish Amateur Open in 1912, turned pro in 1921 and, for the initial sum of £250 a year, was officially handed the reins at Gleneagles in April that year. That month, The King’s measured 6,125 yards, incredibly initially laid out as a par-80 course in a rather different era for ball distance, with The Queen’s only 2,505 yards for its nine holes before its completed extension to 18 some four years later. All the holes possess distinctive features, no two are alike; every one is charming. Each has an evocative and pithy Scots name, which never fail to interest. On The King’s, there is the tricky little 5th hole, Het Girdle (Hot Griddle), the sweeping 17th, Warslin’ Lea (Troublesome Valley) or the closing downhill par5, King’s Hame. Over on The Queen’s there is the long 6th, Drum Sichty (Sight of the Hills), the testing 12th Tinkler’s Gill (tinker’s drink) or the short 14th, Witches’ Bowster (witches’ pillow). Delightful names, delightful

Spectators follow play on the 15th hole, Howe o’Hope, The King’s Course, 1920s. The Gleneagles Hotel

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BRAID TO THE BBC (1919–1982)

challenges. Today, The King’s stands at 6,790 yards, more than 800 yards longer than The Queen’s. ‘There are holes that remind you of Sunningdale and the best bits of Walton Heath – the two grand English courses with which Gleneagles will inevitably be compared,’ wrote the Perthshire Advertiser in 1921.2 As golf took off as a sport for all in the 1920s, the Scottish Professional Championship (1920–22 and 1927), the Glasgow Herald Tournament (1920–27) and the premier competition for the cream of the world’s amateurs, the Silver Tassie (1925–64), became principal events of the Gleneagles season; so too the likes of the Scottish Universities Championship, the Scottish Ladies’ County Championship and the Scottish Midland Counties Championship. ‘In themselves, the Golf

Courses are great; in their environment they are grand,’ says the delightful LMS book, Gleneagles Wondermazes. ‘They are situated as it were in the middle of the picture of a Highland valley framed by the everlasting hills. The Golf Courses, a stone’s throw from the Hotel, have been declared by the International Golf Champions to be unsurpassed in Europe or America. Opinion is divided as to which is the better [course], but they are both on the grand scale generally identified with the Championships.’3 In 1924, there was golf at Gleneagles on Sundays for the first time, helping to meet demand. Later that year, former Open champion George Duncan defeated Abe Mitchell to claim the Glasgow Herald Tournament before Duncan lost ‘a sensational match’ to Scots-born American emigrant Macdonald Smith in a 72-hole challenge game.4 The Gleneagles Hotel, an 850-acre estate based in the beautiful hills of central Scotland, clearly proved a selling point alongside the glorious golf on offer. The Hotel, just like today, wowed its residents from its 1924 opening. There was quality in everything connected with the building. ‘Gleneagles Hotel is a Hotel of a kind entirely new. Unexcelled in completeness and excellence ... there is beauty in design everywhere,’ continues the LMS book.5 So it was that the Hotel and the golf courses were an immediate success. The summer of 1928 saw the opening of a third layout of nine holes, known as ‘The Wee Course’, and designed by the head greenkeeper, George Alexander, and his staff. By the 1930s, Gleneagles was simply the place to see and to be seen, a favourite haunt of the rich and famous as its reputation grew. On the course, the distinguished Penfold Tournament, taking place just before The Open, attracted the game’s greatest international exponents and was staged in 1935 and 1948. Percy Alliss, father of renowned BBC

Rare shot of James Braid with his two sons, James and Harry, 1909. Jimmy Kidd

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four Majors, had claimed The Open Championship title up the road at Carnoustie, his only Open appearance. Ian Ferrier, Gleneagles’ former marketing director, takes up the story:

commentator Peter, and Fred Daly were the respective victors. The Gleneagles/Saxone Pro-Am (Foursomes) Tournament (1953–57) and the Gleneagles Hotel ProAm (Foursomes) Tournament (1958–66) were popular too, while Gleneagles’ John Carter was the home winner of the 1958 Scottish Assistants’ Championship. The Gleneagles/Saxone was the first of its kind, with entry restricted to the first 25 professionals in the world and seven specially invited players, each of whom chose their amateur partners. ‘I went to Gleneagles first in 1953 for the Saxone Tournament,’ remembers Peter Alliss, the ‘voice of golf ’, who enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a player – indeed he was the first son to follow his father into the Ryder Cup. ‘It was the last event of the year, a Pro-Am knockout event. I went back each year until 1960 or ’61. I always took amateurs with me who I thought could play a bit. I tried to earn my cash, while my chums had a lovely time. I enjoyed it. With my father winning the Penfold Tournament, there is a long connection with the Allisses at Gleneagles.’ Significantly, 1953 also saw two of golf ’s all-time greats, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, pay a historic visit to Gleneagles ... only they didn’t play golf. Hogan, widely acknowledged to have been among the best-ever ball strikers and one of only five golfers to have won all

As I’ve been told, it was the only time Hogan and Nelson were here. The press got a sniff that they were coming, there was nothing formal, and they gathered at the 1st tee on The King’s. But, as I understand it, the players never turned up and the press broke up and went on their way. Ian Garrie from the Perthshire Advertiser, he owned the print business in Auchterarder, parked his car in a different place and was walking past what was, effectively, the bowling green. Unless you knew the area, you wouldn’t necessarily have seen anyone because it was completely surrounded by rhododendron bushes ... but here were the two of them, Nelson and Hogan, doing lawn bowling! I was later in America in April 1995 and met Byron Nelson, at Las Colinas in Dallas, on holiday. It just so happened that there was a press conference that day for the Byron Nelson Championship later in the year at Las Colinas. Mr Nelson was there and my friend, who was general manager, said ‘Do you want to meet Mr Nelson?’ I said ‘I do, I’ve a question to ask him.’ So it was

The 13th and 14th holes on The Queen’s Course. Ian Haddow

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that Mr Nelson confirmed they didn’t play golf that particular day at Gleneagles and, indeed, said they were bowling. Hogan had never done it before and was fascinated by it. He had just won The Open but wanted to bowl, not golf.

the venue’s ability to attract illustrious events in its formative years. It was only the third staging of the bestknown team trophy for women amateur golfers from Great Britain and America and, fittingly, another local girl grabbed the headlines. In a dramatic finale, Miss Jessie Anderson, a 21-year-old Perth player, ensured a first-ever draw between the teams with the last stoke of the contest. ‘Miss Anderson, under terrific strain of her biggest occasion in the game, holed an eight-yard putt on the home green to defeat Mrs L D Cheney, the powerful blonde golfer from California,’ it was described in the press. ‘Though that dramatic thrust did not win the Cup for Britain, the young campaigner, by rising magnificently to the occasion, was at any rate the saviour of the British team ... as she gloriously staved off the third defeat for Britain in these internationals.’7 Anderson’s putt ensured a 4.5-4.5 draw to spark delirious scenes, even if the Americans, remaining unbeaten, took

Major competitions for women were also held at Gleneagles – the Scottish Ladies’ Amateur Championship in 1937 and 1948 and the British Ladies’ Amateur Championship in 1933 and 1957, the latter claimed by the County Louth Club’s Philomena Garvey, for years the queen of Irish golf, after seeing off a home hopeful. ‘At the end of a strenuous 33-hole ordeal in vile, wet weather on The King’s Course at Gleneagles, she defeated twice former winner, 42-year-old Mrs George Valentine, Perth, by 4&3,’ wrote The Scotsman.6 The Curtis Cup, in 1936, was another notable tournament to come to Gleneagles, again illustrating

Captain of the American Amateur Ladies team, Glenna Collett Vare, smiles as British captain, Doris Chambers, drinks from the Curtis Cup trophy. The Gleneagles Hotel

A portrait of the British Ladies Amateur team at Gleneagles to compete in the Curtis Cup, 1936. Standing (left to right): Miss P Wade, Miss P Barton, Mrs A Holm, Miss B Newell, Mrs J B Walker, Miss J Anderson. Sitting (left to right): Mrs P Jarm, Miss D Chambers (captain) and Miss W Morgan. The Gleneagles Hotel

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the trophy back across the Atlantic. ‘The instant the Perth girl’s ball, charting its track on the mist-sodden green, dropped into the last hole, the 2,000 spectators, with such famous golfers as Miss Joyce Wethered and Miss Enid Wilson among them, broke into a roar of acclamation, and, rushing on to the green, many of them overwhelmed the slight, weather-beaten, and trousered figure with congratulations,’ The Scotsman brilliantly summed up.8 Jack McLean, one of Scotland’s all-time great players and winner of three Scottish Amateur Championships in succession in the 1930s, took over from Lockhart as Gleneagles professional in 1951. Sadly, his tenure lasted just ten years. McLean, who was twice a Walker Cup player (1934 and 1936) and was twice leading amateur in The Opens of 1933 (St Andrews) and 1934 (Royal St George’s), jumped out of bed to respond to a burglar alarm in the pro shop at Gleneagles which proved to be a false alarm. ‘He had just got dressed when he collapsed with a heart attack aged just 50, all Scottish golfers mourned,’ recalls legendary Scottish sports journalist Arthur Montford.9 Ian Marchbank was handed the task of stepping in to replace his formidable golf spikes. ‘I knew Gordon Lockhart, I played golf with him,’ recalls Ian. ‘After he retired, he still lived in Auchterarder and still loved playing golf in the evenings, ten holes usually. I was a young assistant at Gleneagles, then working under Mr McLean, and used to go out and play with Gordon. I had four years at Turnberry and then I was the third pro at Gleneagles from 1962.’ As Marchbank, from ‘doon the road’ in Auchterarder, climbed the career ladder to reach one of the most coveted roles in Scottish golf circles, a few years earlier a fellow local lad, aged only 12, was first introduced to the pro game at Gleneagles. It was to prove a magical, hugely significant meeting, one that had far-

reaching consequences. On a wet, windy and cold early October day in 1958 for the Gleneagles Hotel Pro-Am (Foursomes), boasting such impressive performers as Peter Alliss, Bernard Hunt and Neil Coles, golf warmed the heart of one Ken Schofield. Nobody knew it at the time, but for another Auchterarder boy here was the seed for a golf administrative career that ultimately helped the PGA European Tour brilliantly blossom. Under his watch, following his appointment as first secretary and executive director of the Tour from 1975, Schofield dramatically grew European golf, in terms of events, finance, status and worldwide viewership; helping it become a thriving global brand featuring tournaments spread across all five continents of the world. The former bank manager’s contribution over three decades was immeasurable. Remarkably, Gleneagles was the catalyst. ‘My father, Douglas, took me along on that miserable day in 1958. It gave me my first sort of sight of the professionals and, in particular Peter Alliss,’ he recalls. ‘Peter was 27 then, he and I have talked about that time and we smile about it, because unquestionably that stimulated my impending love affair with golf. I started playing at Auchterarder, which was then nine holes, next door to Gleneagles. I’ve never been much of a player, but I developed a love of following the best players and became a fanatical gatherer of tournament statistics. Gleneagles was the spark for that.’ This new-found passion even led to brushes with the law. The Dunlop Tournament, the renowned men’s 72hole stroke play pro event, was held in Scotland for the first time at Gleneagles in June 1960 and Schofield, a sports-mad, cash-strapped youngster, simply had to attend. It was a competition that boasted a formidable reputation, given its past winners included Fred Daly, Bobby Locke, Henry Cotton, Alliss (twice), Gary Player and Peter Thomson. Undeterred by his lack of money, 72

