A to Z Ryder Cup
What do Peter Alliss and Ignacio Garrido have in common? What is the ‘War of the Wardrobes’? And who on earth is Alf Padgham? You’ll find all the answers in this, the HK Golfer guide to golf’s greatest spectacle. COMPILED BY ALEX JENKINS
A
IS FOR ALF PADGHAM, who holds the unenviable record for worst winning performance in Ryder Cup history. Padgham, winner of the 1936 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, was considered one of Britain's leading professionals of the era, but failed to produce his best form in the biennial event. Representing Great Britain in three Ryder Cups (1933, 1935 and 1937), Padgham failed to earn a single point, losing all seven of his matches. Other notable players with terrible Ryder Cup records include Max Faulkner OBE, the 1951 Open champion, who won one and lost seven of his eight matches.
B AFP (Barnes/Woosnam)
I S FOR BRIAN BARNES, who famously defeated Jack Nicklaus twice in one day at the 1975 Ryder Cup played at Laurel Valley, Pennsylvania. Back then, the format was such that two sets of singles matches were played on the final day. In their morning match, the colourful Barnes, who struggled with alcoholism throughout much of his playing career, thumped the Golden Bear 4 and 2. Eager for a rematch in the afternoon, Nicklaus had US captain Arnold Palmer ask European skipper Noel Hunt to make it happen. The English-born Scotsman won again, 2 and 1. "The bigger player you played him against, the more of a chance you'd get a [good] result," said Bernard Gallacher, Barnes's teammate in '75. "Brian needs that type of challenge to get him going." 34
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C
IS FOR THE CONCESSION, t he occa sion when Jack Nick lau s conceded a two-foot putt to Tony Jacklin on the last green of their singles match at the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale. It resulted in the first tie in the matches' history and the US retained the Cup. That singular act of charity is considered one of the grandest gestures of sportsmanship, although US captain Sam Sneed wasn't particularly thrilled with Nicklaus' generosity. "All the boys thought it was ridiculous to give him that putt," said Sneed at the time. "We went over there to win, not to be good ol' boys."
D
IS FOR DEBUTANT. In 1999, Sergio Garcia became the youngest golfer to play in the Ryder Cup at the age of 19 years, eight months and 15 days. Despite his lack of experience, Garcia earned three and a half points out of a possible five, including a memorable first day foursomes win with Jesper Parnevik over the highly fancied American pairing of Tiger Woods and Tom Lehman. HKGOLFER.COM
E
IS FOR EUROPEANS. The first time the Ryder Cup was contested between Europe and the United States as opposed to Great Britain and the United States, was in 1979 at The Greenbrier in West Virginia. Between 1959 and 1977, the Americans had won all but one outing (a tie in 1969) and it was obvious that something had to be done. Jack Nicklaus approached the PGA of Great Britain about the urgency to improve the competitive level of the matches, saying "It is vital to widen the selection procedures if the Ryder Cup is to continue to enjoy its past prestige." The PGA clearly thought so too and expanded the selection procedure to include continental players from the European Tour. The first Europeans to make the overseas squad were a pair of Spaniards – Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido.
I
IS FOR IGNACIO GARRIDO, the Spanish player who qua l if ied for t he 1997 European team, and his father Antonio, who played in the 1979 matches, became the first father and son combination from the Continent to play in the competition. Only Percy and Peter Alliss, who each played in the Ryder Cup when it consisted only of British and Irish players, have previously achieved this feat.
J
IS FOR JACKLIN (TONY), arguably the greatest European Ryder captain of them all. Skippering the team on four occasions during the Eighties - 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989 - two-time major champion Jacklin was single-minded in his approach to the role.
Toasting Success: Ian Woosnam (below) celebrated his side's win in 2004 with one of the fastest pints in Ryder Cup history; despite his own problems with alcohol, Brian Barnes (left) recorded one of the biggest upsets off all time when he defeated Jack Nicklaus twice in one day in 1975
F
IS FOR FALDO (NICK), the finest British player of the modern era, who holds multiple records at the Ryder Cup. Faldo has made more appearances than any other player (11), won more matches than any other player (23) and won more points than any other player (25). Undoubtedly a fine exponent of the art of match play, Faldo's playing accomplishments failed to translate to captaincy success however; his 2008 stint as skipper ended in the first European defeat in nine years and he was widely derided for his cringe-making speeches and decision to only have one vicecaptain.