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Schofield managed to avoid payment in a way typical to be the focus of the place.’ Based in the Golf Shop, teenagers do. at that time behind the 1st tee of The King’s, Ian had the privilege of rubbing shoulders with celebrities and I crept in on the Braco road in the school holidays dignitaries from across the globe. If Gleneagles remains in 1960 for the old Dunlop Tournament. I needed popular now, it was perhaps even more alluring during to save the ten bob entrance fee so, knowing the his brief, as a who’s who ventured north to holiday area so well, I ducked under a fence and saw the amid cherished privacy. The King’s was typically their Scot, Eric Brown and England’s Ralph Moffitt first port of call, given its reputation. ‘When you think [eventually tie for first place]. I ran the gauntlet about The King’s Course, the name alone just fits the bill of the transport police, who were patrolling the completely,’ he says. ‘Looking out my window from the tournament looking for infiltrators like myself. I pro shop behind the 1st tee I felt like the luckiest man in also used to watch black and white grainy pictures the world. It was wonderful. I still love Gleneagles.’ Peter of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf, the weekly TV Lederer, Gleneagles’ chairman and former managing series. In my gap between leaving school and director, concurs: ‘I used to walk every day up the drive joining The Savings Bank, Gene Littler, the US from my house and I would always look left up the 1st Open champion of 1961, played Eric Brown in a of The King’s, through the glen and think of Ian. He was Shell match on The King’s over two days in 1962. right. I still look left now.’ Myself and a host of other young guys all went up Ian delights at the notable names that came, went and as volunteers and we carried things like branches returned, rattling them off at length ... Harold Macmillan, round to cover the then huge cameras, they were all Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Sean Connery, Lee Trevino, like tanks and heavy artillery. We got a crisp ten bob Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player. Political figures, film stars, note, they were very beautiful, worth 50p, a lot of celebrities, golf greats et al. They all shared a common money all those years ago, and we got a lunch box. bond – namely a love of golf at Gleneagles. ‘The benefits Again that further cemented my feeling that the of my job were immense,’ admits Ian. ‘The people that environment of golf, with the players, was fantastic. used to come here was unbelievable. You name them, they all came. Trevino especially loved The King’s, was Marchbank, meanwhile, soon reached a position of high in absolute raptures with the place. Of course, I didn’t standing; becoming almost a figurehead for Gleneagles, just meet them; I was very involved with looking after with even a hint of glamour cloaked around him. His their week, everything that went with enjoying their golf achievements, his talents, his responsibilities should holiday. The prime minister used to come here, Harold never be underestimated. He is simply synonymous with Macmillan, and I taught him, gave him one lesson. My Gleneagles golf. ‘It was a prestigious role,’ Ian, now in his job was really public relations. I spent a lot of hours on early 80s, says. ‘I hope this doesn’t sound conceited but, both tees with people who came. Being pro at Gleneagles at that time, at clubs such as Gleneagles, everyone knew was something awful special, I felt really proud. I was so who the professional was. It was like that for years, it’s fortunate the people I met and became friendly with, changed now, but back then the golf professional seemed whereas now they are more private. My role led to many 73

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other things that wouldn’t have happened at other clubs.’ To this day, he remains friends with Player and Trevino – legends both. Player, the only non-American to have won all four Majors, often brought his family to Gleneagles for much-loved visits and the Marchbank clan welcomed them with open arms. Ian continues: ‘I played a lot of golf with Gary the first time he came here, in 1966. He arrived here prior to The Open and stayed in the Hotel with his wife. He came down and I knew who he was, so we talked and I played every day with him for the week he was here. I got to know him very well. His son, Wayne, later came and stayed with us when he played in some amateur events, our two families came together.’ For Player, the ‘Black Knight’ who amassed nine Major titles and achieved a staggering 165 tournament wins worldwide in a career spanning more than 50 years, there are equally fond recollections. While he has enjoyed competing on some of the greatest layouts on the planet,

has acted as honorary starter with Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer at Augusta and won two Open titles in Scotland, at Muirfield in 1959 and Carnoustie in 1968 respectively, Gleneagles also holds special meaning for the Player family. ‘Gleneagles is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited and I enjoy playing all of the courses,’ admits the fiercely-determined South African fitness fanatic, arguably the world’s most-travelled golfer (logging an extraordinary 15 million miles) and the most successful international competitor of all time. ‘I remember Ian extremely well. He was a real gentleman and a family man and we played quite a bit of golf together. It was a very, very special time in my life. Having travelled so much during my career, spending time with my family was always important and memorable. The trips we took to Gleneagles are special memories especially since I have Scottish ancestry. [Player’s mother, Muriel, came from the Ferguson line to explain the lineage.] One particular favourite memory was when my daughter, Michele, saw

Prime Minister Harold Macmillan leaves Gleneagles Hotel, 1957. The Gleneagles Hotel Left: Dun Whinny, the 1st hole of The King’s Course. Ian Haddow

Gary Player and Ian Marchbank outside the Pro Shop, 1966. The Gleneagles Hotel

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a squirrel running on the lawn and asked me what it was. I told her it was a squirrel which she pronounced squiddle … a nickname which has lasted ever since.’ Trevino, as Marchbank noted, was equally smitten with the Perthshire paradise. Today, the passion remains, as does an enduring respect for the job Marchbank performed so diligently and professionally. ‘Of all the places I’ve been in Great Britain, and I’ve enjoyed each and every one of them, Gleneagles stands out more than

any,’ states the Texan, winner of the 1971 and 1972 Open Championships, at Royal Birkdale and Muirfield respectively, with Scottish caddie Willie Aitchison on his bag. ‘I think one of the reasons for it was the staff, the people were just overly, overly generous, I mean they couldn’t do enough for you. From the time I drove in the parking lot and I can’t remember his name, the doorman, a big, heavy-set chap, I’m sure he has passed on now, he was just one of the finest people I’ve ever met – never

Gary Player and his family at Gleneagles. Courtesy of Gary Player Group, Inc

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forgot your name in every year that I went back. And what can I say about the pro that was there at the time, Ian Marchbank. I love Ian to bits, his wife and his boys. I always look forward to going back to Gleneagles.’ Marchbank was unquestionably mixing in famous circles, never more so than in 1966 when the ‘Big Three’ of Player, Nicklaus and Palmer came to town. Golf had grown rapidly in popularity and media coverage during the early 1960s, led by the performances of these first truly international superstars, credited with turning golf into the major spectator sport it has become. The trio were involved in a fierce, engrossing rivalry, wowing

Ian Marchbank. The Gleneagles Hotel

galleries with their exploits across the globe, and their fame was markedly boosted by ‘the father of speciality golf ’, Mark McCormack. In 1964 and 1965, the trio – all clients of McCormack – played a number of ‘Big Three’ tournaments in America before the promotion wizard brought the big top show to Europe. In 1966, McCormack made an agreement with the BBC for the Big Three in Britain. Palmer, Player and Nicklaus played two matches at Carnoustie and one each at St Andrews and Gleneagles, all televised shortly after the 1966 Open at Muirfield. Palmer had trailed Nicklaus by two shots going into the last round in East Lothian, only to fade as Nicklaus impressively completed the career ‘Grand Slam’ of all four Majors aged only 26. Two days later, Palmer was still hurting. So much so, that he simply refused to leave his Gleneagles bedroom. ‘They arrived and Palmer was so annoyed he wouldn’t play, he didn’t come down for the practice round,’ Marchbank recalls of a remarkable tale. ‘He never came out of his room at the Hotel, he just stayed there because he was so annoyed and upset he had lost to Jack. But Jack and Gary came down and, of course, I already knew Gary well so I went and played with them. We had a lovely round before they were all televised the next day in the match on The King’s.’ Palmer, though, was to have the last laugh. After the three tied over the four rounds in Scotland, a glamour play-off was held in Puerto Rico and Palmer was the eventual winner. The American known simply as ‘The King’, who always relished the captivating combat with Nicklaus and Player, recalls: ‘I just remember it [Gleneagles] as a very beautiful place and a very enjoyable Hotel. The surroundings were tremendous, I always enjoyed Gleneagles. I had a lot of fun playing the Big Three match at Gleneagles as it was always fun playing with Jack and Gary.’ From top professionals to high-profile amateurs,

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Gleneagles already meant so much to so many. ‘Why do I have such great affection for Scotland?’ asked actor and entertainer Bob Hope. ‘Because the people are so warm … and they’ve got Gleneagles. If only they had the Californian weather, I’d move there.’10 Before teeing off one memorable day, he remarked to the starter: ‘I’ve played on all the finest resorts and courses, but there is nowhere like the 1st tee of The King’s.’ The late King Hussein of Jordan was also a regular visitor, spending part of his honeymoon on the grounds. Others – just as famous – came to Gleneagles. Sean Connery loved the game, having taken lessons in preparation for his encounter with Goldfinger in 1964. His ‘Bond’ with the sport was made. ‘It wasn’t until I was taught enough golf to look as though I could outwit the accomplished golfer Gert Frobe in Goldfinger that I got the

bug,’ says Connery, who grew up just down the road from Bruntsfield Links in Edinburgh, one of the oldest courses in the world. ‘I began to take lessons and was immediately hooked on the game.’11 Marchbank, in later years, also helped 007 progress. ‘Sir Sean used to come here regularly. I have a good relationship with him. I remember one year, in the late 1970s, he had a lesson every morning and I played golf with him after the lessons, for five or six days. I got on extremely well with him.’ Connery was one of the most recognisable men in the world of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Jackie Stewart, meanwhile, was Scotland’s motor racing star of the era. They were well used to attention; comfortable under watchful eyes ... only not on the fairways. Coming together in a golf environment in a charity match at Gleneagles in

A 1970s charity match – Sean Connery, Bing Crosby and Jackie Stewart. Courtesy of James Walker

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International Pro-Celebrity Golf, a vast array of popular and hugely recognisable names descended on Perthshire. The likes of Connery, Crosby and Stewart were joined by Telly Savalas, Jimmy Tarbuck, Bruce Forsyth, Terry Wogan, Henry Cooper, Ronnie Corbett, Burt Lancaster, Eric Sykes, Gareth Edwards, Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish, Nigel Mansell, Bill Beaumont and many, many more, all lured by the chance to play on The King’s and Queen’s, among the most famous courses around. The very best professionals, the great names of that period, signed up too – Trevino, Palmer, Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Sandy Lyle, Fuzzy Zoeller,

the 70s, they were amazed at the galleries which formed, putting the pair on edge. Yet the F1 hero, later to open the Jackie Stewart Shooting School at Gleneagles where my mum, Nicola, worked for 15 years, immediately rose to the challenge. The ‘Flying Scot’ recalls: It was my best moment in golf. I was playing with Sean against Bing Crosby and Phil Harris, a wellknown big entertainer in America, comedian and TV show host. It was a charity event and 20,000 people came out to see it. 20,000 people seemed to be on the first fairway! I had hit a half-decent drive down the 1st of The King’s and then hit a second shot up on to the green, but I was on the right-hand side of the green fairly near to where it might have run back down the hill. I think the putt was 45 foot … which I sank! The gallery went crazy. I was a 16 handicap at the time, so to get a net eagle on the 1st hole and be one up, well, Mr Crosby wasn’t best pleased. Bing was a serious golfer and clearly expected to win. We never trailed, eventually closing out a surprise 5&4 win on the 14th. Bing wasn’t happy and when I suggested we play the last four holes because it was for charity and we ought to give the public some entertainment, he shook his head and returned to the clubhouse. The crowd was pretty impressive. I got used to the big crowds, obviously, because by then I had completed my motor racing career, so to speak. In the earlier days, that would have been more daunting. But, of course, the trouble was driving a racing car was what I was somewhat good at. Driving off the 1st tee, I could have had it off the nose of the driver or the heel of the driver – it could have gone anywhere!

From challenge matches to charity matches, Gleneagles was the scene for it all. But there were even more special Jackie Stewart at the opening of his Shooting School at Gleneagles. times ahead. When, in 1974, the BBC introduced The Gleneagles Hotel 79

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Tom Weiskopf, Peter Oosterhuis, Johnny Miller, Jerry Pate and Tony Jacklin. The all-star list simply ran and ran. ‘Considering the people who came to play in that series it was quite incredible,’ states Marchbank. The head-to-head format, the teaming up of famous professional golfers with personalities equally famous in the entertainment world on a historic Scottish course, made for great TV and, in turn, broadened golf’s appeal to the whole family. Such was the popularity of the series, also staged on the links of Turnberry, that several of the holes became widely known in homes all over Britain. It became avid, almost religious, viewing, with the theme tune still fondly stored in the memory bank of many a golf fan. Within three years, it had quickly become one of the most sophisticated sports TV programmes in the world, attracting an audience of four million. Viewing the old shows – the relaxed professionals, the celebrities having a ball, the galleries lapping it up – brings a smile. It’s the way golf should always be, fun and friendly. Golf has since mushroomed into a huge global game where money is king, media access is more limited and interest is huge. The Pro-Celebrity days reflect a more informal, relaxed period. Other than the glorious scenery at Gleneagles and Turnberry, so much has changed since. ‘All of those matches were great fun. There are too many favourites to pick out just one,’ admits Player of the games played over the 7th, 8th and 12th to 18th holes on The King’s, as well as holes on The Queen’s. Palmer, the seventime Major winner, says: ‘I always enjoyed playing in those Pro-Celebrity matches.’ Both professionals and celebrities converged on Gleneagles with pleasurable anticipation of a week’s stay in the Hotel and daily golf in front of the cameras, with recording usually in August. Mansell, Britain’s ex-Formula One champion, adds: ‘It was an absolutely brilliant and fantastic experience and something to look forward to year on year, to be privileged to play with some of the best golfers in the world. Playing with Seve and Trevino

brings back some great memories. The BBC did an incredible job with the coverage too and it was a special invitation that everyone wanted to receive.’ Dalglish, the Liverpool and Celtic striking great, continues: ‘I remember playing with Trevino and beating Jerry Pate and Bruce Forsyth. It was a magnificent event, I loved it. That must have done wonders for Gleneagles because the views were unbelievable. If the sun’s out, Gleneagles takes a bit of beating.’ Gleneagles’ oldest golf member, Marshall Gorrie, now in his 90s, even remembers striking up a lasting friendship from following the fun: ‘I became friendly with the Spaniard, Francisco Abreu, twice a winner on the European Tour. He was a professional at the first golf club in Tenerife. One year he played in The Open at St Andrews [1978] and he stayed in my family house in Dunblane. We played together in Tenerife as I also had property over there.’ Eight-time Ryder Cup player Peter Alliss was, as ever, the perfect host, fronting 140 episodes of the popular show until 1988, although the last series at Gleneagles was played out in 1982. Never short of an anecdote, Alliss chuckles as he recollects: I remember staying at Turnberry and Gleneagles, hosting the show and having everything paid for, it was wonderful! There were some very funny moments, great tales. We started in 1974 at Turnberry. That was a great occasion, we had tremendous celebrities who came along that year. We had Telly Savalas, the old lollipop-sucking policeman, he was at the height of his fame, Sean Connery was 007, Bobby Charlton was still the hero of English football, Johnny Rutherford had just won the Indianapolis 500 and Fred MacMurray, the great film star, was there with his wife, June Haver. It was terrific. We moved to Gleneagles in 1975 and it was the start of a 80

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great relationship. That year we had celebrities like Bing Crosby and James Hunt, the Grand Prix racing driver who became world champion the following year. In later years we had Burt Lancaster and George C Scott, some very famous people, and Alice Cooper too. The first man to play golf on the moon, Alan Shepard, featured too. It was sponsored by Marley and then Whyte & Mackay. It was a terrific few days, great fun. I’ve been very blessed with friendships since those days. All the professionals were excellent too. Trevino came over a number of times, he was a great companion; very good, one of the best pros we ever had. He participated and made it fun. Trevino, full of typical charm and cheek and one who enjoyed a good rapport with the golfing galleries, positively revelled in the occasions, relishing the camaraderie, the competition, the courses and the slapstick. A man never short of words during a colourful career, constantly wisecracking as he brought a unique humour to 1970s golf, his love of the series was reflected when he uttered his immortal words on playing Gleneagles for the first time. ‘It was in the Pro-Celebrity when I made my famous quote, I certainly did,’ confirms the man affectionately known as ‘Merry Mex’. ‘I was talking about Gleneagles in general. The gallery was there, that’s the reason I made that quote. I made it aloud because we had a tremendous crowd on the 1st tee of The King’s, Peter Alliss was there as the MC. I looked up the inviting fairway and kind of threw my hands up and I said, “If heaven is anything like this, I hope they save me a tee-time.” Yeah, I can see it right now sitting here in my car in my driveway, I can visualise it. When I got hit by lightning in 1975 [almost fatally at the Western Open, suffering injuries to his spine] I went up to heaven and they sent me back – there were no tee-

times. The Lord sent me back.’ There is laughter in his voice after a typical one-liner, but a sense of regret that those joyous days in Scotland are gone forever. ‘We had a great, wonderful time in the Pro-Celebrity,’ he adds. ‘Marley put it on and we raised a tremendous amount of money, like for disabled people who needed electric wheelchairs. Peter Alliss was absolutely amazing. In my opinion, he was as close to [Henry] Longhurst as anyone who has ever done announcing.’ Alliss notes: ‘Trevino was a good golfer, but he also had a ready smile and easy patter. For my money, he’s one of the best companions.’12 Terry Wogan, understandably, has a cherished ProCelebrity memory too. Famously, he holed one of the longest-ever televised putts when he sank a 33-yarder, just under 100 feet, across the huge 18th green of The King’s. Sir Terry, the radio and TV personality, achieved the feat in 1981 and has dined out on the story on many an occasion since. ‘Trevino paced it out,’ recalls Sir Terry. “I remember him saying to me “You’ve just shot the lights out.”’ After taking a penalty drop and nudging a 7-iron, his fourth shot, to the front right of the green, Wogan was ‘miles from the hole’ said Alliss. ‘I need a driver from here,’ joked Wogan, who was to emerge victorious partnering 1979 Masters champion Zoeller against Trevino and former England footballer Sir Trevor Brooking. ‘He’ll be doing very well if he gets down in three or four from here,’ added Alliss ... yet in it dropped for a regulation par-5. ‘He gives it a mighty old clonk,’ went Alliss’ commentary. ‘It’s hopping and running and going, looking rather good, and slowing down ... and it wouldn’t ... it can’t ... aha! The greatest putt I’ve ever seen in my life!’ Wogan, wearing a fetching tartan bunnet with a red bobble, toppled to the ground in bewilderment. ‘Fuzzy is giving him the kiss of life, what a putt, what a putt!’ laughed Alliss. ‘It was the longest putt I’ve ever seen holed and I’ve played in many a golf tournament,’ says