G
IS FOR GUINNESS. Plenty of the "Black Stuff " went down during the event's 2006 edition at the K Club near Dublin, but no-one chugged Ireland's national drink harder than European Cup captain Ian Woosnam. One of the lasting images of the event was the wee Welshman, flanked by jubilant vice-captain Sam Torrance and fan favourite Darren Clarke, on the clubhouse balcony, necking a pint in literally nanoseconds in celebration of his side's fine victory. While no-one could begrudge him his moment, his ridiculously rapid consumption (complete with unfortunate nasal outflow) wasn't exactly the classiest act in Ryder Cup history.
H
IS FOR HOLE-IN-ONE. There have been six aces recorded in the competition. Peter Butler (1973), Nick Faldo (1993), Constantino Rocca (1995), Howard Clarke (1995) and Paul Casey (2006) accomplished the feat for the Euros, while Scott Verplank became the first American to do so at the 2006 match. HKGOLFER.COM
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K
IS FOR KIAWAH ISLAND, which hosted the infamous "War on the Shore" Ryder Cup of 1991. The event, which will be best remembered for Bernhard Langer missing a six-foot putt on the final green which would have won his match with Hale Irwin and retained the cup for Europe, was played in the wake of the Gulf War and was hotly contested by both sides. Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger renewed their on-course squabbles, Corey Pavin wore a camouflage hat and a local DJ urged listeners to ring the European team's hotel rooms in the early hours of the morning. What shouldn't be forgotten, however, is the brilliant comeback staged by the United States on the final day- which won them their first Ryder Cup for eight years - and the quality of architect Pete Dye's beautiful brute, the Ocean Course at Kiawah. After the massacre of Walton Heath (see O FOR ONE-SIDED), Jacklin demanded that changes were made; the most significant being that the needs of his players as opposed to those of the officials be paramount. As a consequence, Jacklin's teams were finally treated to the same privileges as their American counterparts. His players flew first class (with Concorde), were allowed to travel with their caddies and had all their expenses covered. The result: a first Ryder Cup win in 28 years at the 1985 event and – of holies – a maiden win on American soil two years later at Muirfield Village.
AFP (Langer/Concorde/Leonard/Ballesteros)
The Agony and the Ecstacy (clockwise from right): Bernhard Langer's missed put on the final green at Kiawah Island in 1991 concluded a gripping encounter; Concorde was the aircraft of choice for both teams from the mid-eighties; Justin Leonard's putt at the 'Battle of Brookline' is one of the event's lasting images; Seve Ballesteros was arguably the most influential player to have ever represented Europe 36
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L
IS FOR LEONARD (JUSTIN), whose scarcely believable 45-foot birdie putt on the seventeenth hole in his singles match against Jose Maria Olazábal was the defining moment of the 1999 edition at Brookline Country Club. Leonard's putt won him the hole, enabling him to halve his match and earn the Americans a 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 victory. The win was not without controversy however. After he holed his mammoth putt the on-looking members of the US team and a number of supporters began celebrating on the green before Olazábal had taken his putt to halve the hole, and in so doing sparked a debate surrounding the spirit in which the game should be played. HKGOLFER.COM
M
IS FOR MONTY, the 2010 European team skipper, who despite never having won a major, is nevertheless considered one of the finest Ryder Cup players in the history of the event. See Lewine Mair's feature story on the big Scot in this issue.
N
IS FOR NERVES. Remember Tiger's yanked 3-wood into the water at the first hole on the first day at the 2006 match at the K Club? Make no mistake, even the world's best are affected by Ryder Cup butterflies. As Hale Irwin once said: "It's totally different playing for the team than playing for yourself – nothing comes close to the pressure of the Ryder Cup."
O
IS FOR ONE-SIDED. Europe's biggest victory came in 2004 at Oakmont Country Club when Bernhard L a n ger's tea m wh ipp ed Tom Lehman's Americans by 18 1/2 to 9 1/2, a score they replicated two years later at the K Club. America's finest hour came at Walton Heath in 1981. Fielding the likes of Trevino, Crenshaw, Miller, Watson and Nicklaus, the US, captained by Dave Marr, cruised to an 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 point thrashing. European captain John Jacobs knew his team were up against it from the start. "Go easy on us, Dave," he said to Marr during the opening ceremony.
P
IS FOR PLANT POT. The 1993 match at The Belfry ended in a narrow win for the Americans, but only after a bizarre nighttime incident that ruled out European Sam Torrance from the final day singles. Torrance, who sank the winning putt at the same venue eight years previously, managed to crack his sternum after sleepwalking into a stone plant pot the night before and was forced to sit out the all important final day.