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Trevino. ‘That was the best putt I’ve ever seen.’ Wogan, clutching the priceless ball, joked: ‘I’m going to put it in a glass case and throw rose petals at it every hour on the hour from here on in.’13 Sir Bruce Forsyth, poignantly, has his own fond story. In the late 70s, golf had a new entertainer: Seve was box office, sport and showbiz; the new kid on the block who had burst on to the international scene with his runnerup finish at the 1976 Birkdale Open behind Johnny Miller. His charisma, his bravado and his love for the game was the perfect mix for the Pro-Celebrity. People who would not normally have watched golf on TV tuned in to catch a glimpse of the game’s greatest showman in a format he loved. Seve was a major draw, an inspiration, transcending golf and sport. Sir Bruce played with him many times and he misses the late, great Spaniard dearly, misses that famous and special smile. It was a smile that could light up the darkest room. ‘A partner like Seve, I mean what more do you want? He was a great positive thinker. He used to say to me, “Bruce, I never play a shot unless I can see it.”’14 The shot-making, as it was, didn’t always go to plan, but Forsyth, like so many of Seve’s fanatical followers, didn’t mind, as he simply loved the joy, the laughter and the magical entertainment Europe’s finest brought to the game. Today, Forsyth can still reminisce and have a giggle. Showing form of his own during those Pro-Celebrity days and earning much praise, he took the opportunity to type a letter, dated 15 August 1978. It’s even on Gleneagles headed paper. It remains a treasured, light-hearted possession. He explains warmly: ‘We were coming back in the bus after playing and Seve said to Trevino: “You know, Bruce is the best celebrity we’ve had. Yes, the last three or four days he has been striking the ball very well.” Lee said: “Yeah, I agree, I agree.” So I said, look, if I type out a little letter will you sign it for me? So it says: “We the undersigned being

of sound mind and body, do hereby solemnly swear and declare that Mr Bruce Forsyth is, in our opinion, the most proficient celebrity of the said game of golf we have so far encountered during our stay at this ‘Pub’. Signed Without Prejudice Mr Lee Trevino and Mr Seve Ballesteros.”’15 Trevino was always game for a laugh. ‘A lot of people don’t remember, but one of the greatest matches ever at Gleneagles was not during the Pro-Celebrity but was actually between myself and Ian Marchbank,’ he claims. ‘Ian putted with a claw hammer and I putted with a Coke bottle. I was very famous about hustling people putting on putting greens with a Coke bottle and he was very famous putting with a claw hammer.’ ‘It was a hammer out of the workshop,’ confirms Ian. ‘It was something we were mucking about with. We were on the putting green outside the shop one day. I used to putt with the bit between the claw and the hammer, there was a wee flat bit, and Lee went down with the Coke bottle, held it round the middle of it. It was a bit of fun, wasn’t serious. At one stage, the Pro-Celebrity people were going to film it but didn’t.’ The final result? ‘We played 18 holes and it broke dead even, which was probably the way it should have finished up,’ says Lee. Ian continues: ‘I remember another story on the 17th tee of The Queen’s, the par-3. It wasn’t filmed, it was a practice round. Lee hit a ball with every club in his bag on to the green, including the putter. There was a gallery of maybe 50–60 people and it was absolutely amazing to stand and watch him. The putter didn’t even go along the ground, he just opened the face up and knocked it up in the air. Driver, everything, 14 balls. He is something else, he really is.’ Another well-known name who made an impact at Gleneagles, winning his first professional tournament as a fresh-faced 20-year-old, was one Nick Faldo. Holing from eight feet downhill for a birdie at the first extra hole of his sudden-death play-off with Craig DeFoy and Chris Witcher, 82

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Faldo banked the £4,000 first prize in the reduced 36-hole Skol Lager Individual over The King’s in August 1977. A month later he was the youngest player to feature for Great Britain & Ireland in the Ryder Cup match at Royal Lytham & St Annes. It was the launch pad for the most remarkable career in the British game in the modern era – Sir Nick won 30 times on the European Tour (the fifth-best of all time) and clinched six Majors, namely three Claret Jugs and three Green Jackets. Earlier, in 1974, the Double Diamond International team tournament came to Gleneagles, won by a stellar England line-up of Tony Jacklin, Peter Townsend, Maurice Bembridge, Tommy Horton and Peter Oosterhuis. It attracted large crowds, enticed by the match play format, and caught organisers by surprise. Rebranded as the Double Diamond World Team Classic on its return to Gleneagles in 1976 and 1977, England again prevailed in the former, before a classy quintet of Trevino, Jerry Pate, Billy Casper, Bob Murphy and Danny Edwards triumphed for the USA in the latter. Between 1974 and 1976, the Double Diamond event was accompanied by an individual 36-hole stroke play tournament that was included on the European Tour schedule. Bembridge took the honours on The King’s at Gleneagles in August ’74, a shot ahead of Bob Charles. Turnberry hosted the 1975 event, before Simon Owen of New Zealand was the victor back in Perthshire a year later. ‘The Double Diamond tournaments in the 1970s were enormously exciting and spectacular occasions,’ recalls George O’Grady, the chief executive of the European Tour, who succeeded Ken Schofield at the

helm at the start of 2005. ‘They brought together the very best players from throughout the world and the superb BBC Television coverage really added to the glamour of professional golf and Gleneagles itself. The championships focused worldwide attention on the beauty of the Scottish countryside and the extra special allure of Gleneagles.’ Also, in 1974, The Wee Course was lengthened to the full 18 holes and renamed Prince’s before a fourth course, Glendevon, was opened in 1980. The Ladies’ European Tour visited a year later when Scotland’s Dale Reid won the Carlsberg European Championship, as Gleneagles’ reputation as a great golf venue in picture postcard Perthshire was yet further enhanced. The International Four Ball, an American club competition held towards the end of September in the late 1970s and into the 80s, further highlighted the global appeal of the resort. Indeed, given the international aura that hung over The King’s and its neighbouring Queen’s, there was even a desire to mirror them. Marchbank recalls how a letter dropped through his door from a club in America in the 1980s asking for written permission to name their championship courses ‘King’s’ and ‘Queen’s’. After discussion, he and his Hotel contemporaries gave the green light to The Gleneagles Country Club in Plano, Texas. ‘In my time Gleneagles was unique,’ Ian says. ‘Quite simply, its greatest claim is that so many have tried to copy it.’ You can assume a Mr J Braid, regardless of his modesty, would be more than a little pleased with the way events have unfolded. Yet even better times lay just around the corner ...

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CHAPTER 4

TOUR DE FORCE (1983–2014) ‘It was one of the iconic events; the Bell’s Scottish Open, King’s Course, Gleneagles. It was just awesome. When you look at all the people who played, it was unbelievable.’ Gavin Hastings, former Scotland and British & Irish Lions rugby captain

always loved the Masters, my earliest recollections of televised golf coming in 1988 when Sandy Lyle’s sweet 7-iron bunker shot set up a closing birdie putt, and his jig of delight as he became the first Briton to don the Green Jacket, while The Open grips me for four days every July, as does the Ryder Cup for three days every two years. But the Bell’s Scottish Open at Gleneagles was extra special, simply because it was the tournament I grew up with. To my parents’ amusement, I ensured family holidays were never planned to coincide with that particular week in July. Armed with enough sandwiches in my daily packed lunches to feed a small army, I bounded alongside the fairways with glee, urging my poor dad, Kenneth, to keep up with the pace. Better still, I managed to move inside the ropes, carrying the scoreboard for individual groupings, proud as punch (even if those long wooden poles were rather difficult to keep upright in the wind). I spent many an hour chasing my heroes for autographs, with swashbuckling Seve, cavalier and charismatic, a genius with a golf club, top of the list. But it wasn’t just

HE MOMENT THOSE DISTINCTIVE yellow AA signs started appearing the heartbeat quickened in giddy excitement. Road signage has never held such appeal. Music, too, aroused the senses. The wonderful promotional television commercial, set to the beautiful strains of Irish band Clannad, was an evocative sales pitch like no other. The glorious, rolling fairways and immaculately prepared greens; the wonderful wildlife – wild geese, grouse, pheasant and eagle; a fabulous setting dominated by gorse, purple heather and bracken; the great names coming to The King’s ... Lyle, Langer, Faldo, Ballesteros et al. It was like a call to action, a persuasive pull. I was just starting out in golf, a junior member at Muthill and Auchterarder Golf Clubs in Perthshire, but was quickly becoming hooked. The fact the world’s best teed up some ten minutes from my front door every summer was nirvana for a wee lad. We all have our favourite, most cherished golfing moments, but when those moments are all wrapped up in one particular event, it’s an intoxicating mix. I’ve

Left: The 13th green and 14th hole of The King’s Course. Iain Lowe

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me who was smitten. The Bell’s Scottish Open over The King’s Course at Gleneagles is one of the most fondly recalled events on the European Tour, indeed a former flagship tournament. It was a wonderful annual occasion, a week before The Open, with a truly international, world-class field. The sun shone, the crowds came and the play was majestic. What drama, what spectacle. Bottle the charm and excitement that surrounded the Bell’s Scottish Open and you could have been laughing all the way to the bank. In 1979, Seve Ballesteros’ Open win at Royal Lytham & St Annes represented a turning point for European golf. It was the first Major triumph by a European since 1970 and only the second Open victory by a nonAmerican in the decade in between (Gary Player having broken their dominance at the same course in 1974). There then followed a real shock on the other side of the Atlantic when Seve claimed a first European win at the

Masters a year later, at that stage the youngest champion, aged 23, before his second victory in 1983 was the catalyst for European success. By the mid-to-late 1980s and into the early 1990s, Europe’s ‘Big Five’ (Ballesteros, Lyle, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam) were all Augusta winners. Meanwhile, the Ryder Cup suddenly became an intense, competitive contest after continental Europeans entered the fray in 1979. Indeed, Europe’s win at The Belfry in 1985, when Sam Torrance holed across the 18th green and raised his arms aloft in iconic triumph, was their first-ever success and the first loss for the USA in 28 years. Those were heady, notable days for a revitalised European golf scene, aided by the brilliance of Ballesteros who transformed the European Tour – born in 1972 thanks to founding father John Jacobs – with his mixture of fire and flair, passion and panache, risk and reward. Gleneagles played its part, too. With the Spanish matador a regular visitor, Perthshire

(Left) An aerial shot of the 18th of The King’s during the Bell’s Scottish Open, with the Hotel in the background. (Right) The tented village at ‘the Bell’s’. Jimmy Kidd

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became a fitting host for the leading combatants of the day to draw swords in feverish, engrossing battle. It was magical stuff. A European Tour event was played in Scotland in the early 1980s, the Glasgow Classic and then the Glasgow Open at Haggs Castle Golf Club, but it was still regional in name and modest in nature. Promoter Alan Callan knew the event deserved more exalted status and secured the name change to the Scottish Open, before, crucially, attracting a leading Scottish sponsor in drinks company Bell’s, sponsors of the 1985 Ryder Cup. After a 13-year hiatus from the Tour calendar, the stars of the day found themselves playing for the rebranded Bell’s Scottish Open at Haggs Castle in 1986. David Feherty, the former Irish professional turned roving on-course reporter, was the inaugural victor after a play-off with Ian Baker-Finch and Christy O’Connor Jnr. A year later, the tournament’s move an hour north – to the championship course Bell’s then owned – proved a hugely significant journey. Together, Callan and Ken Schofield, the executive director of the European Tour, realised the potential. Prize money was increased by £69,000 to £200,000 and, again crucially, the competition switched dates from August to the prime slot a week before The Open Championship in July. Immediately, the guaranteed sponsorship, the course and the five-star Gleneagles Hotel – for the players, press and officials on site – gave the championship an enormous boost. As a mark of its stature the event was awarded five qualifying places for The Open in 1987, to be played at Muirfield the following week. The gesture by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews had the effect of attracting an impressive cast of worldwide campaigners to Gleneagles who saw a chance for Open qualification while picking up a handsome pay cheque in the process. Equally important, the terrain of The King’s Course

– purple heather for rough, fast, true greens and the possibility of the wind blowing strong – gave international players a chance to acclimatise to links-style, bump-andrun conditions under tournament pressures, so that even those already qualified saw the merit in playing at Gleneagles. The closing leaderboard in ’87 was a case in point, setting the tone for the glorious eight-year staging of the Bell’s over The King’s. Woosnam, then aged 29, was the runaway winner by seven strokes. The little Welshman was also victorious in 1990, a year before his triumph at Augusta. Ballesteros and compatriot José Maria Olazábal were tucked in behind, together with Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion. Rodger Davis, the experienced Australian famous for wearing those distinctive plus fours, also challenged. Faldo, finishing just outside the top 20, moved on to claim Open glory at Muirfield. ‘I played some super golf at Gleneagles and the weather was fantastic as well,’ recalls Woosnam, who secured a third Scottish Open crown at Carnoustie in 1996. Memorably, a women’s putter, shorter to suit the Welshman’s build, contributed much to his second Scottish success. ‘At the start of 1990, I picked up a Zebra putter and won four times, I just holed everything that year. I’ve always enjoyed going to Gleneagles and staying there. It’s a lovely place.’ It was early days in ’87, but Gleneagles already appeared to have a tasty recipe for success. Word spread rapidly, positive messages sent near and far. As such, the Bell’s Scottish Open was soon foremost among the international titles the top players aspired to win, dropping into a premium category just below The Open. As it grew in stature it captured the imagination of the sporting world, appropriately continuing to fulfil James Braid’s great vision of the game. ‘The Bell’s Scottish Open on The King’s?’ ponders Sir Jackie Stewart. ‘They were fantastic days, absolutely; some of the greatest golfers from around the world

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competing over one of the world’s great courses.’ If Woosnam, Ballesteros, Olazábal, Faldo, Lyle and Langer represented the cream of European golf, a galaxy of worldwide talents joined them for the Bell’s, including Baker-Finch (Australia), the 1991 Open champion, Mark McNulty (then of Zimbabwe), Eduardo Romero (Argentina), future three-time Major winner Vijay Singh (Fiji) and Isao Aoki (Japan). Tony Jacklin, who served as the non-playing captain of Europe in four consecutive Ryder Cups from 1983 to 1989, was also a frequent competitor. Olazábal was runner-up in 1989, Faldo fifth in 1990 and third in 1992 as the biggest names chased down the title. ‘The Bell’s Scottish Open is a very big event, a very good title to win, and it would be good, very

good, to win the week before The Open Championship,’ stated Seve, if alas coming up short in his victory bids.1 Yet, outside of the British Isles, a nation of golfers perhaps savoured taking in a deep breath of the crystalclear air and enjoyed flexing their muscles at Gleneagles more than any other. Often criticised for their lack of travel outside their own borders these days, Americans simply loved the Bell’s. Their numbers were notable and significant; plentiful Major winners and Ryder Cup players among them. As well as Couples came Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Mark O’Meara, Ryder Cup 2012 captain Davis Love III, and another crowd puller with plus fours (often of the tartan variety), the charming, late Payne Stewart. He adored the place. ‘All the success that I’ve had

Jesper Parnevik celebrates winning the 1993 Bell’s Scottish Open. Jimmy Kidd

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in The Open Championship has come from playing in the Bell’s Scottish Open,’ he noted.2 Stewart was second in 1993 to Jesper Parnevik as the Swede claimed his first win as a professional with a wire-to-wire success. In later years Brad Faxon, Larry Mize, Jeff Maggert, Lee Janzen, Tom Weiskopf, Tom Lehman, the flamboyant John Daly and a young fellow by the name of Phil Mickelson flew the American flag. It was an invasion from across the Atlantic and how the galleries took to them. Together with the likes of Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Darren Clarke, all fresh-faced and making their early marks as pros, it was an A-list entry field. ‘I think the Bell’s was one of the first times an event really focused on the players, making sure they were really well treated,’ states Peter Lederer, Gleneagles’ former general manager and managing director, to explain the various reasons for the success story. ‘Gleneagles, effectively for a golf tournament, becomes a big house party, because you don’t have to go anywhere – the players, the press, the officials, the sponsors all under one roof. That created a very different atmosphere. The players we attracted was partly due to the date being good, it was great preparation for The Open, but the players were also well looked after. They could be with their families and relax.’ With the added sideshow of an annual qualifying scramble for places in The Open for those not exempt, the Bell’s had it all. Schofield, who enjoyed coming ‘home’ to Perthshire for the event, recalls: ‘The Bell’s had the connection with The Open. There was always tremendous excitement and great galleries as there was often a sudden-death play-off. I remember players coming back down the hill at the 18th when it had gone 10.30pm! John Paramor and Mike Stewart, the tournament directors, sought to eke out every last bit of light. They almost wanted to go that extra minute to set a new record. The Bell’s Scottish Open at Gleneagles

was a Wednesday to Saturday event, the only one in the record books I think, because Open Championship final qualifying was then Sunday/Monday.’ Thanks to some sunshine and the serene scenery, a perfect layout owing to the professionalism of former golf courses and estate director Jimmy Kidd and his team, spectacular golf and traditional Scottish hospitality, spectator numbers increased year on year at a course which provides stadium-style viewing. While 14,000 witnessed Feherty’s triumph in Glasgow in 1986, over 100,000 flocked to the Bell’s annually, with a record of 113,793 for the week in 1993. The last day that year attracted more than The Open. As the final group approached the closing hole each year, the crowds would pour down the fairway, form a circle around the large green, marvel at the pipe band and take in the presentation ceremony, with Callan, Lederer and Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden (chair, United Distillers UK plc) regularly among the dignitaries. Meanwhile, the worldwide TV audience staggeringly grew to an estimated 100 million viewers. ‘The Bell’s Scottish Open started my golf commentary career,’ notes the renowned broadcaster Dougie Donnelly of the BBC coverage. ‘I’ve got enormously fond memories of it all, particularly the 1989 Pro-Am when I got drawn with Faldo. He had won the Masters for the first time that year so there was huge interest in him. Normally, if you turn up at a Pro-Am there are a couple of dozen around the 1st tee ... but there were 2,000 people that morning to see Faldo! It was terribly intimidating, but fortunately the 1st on The King’s is as wide as the M8 so I managed to hit the fairway. The real revelation was that the 2,000 people were going to come with us ... for all 18 holes!’ Almost inevitably, the roll of honour from the Bell’s Scottish Open at Gleneagles is sprinkled with some standout names. ‘Many of our winners went on

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to great things,’ accurately notes Lederer. As well as Woosnam’s double triumph and Parnevik’s win, both of whom enjoyed Ryder Cup success, England’s Barry Lane (1988), Craig Parry (1991), fellow Australian Peter O’Malley (1992) and another Englishman, Carl Mason (1994) clutched the magnificent silver trophy. Surprisingly, though, given the stellar entry list from ‘across the pond’, only one American, the unheralded Californian Michael Allen in 1989, entered the winner’s enclosure. His closing 63, after scorching heat had baked the course hard, incredibly contained just 22 putts, as he upstaged Olazábal and Woosnam. Of course, to the disappointment of many, there was never a home winner of the Bell’s. Lyle shared second place to Lane in 1988, while Gordon Brand Jnr tied third behind Woosnam in 1990. Three years later Gary

Orr was joint third with Sam Torrance just behind him, as a Scottish success proved elusive. Englishman Lane, however, reveals a Scots helping hand in his first-ever win on the European Tour in ’88 ... ‘I wasn’t playing very well when I got there. I played very poorly in the Pro-Am and I was later on the range hitting balls when Bob Torrance walked past by chance. Bob says, in that Scottish accent of his, “How ya doin’?” I said, “I’m not hitting it so good, Bob.” He said “Do you want me to have a look?” I’d never had a lesson, I’d always been told to just go and play my natural game. But Bob said to me, “Oh, just straighten your right arm at impact.” My game just clicked and I went out and won, it was amazing. Bob is such a natural teacher in that respect, he can see little things. To win my first tournament at Gleneagles, staying in the Hotel with its great atmosphere, was nice

Colin Montgomerie, in his now iconic saltire jumper, at the Bell’s Scottish Open at Gleneagles, 1992. Getty Images

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too. It was a really good week on a lovely course.’ If Lyle came close that year, three shots adrift of Lane, then Montgomerie came even closer in 1992. The majority of golf fans remember it well ... and so too does Monty, despite his best efforts to erase it. It was the year of a frankly outrageous golfing tale; a remarkable, out of the ordinary occasion in sport; a scintillating spell of golf that further fuelled the feeling that the Bell’s Scottish

Colin Montgomerie toasts his first pro affiliation with Gleneagles. The Gleneagles Hotel

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Open was a theatre for the unexpected, a stage for great deeds. Langer had led Montgomerie by three going into the final round, only for the German to falter with a levelpar 70. Overcome with nationalistic pride, Monty had unforgettably stepped boldly on to the 1st tee wearing a sweater emblazoned with a saltire. His move to the top of the leaderboard, one that also featured Faldo, McNulty, Woosnam and Parry, with five holes to play only fuelled the patriotic fervour; the crowds roaring their approval at every tee, lifting their man along the fairways; swarming around the final greens in eager expectation to cheer home a Scottish champion for the first time; the noise echoing around the glen. Monty was already a two-time Tour winner and wanted a hat-trick on home turf; his desire to win his national title all-consuming, especially as his first affiliation when he turned professional in 1987 was with Gleneagles. ‘I know how much I want to win this Championship and I think, possibly, I want to win it too badly at times because of my affiliation and because it’s about time a Scot did win,’ he declared. ‘If I won then I wouldn’t mind if they didn’t pay me the £100,000 first prize. I’m not worried about the money. I want the win.’3 O’Malley, four behind at the start of the day, had other ideas. On an afternoon that remains his most memorable in golf, he reeled off the greatest finish in European Tour history to lift the biggest title of his career. It was truly astonishing final-round drama; the day O’Malley’s relative anonymity ended in spectacular fashion. ‘I’ve got great memories of it,’ says the Aussie. ‘It was over 20 years ago, but I still remember shooting that 62 like it was yesterday. It is definitely the highlight of my career. It was also my first-ever tournament win in Europe.’ The closing quintet on The King’s offers scoring chances, notably at the short par-4 14th and the downhill par-5 18th, but nobody could have expected what followed. In an unprecedented burst of scoring