Q
I S FO R “ QU I E T, PLE A S E ”, t h e traditional call for calm by marshals and caddies after the crowd reacts to a made or missed putt at the Ryder Cup. It’s a next to useless gesture however. Ryder Cup galleries are as partisan as they come, and while the spirit in which both the crowds follow the proceedings is now considered very good, there roars that go up whenever a home team player does something spectacular are louder than at any other tournament in the game.
R
IS FOR RYDER (SAMUEL), the golf-mad English entrepreneur for who the Ryder Cup is named. Ryder, whose wealth stemmed from his idea of
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selling garden seeds in "penny packets", donated the Ryder Cup, a solid gold trophy, for the first biennial golf championship between the best professional golfers in the United States and Great Britain in 1927.
S
IS FOR SEVE BALLESTEROS, the focus of the European team for two decades and one of the driving forces behind their rejuvenation. The passionate Spaniard won five majors, but his competitive fires burned brightest when facing a team of 12 Americans. He won 20 matches and halved five out of a total of 37, but it was his 11 wins and two halves from 15 matches with countryman Jose Maria Olazábal that he will be best remembered for. Ballesteros was so enamoured with the Ryder Cup concept he instigated the Seve Trophy between Continental Europe and Great Britain and Ireland in 2000 and the event has gone from strength to strength.
T U
IS FOR TIED. There has only been two tied matches in the history of the competition – in 1969 at Royal Birkdale and in 1989 at The Belfry, with the Americans retaining the Cup in the former and the Europeans in the latter. I S F O R U N L I K E LY H E R O E S . A characteristic of Europe's wins over the past 20-odd years has been t he emergence of litt le-k nown players making a name for themselves in pivotal last day singles matches – with Irish journeymen providing a remarkable number of the highlights. In 1987 it was the not-so-sweet swinging Eamonn Darcy who held off Ben HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010
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1997, Valderrama became the first course in continental Europe to host the Ryder Cup, which was won by a strong European side captained by Seve Ballesteros. While considered one of the finest layouts in the world, Valderrama's par-five seventeenth hole came under scrutiny due to the severity of the putting surface, which repelled umpteen balls into the greenside lake.
W
IS FOR WAGS, the wives and girlfriends of Ryder Cup players. Although they don't receive as much press attention as the WAGS of England's footballers, Ryder Cup WAGS are an important component of each side and vie against each other in what has become known as the 'War of the Wardrobes'. WAGS are also known as Stepford Wives: all white teeth, blonde hair and matching outfits. Sunglasses are optional. Crenshaw in the deciding match; two years later, Christy O'Connor Jr's brilliant 2-iron to the last hole earned a crucial win against Fred Couples which helped the Euros retain the Cup; while Philip Walton (1995) and Paul McGinley (2002) both stroked home Cup-winning putts. Another unknown who was thrust into the spotlight include Welshman Philip Price, who whipped Phil Mickelson at The Belfry in 2002.
V
IS FOR VALDERRAMA, the Robert Trent Jones-designed course located in Sa n Roque in t he sout hern Spanish region of Andalusia. In
X
IS FOR X-FACTOR, not the hideously awful television talent show but the unknown quantity that determines successful Ryder Cup sides. While one team may look weaker on paper than the other, that doesn't always translate into on-course failure (see the European sides of the eighties and the United States team of two years ago). Team spirit, camaraderie, luck, the sheer will to win – whatever it is, the X-Factor is sure to once again rear its head at Celtic Manor in October.
Y
IS FOR YIPPED PUTT, the most obvious example being Craig Stadler's mindboggling miss from less than two feet on the final hole of his and Curtis Strange's second day fourball match against Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle in 1985. The miss resulted in only a half point and Europe would take advantage, claiming the Cup the very next day for the first time since 1957.
Z
IS FOR ZINGER, nickname of American Ryder Cup stalwart Paul Azinger. Praised for his captaincy skills when leading the United States to victory in 2008, Azinger's never-say-die attitude was enhanced at the 2002 match at The Belfry when he played one of the finest shots in the match's history. With the Cup still hanging in the balance late in Sunday's single matches, Azinger found himself one down against Sweden's Niclas Fasth with only the treacherous eighteenth to play. Finding a greenside bunker with his approach, the feisty New Englander proceeded to brilliantly hole his sand shot for a winning birdie and a halved match. It was to no avail however, as Europe went on to claim victory. 38
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AFP (WAGS); courtesy of Valderrama Golf Club (Valderrama)
Sideshow: WAGS of the US team (above) in 2006; the controversial seventeenth hole at Valderrama, the first course in continental Europe to host the Ryder Cup
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