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from O’Malley, he finished 2, 3, 2, 3, 3. It’s worth writing the golfing aviary in full: eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle; seven under par for five holes; a stretch of 1,829 yards played out in 13 strokes; 28 shots for the back nine. Players, spectators and officials, even the late Alex Hay in the BBC TV commentary box, pinched themselves in total bewilderment. ‘It’s unbelievable,’ said Hay at the time. ‘That must be one of the greatest finishes ever seen in any championship anywhere in the world.’4 The old-fashioned BBC scoring system showed the eagles flashing on screen, highlighting the heroics. O’Malley posted an 18-under-par total and won by two strokes from a dazed Montgomerie, his closing 65 rendered meaningless. O’Malley has fond recollections of this memorable occasion:

O’Malley, then 27, had enjoyed a stellar amateur career, winning the Australian junior title and the New Zealand amateur, but had recorded only one notable pro finish, runner-up in the 1989 Karl Litten Desert Classic in Dubai. Purple patches were not uncommon for him, yet 62 remains the lowest round he has ever carded. ‘I’ve always played on my confidence, you get a few runs and you just feed off it,’ he explains. ‘When you have a run like that, towards the end of a tournament, it’s quite incredible, adrenalin just takes control. We were still using persimmon (wooden) drivers back then and I flew it over the hill on 18 when Faldo couldn’t. Then, on the final green, it wasn’t until the ball hit the hole, went up in the air a little bit and dropped in that I realised I’d hit it quite hard such was my adrenalin.’ It’s a golfing story he never tires of retelling. ‘I still have conversations about 1992; a lot of people still bring it up,’ he reveals. ‘But the fact I beat a quality field was even more satisfying. Playing with Faldo, he won The Open the following week, Langer was leading going into the last round and Monty was there as well.’ And what of Monty ... how did O’Malley feel about dashing his dream in his proud blue and white jumper? ‘Colin has reminded me a few times over the years about ’92,’ he laughs. ‘He spoke to me I remember in 2011, he was going through some old clothes he had and found the sweater. I don’t think he’s worn it again.’ A rueful smile appears across Monty’s face on recollection. ‘Yes, I still have the jumper. Pringle made it for me as a one-off, but I’ve never worn it again,’ he confirms. ‘I had played well at the US Open [third at Pebble Beach] and was in good form at Gleneagles, but Peter’s finish may never be beaten.’ If 1992 proved a truly special year at the Bell’s, the same was true for a 14-year-old from Braco. Tasked with

I was playing with Faldo, who was a couple of shots ahead of me on the 14th tee, and I also trailed Monty and Langer. Nick drove into the bunker on 14 while my drive finished around 20 feet from the hole. Nick’s second shot came to rest just outside my ball and on the same line, which was a big bonus for me. He hit a great putt but it broke a huge amount in the last couple of feet so I got a great read. I’m sure I wouldn’t have holed my eagle putt had it not been for Nick showing me the line. On the 15th tee, I didn’t hit a great shot, but I was where the galleries walk on the edge of the fairway, so got it on the green and holed an 18-footer for birdie. I hit a 6-iron to ten feet at the short 16th and made birdie there, then a 3-wood, sand wedge on 17 to ten feet and holed that. On 18 I struck one of the best drives I think I’ve ever hit. I had a 6-iron on to the green and made it from just off the back edge, 18-20 feet for eagle. It was quite amazing. 92

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carrying the scoreboard for the match grouping of Paul Curry, Marc Farry and Eoghan O’Connell in the second round, I have to admit I was a little underwhelmed. Typically, however, the tournament’s capacity to thrill and surprise rang true again. ‘Hot Curry’ screamed the headlines as the journeyman Englishman waltzed around The King’s in a 10-under-par 60. It is a feat that still ties the European Tour low-score record and remains the course record. ‘The conditions that year were favourable for low scoring, it was playing quite short with the course hard and fast,’ Paul recalls of a week that saw him tie for 17th overall. ‘It wasn’t a day where I hit every shot close to the hole, I just made the putts.’ Curry’s early birdies registered little attention but as the round progressed all eyes were trained on him ... and, nervously for me, my scoreboard. ‘I can remember making an eagle on the 14th where I holed a 40- or 50-footer and then I sort of started to think maybe a low round was on. I missed the fairway on the right on the 15th and made a bogey, but then I birdied 16. I thought “Crikey, 59 is on here.” I remember hitting

a good shot on the 17th and it just went a fraction long. It meant I needed an eagle down the last. I hit two pretty good shots on to the green, about 30 feet away. Obviously, I didn’t make it, but I think it was a reasonable try for 59.’ If a celebratory drink was immediately in order for his feat, Curry had other plans. He continues: ‘At the time on Tour, each week there was £2,000 for the course record. If nobody won it the previous week, the next week would be worth £4,000 and so on. That got up so that at Gleneagles it was £16,000. Having shot the 60, I thought I could be in for the money, but just to make sure that I got something out of it I went and had a bet with the bookmakers as well. I put a couple of hundred quid on and I think they gave me 50-1 for someone to beat it. I got the £16,000 in the end, but had someone shot 60 as well, or 59 which I thought was possible, I’d have lost it. Just to cover myself I had a saving bet.’ Smart thinking from Curry and, so too, from his caddy, Pat McSweeney, who kept the six Titleist Tour Balata 100s used during the famous round and later had them mounted on a plaque as a surprise to his employer.

Catriona Matthew (left) and Laura Davies (right) at the 1996 McDonald’s WPGA Championship. The Gleneagles Hotel

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‘It was a nice tournament, the Bell’s. You stayed in the Hotel and you could feel the history about there, a bit like St Andrews,’ adds Curry. With Mason piercing the descending gloom in ’94 to emerge victorious, a natural end of an era came; the Bell’s at Gleneagles was no more. ‘The Bell’s Scottish Open was a hugely successful event and had a massive support in Scotland,’ confirms Patrick Elsmie, Gleneagles’ managing director. ‘Like all of these wonderful events, it comes to a point where it starts to almost outgrow its own persona. There was also a desire to have the event on a links course before The Open. It was just time for a change.’ As well as Mason, the event ended on a memorable high for one Gavin Hastings, the former Scotland and British & Irish Lions rugby captain. He said: ‘Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden stood up the night before the Pro-Am and said: “It would be so nice if one

of my teams could win the Pro-Am. I’ve sponsored this tournament for many, many years and we’ve never had a winner.” The call to arms was made by his Lordship and we responded! I played with the English pro Steven Richardson, who performed in the 1991 Ryder Cup. We had a wee huddle on the 1st tee and said “let’s do it”. We had two eagles down the last, mine a net eagle, and we won by one shot. Eagle, eagle to win the last-ever Bell’s Scottish Open Pro-Am.’ Gleneagles continued its reputation as a world-class tournament venue through the 1980s and 90s. The Silver Tassie was revived as a foursomes knockout event from 1982–91, while the Dunhill Trophy was contested by UK and Japan professionals in 1984, a precursor to the Dunhill Cup at St Andrews a year later. Following the Bell’s, The King’s was also to become

Crowds surrounding the 18th green of The King’s during the 1996 McDonald’s WPGA Championship. The Gleneagles Hotel

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a favourite haunt for the leading women of the era as the McDonald’s WPGA Championship of Europe was staged from 1996–99. ‘It was a big tournament, well run by McDonald’s,’ recalls Peter Lederer. It was the first Ladies Tour event played solely for charity, with all proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities. Tina Fischer of Germany was the inaugural winner, with Helen Alfredsson (1997) and Laura Davies (1999) then victorious. Sandwiched in between was an historic and emphatic home triumph. ‘It was the first time I had won a professional tournament in Scotland,’ recollects North Berwick’s Catriona Matthew, the nation’s most successful female professional golfer. ‘There were excellent crowds in the summer with nice weather, so it was great. At the time, it was probably one of the Ladies’ European Tour’s bigger events so it was pleasing to win against a great field, with Laura Davies and Helen Alfredsson second behind me. I was fortunate enough to have quite a nice lead [she claimed victory by five shots] and enjoy it a little. It was the early stages of my career so to win an event like that, cope with the added pressure that comes

with playing at home and achieve a win was a big boost to my confidence.’ Like so many of her peers, male and female, Matthew still holds the utmost affection for The King’s. ‘I love the course,’ she adds. ‘It’s superb, built into the hills with the natural areas for spectators to watch. Coming down that last hole especially, it’s such an amphitheatre with everyone around it. It’s a great finishing hole.’ Given the winners produced by the Bell’s Scottish Open, The King’s Course had clearly served its purpose; its strength lay in the challenge it imposed on consistency. But it was vulnerable, a fear that it might be too short – then par-70 at 6,739 yards – to offer an adequate test for the sudden growing firepower of the modern male professional. In short, technology had moved on very quickly. The Monarch’s Course, as discussed in later chapters, was designed to offer the long-term solution; to act as the host for major, international pro events and combine the best of The King’s and The Queen’s. ‘Until such time as we had The Monarch’s Course, now named The PGA Centenary, it was always going to be hard to have a European Tour event here at Gleneagles,’ admits Patrick Elsmie. Opened in 1993 at a cost of £5.9 million, the new layout was created by the legendary American Jack Nicklaus. It then had a mix of the USA and Scotland, traditional Scottish pot bunkers and American-styled traps for example, while the challenge of ponds, wetlands and streams ensured the need for a focused mind. From the back tees, it was a par-72 measuring 7,081 yards, then the longest inland course in Scotland. In fact, it is one of the largest landmasses of any course in the UK (250 acres). The continuous 8.2 kilometre cart path, never obtrusive in such an idyllic setting, was also the first in Scotland. It is one of the finest natural grandstand courses, with easy spectator viewing at all 18 holes. Following alterations, it has

Jack Nicklaus with the plans for the new Monarch’s Course. Jimmy Kidd

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evolved significantly over the years to nestle comfortably into the landscape and provide a superb match play test for the Ryder Cup. ‘Gleneagles is fantastic,’ beams Barry Lane, who boasts a ‘tartan treble’ after his 1988 Bell’s win and two Scottish Senior Open triumphs. ‘The King’s and Queen’s are superb and The PGA Centenary is just breathtaking.’ The renowned racing driver Jackie Stewart, also a past clay pigeon shooting champion who then owned the Shooting School at Gleneagles, took the role of chairman of the organising committee for ‘The Monarch’s Challenge’, to officially open Nicklaus’ design in grand style on 15 May 1993. Stewart, a well-connected man, had previously run celebrity challenge events and he rifled through his contacts book to lure a stellar playlist north for the charity gala competition, which also involved shooting. In all, 44 players, including royalty and those

from the sports, entertainment and professional world, were brought together in 11 teams, among them Stewart, Nicklaus, HRH The Duke of York, Sean Connery, Chris de Burgh, Gene Hackman, Michael Parkinson, Cheryl Ladd, Steve Cram, Kenny Dalglish, Stephen Hendry, Damon Hill and Virginia Wade. ‘For the opening of The Monarch’s, we wanted to create something that was very interesting for TV – get into the key markets we wanted to reach,’ recalls Ian Ferrier, managing director of Gleneagles Golf Developments. ‘Jackie worked tirelessly to bring all the interesting names together. Jack and Jackie had obviously also grown up together in the early days with Mark McCormack and IMG so they knew each other.’ There was a spanner, however, in the impressive works. Remarkably, in mid-May, it snowed! Event organisers could hardly believe their eyes. ‘We woke up

The Monarch’s Challenge, 1993. The Gleneagles Hotel

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that morning and it was as if someone had painted snow halfway down Glen Devon,’ adds Ian, still shaking his head at the memory. ‘There was a clear snow line and it just happened to be sitting where we were to play. I remember going round the course early in the morning, 5.30 a.m. roughly, with Jackie and Jimmy Kidd, looking at it and saying “Well, what do we do now?” It was the first snow in May for 30 years! You think of everything and then you stare at that.’ A live broadcast for breakfast television from the 18th showed Connery and others being interviewed to a white backdrop with the snow still falling. Ferrier continues: ‘We delayed the start until about 11 a.m., thanks to a major effort on the course, and played 11 holes in the end, one to 10 and up the 18th. We used all our skills and adapted, the spirit of all

the celebrities helped as well, they all mucked in, even though they were used to everything running perfectly. I actually think the spirit of the event was even greater than if it had run to clockwork.’ The Challenge, with GMTV’s Eamonn Holmes as compère, received worldwide media coverage on satellite and national television stations in 89 countries and raised around £240,000 for charity. It was a wonderful occasion and, in a way, the snow added to the theatre. ‘There was a lovely shot taken of the 1st fairway covered in snow with a fallow deer on it,’ recalls Stewart. ‘It was a huge celebrity event,’ adds Hendry, Scotland’s seventime world snooker champion. ‘I remember it so well because of the snow and everyone thought it was going to be cancelled. Some of us played the course the day

Jack Nicklaus hits the first tee shot to officially open The Monarch’s Course, 1993. The Gleneagles Hotel

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before when the sun shone and it was a nice spring day. I actually played with Billy Marchbank, one of Ian’s three sons, and we played behind a group who were quite slow and they waved us through. It was the film star Gene Hackman! That’s not exactly something that regularly happens.’ The expectant crowds were keen to witness a thrilling event. ‘I just hope we are able to match up to it,’ said Sean Connery.5 All eyes were trained on Nicklaus for his celebratory opening tee shot to officially declare the course open. Yet, like the weather, it didn’t quite go to

plan. ‘We gave Nicklaus a mulligan up the 1st after his snap-hook left and it was all good fun,’ says Ferrier. But, with money involved, there was a serious side as well. Nicklaus captained the last team to tee off, ‘The Final Four Ball’ named The Gleneagles Monarch’s. They were a quartet notable in every sense – Nicklaus, Stewart, Connery and HRH – and the small matter of £1 was at stake. ‘Jack and Prince Andrew beat Sean and I on the 18th for the quid,’ rues a still dejected Stewart, every bit the competitor. The jubilant Duke of York made a winning ten-foot putt ... and he still has the prize money.

The Final Four Ball at the Monarch’s Challenge 1993: Jack Nicklaus, HRH Prince Andrew, Jackie Stewart and Sean Connery. The Gleneagles Hotel

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‘It was the most special pleasure and honour to be able to play with Jack Nicklaus that day,’ recalls HRH of the famous contest. ‘On the final green I was left with a slippery putt, a downhill slider. The bet was for £1 payable on the green, if I remember. And that £1 coin has been resident in my briefcase ever since.’ Stewart has his own lovely story: ‘I wasn’t playing as well as I could and there was a wee fella who came up for an autograph afterwards, a wee Glasgow boy. He was a real rough diamond. He got the autograph and I said,

“Will that do you then?” He looked up to me and he said “Aye, but my father says you should have stuck to driving!”’ If Stewart wasn’t quite at his best, another famous Scot took the plaudits. Kenny Dalglish, Scotland’s most capped footballer and a useful single-figure handicapper, captained the winning Nicklaus Design team after they posted a nine-under-par total for the 11 holes. It was an occasion when holding his nerve, typical of Dalglish on a football field, became vital on a 1st tee. ‘After Jack hit it

Kenny Dalglish is interviewed by Eamonn Holmes after winning The Monarch’s Challenge. The Gleneagles Hotel

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left, had to reload and hit another one, they announced the course was open ... and next on the tee was me!’ he recalls of a moment not short on stress. ‘We were the first team to tee off in the competition and, with me being captain, I played first. There were grandstands both sides, the press down one side and the spectators down the other. I was just a touch nervous, teeing up the next ball after Jack Nicklaus! There would have been many a professional golfer nervous as well. So just to get away off the tee I was delighted. There is a wee dip on the righthand side of the fairway and I hit it down there. I was quite happy.’ No stranger to silverware, particularly during

The teams from the Johnnie Walker PGA Cup, 1996. Jimmy Kidd

his successes with Celtic, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, ‘King Kenny’ lifted another trophy – presented by HRH Princess Anne – and walked away with a Nicklaus-signed print of The Monarch’s to mark his achievement. ‘It wasn’t the best of days weather-wise, but you can’t take away the memory. When I’ve got a signed print from Jack Nicklaus, you can’t help but remember it.’ It took just three years before the new course staged tournament play. The biennial PGA Cup, the club pros’ equivalent of the Ryder Cup between Great Britain & Ireland and the USA, was played out from 30 August to 1 September 1996, finishing in a titanic 13-13 draw. In rain and wind, an engrossing battle was fought. Amazingly, every session was halved before all depended on the final singles match between Anglo-Scot Bill Longmuir and Jeffrey Roth. Longmuir only needed a half, but faltered over the closing stretch, bogeying the last four holes to lose, meaning the visitors retained possession of the Llandudno International Trophy after five successive previous wins. If that was drama, it was surpassed by the remarkable scenes that unfolded over the course in 2001. Then, Laura Davies penned a new chapter in her love affair with Gleneagles, defeating home hope Janice Moodie 5&4 to claim victory in the WPGA International Matchplay Championship. The decorated Englishwoman reached the final on the back of a bizarre disqualification after Sophie Gustafson was denied the chance to pocket the £110,000 first prize. Following a fightback to take her semi-final with Davies to extra holes, the Swede lost her place in the final because her caddie and boyfriend, Chuck Hoersch, took a lift to the 19th tee rather than walking. ‘Hoersch needed to visit the toilet,’ wrote Mike Aitken in The Scotsman. ‘Conscious that he was holding up the match, the American accepted a lift from a passing buggy. It was a journey of 200 yards, but the fare may

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have cost Gustafson £60,000.’6 The Ladies’ European Tour’s conditions of competition stated that players and caddies must walk at all times, unless specified otherwise. If The Monarch’s Course was already winning admirers, it was the return of the European Tour to Gleneagles in 1999, and a first visit to The Monarch’s, that officially gave it the stamp of approval. Since then the Tour has made an annual and often defining stop in Perthshire, the tournament’s stature growing in tandem with the course. The event first sprang to life as the Scottish PGA Championship (1999–2001), before Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks business which owns Gleneagles, enjoyed naming rights from 2002 to 2004. Since 2005 to the present, the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, with Colin Montgomerie acting as tournament chairman, has continued to blossom. Graeme Marchbank, another of Ian’s brood and now head of global sports category at Diageo, has helped direct that process. Much like the glorious Bell’s days, a multinational field pitches up to contest a much-soughtafter title thanks to the backing of a strong brand – the world’s number one Scotch whisky, as Patrick Elsmie explains:

underneath the Diageo umbrella. Realistically, we wanted to capitalise on the connections that Johnnie Walker had with golf in Asia, where they had the Johnnie Walker Classic. The brand team realised there was an opportunity to use Johnnie Walker around the European Tour event at Gleneagles, as a part of our commitment really to helping the European Tour ensure there was a tournament here in the run-up to 2014. Notable names have continued Gleneagles’ impressive roll of honour. Paul Casey, a Ryder Cup hero, claimed his first-ever professional triumph in 2001 before, like Woosnam, the Englishman became a two-time Tour winner at Gleneagles in 2006. Casey, who birdied 16 and 18 in 2001 to pip the German Alex Čejka by a stroke, says:

We needed to have something that made people talk about Gleneagles on a yearly basis after the Bell’s. From its start in 1999, the event was with an eye to moving it on – and it has grown. We engaged heavily with our owner company, Diageo, and they came on board to fund what we had as a fledgling event. In those early years, when it was known as the Diageo Championship, it was important for them because, in Scotland, Diageo needed to resonate and we could do that by profiling all the different brands that sat

I love the drama on The PGA Centenary, with the excitement of the par-5, par-3, par-5 finish. It was a special first win. I don’t remember the entire round, but I remember the last hole very well. I got it just shy of the green in two and left myself a 9-iron bump and run which I put to six, seven feet. It was one of the more nervous moments of my life, but I rolled it in for birdie to beat Alex, who is a great player and has won many titles. It was very, very cool for me – like a dream come true really. As a kid, I never got to watch golf in Scotland, for me it was growing up and going to watch tournament golf at Wentworth and places like that thinking ‘I’d love to do that’ ... and there I am standing over a putt at Gleneagles to join a fairly elite group, when you think of people who win on the European Tour. It’s not a massive amount of golfers.

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The prodigious Adam Scott then waltzed round in a mesmerising 26-under-par in 2002, the lowest winning total of the year in Europe, after posting 67, 65, 67 and 63. Such was his length off the tee, the swashbuckling young Aussie ruthlessly took advantage of the layout’s then five par-5s – he was a staggering 22-under for those holes over the four days. There was a Scottish connection, with Alastair McLean, caddy to Montgomerie for many years, on his bag. I asked Scott his recollections on the eve of The 2012 Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes. Beside the 12th tee during Tuesday practice, he is approachable and charming. ‘I really do look back on 2002 and think it might be the best golf I’ve ever played,’ he admits. ‘It was a pretty remarkable week. It was memorable to win at a place like Gleneagles and a special time in my life, absolutely. Having Alastair then too, it was great for us both. The course is tougher now and even the next year only nine-under-par won.’ Scott seemed inspired by the memories, his golf tee to green at Lytham as impressive as Gleneagles, only for the most damaging four holes of his career to hand a second Claret Jug to Ernie Els late on that barely plausible final Sunday. Redemption for Scott at least came nine months later at Augusta. Pierre Fulke was victorious at Gleneagles in 2000 while two other Ryder Cup men, Edoardo Molinari and Thomas Bjørn, after a marathon play-off, won in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Warren Bennett (1999), Søren Kjeldsen (2003), Miles Tunnicliff (2004), Emanuele Canonica (2005), Grégory Havret (2008) and Peter Hedblom (2009) have also triumphed. For those of a Scottish persuasion, though, the year 2007 represented a long-awaited breakthrough. In the nineteenth staging of a European Tour event at Gleneagles, finally the home hoodoo was banished. It had been a familiar hard luck story until then. Sam Torrance, a month before leading Europe to Ryder Cup glory, rolled back the years to

finish third in 2002, a shot behind Raymond Russell who trailed runaway winner Scott by ten strokes. Alastair Forsyth was runner-up the year after, Steven O’Hara joint third in 2004, Montgomerie and Forsyth were in the hunt in 2006, before Marc Warren finally transformed the knowledgeable and appreciative galleries at Gleneagles into unified rapture. Warren, who sank the winning putt for Great Britain & Ireland in the 2001 Walker Cup, denied Simon Wakefield a first Tour win after defeating the Englishman with a birdie at the second, sudden-death playing of the 18th. It remains a much-cherished highlight for the patriotic player, who was decked in ‘Braveheart’ blue top and white trousers, the same clothing combination as he wore when winning his maiden European Tour event at the 2006 Scandinavian Masters. ‘It’s a nice memory to have of Gleneagles,’ says Warren, who that year held aloft a striking new trophy to reflect the enduring relationship between golf and whisky at Gleneagles. ‘I’ve always held the tournament and the course in high esteem. It was the first European Tour event I ever played in,’ he continues, ‘having played as an amateur in 2001 the week after the Walker Cup. I actually withdrew from the US Amateur because I received an invite to play in it. From early on, I’ve always liked the course and have good memories of the tournament. It’s great to go back every year. Everything about it, with the range, the course, the history of Gleneagles, is great. It’s just one of those events for me, some people feel comfortable on certain courses. Gleneagles is definitely the one tournament I’d always choose to play in. It’s like a “fifth Major”, I’m sure a few of the Scottish boys would also say that.’ Having missed nine cuts in his previous 13 events, Warren’s victory was both impressive and unexpected. His opening round, an eight-under-par 65 that ultimately paved the way for glory, also came 48 hours after a fallout with his venerable coach Bob Torrance, following

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harsh words on the practice range. ‘I phoned him on the Tuesday night and I thought that was us finished, to be honest,’ admits Warren, the European Tour rookie of the year in 2006. ‘I had played poorly for some time. I was a little bit frustrated.’ The pair did patch up their differences the following day, but Warren had already discovered solutions to his problems – thanks to the video camera in the back of his car. ‘I saw one or two things on my own on the Tuesday afternoon that I needed to work on,’ he continues. ‘Sometimes you are better off seeing something yourself and then there is no doubt and you get a better picture in your head. Fortunately, I had the video camera in the boot. I then played in the Pro-Am on the Wednesday and got a feeling for my game to take into the first round. I got off to a flyer really and kept it going from there. That 65 was probably one of the best rounds I’ve ever played, if not the best.’ A week that started with a car boot story ended with Warren picking up the keys to a new motor. ‘I treated myself to an Aston Martin as reward for meeting my cash goal for the year,’ he smiles, after he banked £233,330 for his largest-ever pay day. ‘It was an awesome car.’ More importantly, Warren’s victory propelled him into the two-man team alongside Montgomerie that went on to win the World Cup in China, Scotland’s first success in the event. The Aston Martin has since been sold, but the memories are priceless. Five years later, Warren was on the brink of glory again on home turf, only to surrender a four-stroke lead with four to play at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart. However, the Scottish public, seemingly almost as crestfallen as Warren, only had to wait a few weeks for compensation – with Gleneagles the source of comfort. Amid final-day scenes reminiscent of those giddy Bell’s Scottish Open days, record crowds for the £1.4 million Johnnie Walker Championship watched a rejuvenated Paul Lawrie further highlight a

truly wonderful season. In relaxed mood after his Ryder Cup return was confirmed on the eve of the event, the Aberdonian celebrated with victory to the delight of almost 18,000 last-day fans. Classy, confident and composed, Lawrie was in total control of his game to ease to a four-shot success over the remodelled PGA Centenary. It was his third win in 17 months and eclipsed his previous Gleneagles memorable moment – a hole-in-one at the 10th to start the 2000 tournament. On the back nine, it became a Sunday stroll with Lawrie swinging serenely, perhaps better than ever in his early 40s. Rapturous applause rightly greeted his walk up the atmospheric new-look 18th. A further five Scots were placed inside the top 14, including Stephen Gallacher who just missed out on the play-off the year before, as a ‘Tartan Army’ stormed Perthshire. Moreover, Lawrie became the first Scot to win three official European Tour events in Scotland, following the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie and the 2001 Alfred Dunhill Links at St Andrews. It felt like a fitting success at Gleneagles, coming a month before Medinah and the victory, of course, achieved at the 2014 Ryder Cup venue. ‘It was nice to win in Scotland again in front of a home crowd, you can’t beat that,’ said Lawrie. ‘Coming up 18 made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.’ Earlier that summer, Lawrie walked the Great Glen Way, 79 miles from Fort William to Inverness, with his wife Marian and two other couples, helping raise almost £30,000 for the Paul Lawrie Foundation and the Beatson Leukaemia Clinic in Glasgow in memory of his former coach and friend Adam Hunter. As every week passed, he continued to do the ‘wee man’ proud. Similarly to the Bell’s, the Johnnie Walker Championship has allowed Gleneagles both on and off the course to yearly manage a world-class European

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Tour event over The PGA Centenary Course. Dummy runs for 2014, if you like. Significantly, the eyes of the world have consistently been on the course, notably in the even-numbered years of 2008, 2010 and 2012, when the Johnnie Walker was the final counting event for Europe’s Ryder Cup team. The celebrated trio of Sir Nick Faldo, Montgomerie and José Maria Olazábal

have all faced the task of finalising and announcing their 12-man Ryder Cup sides following the conclusion of events at Gleneagles. Indeed, Italy’s Molinari really put the course on the map after a sensational three-birdie finish in 2010 to claim victory by one from Australian Brett Rumford and leave a bowled-over Monty with no choice but to pick him alongside his brother, Francesco,

The Wee Course was opened by Ronnie Corbett in 1990. The Gleneagles Hotel

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for Celtic Manor. It was O’Malley-esque from Molinari, who completed a ‘Double Scotch’ after also winning the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond that year. ‘There was a lot of pressure, but I remember I had a lot of fun, even on the last day,’ he recalls, proudly. ‘The Ryder Cup was in the back of my mind as the week went on, but I tried to focus as much as I could on the tournament itself because otherwise there would have been too much pressure, I think, having to cope with both. I was glad to finish the way I did, win the tournament and clinch the Ryder Cup spot.’ When it comes to grandstand finishes, the remodelled PGA Centenary Course is more than equipped to deliver, providing the kind of challenging and exciting platform the Ryder Cup, arguably the most thrilling tournament golf has to offer, deserves. ‘The PGA Centenary is a great place to have a Ryder Cup,’ adds Molinari. ‘You have so much room for the spectators and the course is fantastic. It has a great finish.’ Gleneagles has also remained committed to domestic and junior golf. With a history of over 100 years, the Scottish PGA Championship is the flagship event on the Tartan Tour calendar and found a settled home at Gleneagles in 1999. From then until 2010, the players competed on The PGA Centenary with the exception of 2000 on The Queen’s. The tournament, won by Lawrie in 2005, has since moved across to The King’s. A further strengthening of the link between the PGA and Gleneagles also came in 2010. Having created a purpose-built golf academy in 1994 for instruction, the facility’s success saw it selected by the PGA as the venue for The PGA National Golf Academy for Scotland. It is complemented by The PGA National Academy Course, a nine-hole test for golfers to hone their skills. It evolved

from The Wee Course – opened by Ronnie Corbett in November 1990 – after it was extensively remodelled by Jimmy Kidd’s team to recapture the spirit of George Alexander’s original design. The Academy has become a focal point for the game in Scotland, with a team of expert PGA professionals and advanced facilities, including a 320-yard double-ended driving range, designated long- and short-game practice areas and technical analysis, including video capture and high performance custom fitting. Gleneagles has also staged the Bank of Scotland Junior Masters and, more recently, has hosted the Highland Spring Junior Masters Grand Final for young golfers. The Junior Ryder Cup, an international event between Europe and the United States designed to showcase golf ’s next generation and give them a taste of the competition, was also successfully held over The PGA Centenary in 2010. It’s proved a useful springboard, with Rory McIlroy in the victorious 2004 team and others to graduate into the pro ranks include Hunter Mahan, Nicolas Colsaerts and Matteo Manassero. Successful, stress-free event management and tournament administration at Gleneagles go hand in hand. In the Bell’s era, no other event conveyed to the world a better image of Scotland: sporting excellence, organisational precision, lusty support, a staggering backdrop and heavenly hospitality. The Johnnie Walker Championship, especially in recent years, has also ticked those same boxes. The Ryder Cup, always a keenly anticipated thrilling global spectacle whose humble origins began in Perthshire, will surpass all that has come before, but only add another chapter to the resort’s rich golfing history.

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