A changing of the guard leaves Euros and fans of global golf waxing retrospective how the Atlantic’s tide has turned
S The Ryder Cup, despite its long history of star talent on both rosters such as Tiger Woods back in the day, is frequently won on the backs of young players and Euro upstarts.
42
DECEMBER 2021
BY TONY DEAR • CG EDITOR
ince we last met in the August issue, you, me and a huge TV audience made up of regular golf fans and general sports fans for whom the Ryder Cup might be the only golf they ever watch, have witnessed the most lop-sided Cup competition in living memory. Not once since continental European players joined the fray for the first time in 1979, and the total number of matches over the three days rose from 20 to 28, has either side finished 10 points clear. For this European native who will likely remain a fan of the Blue and Gold for life no matter how American my wife and children are, or how much I love living in the Pacific Northwest, it didn’t make for particularly pleasant viewing and really came as something of a shock. But then, not really. I’ve supported the English Premier League’s Southampton FC since I was 5-years old. After moving to Seattle in 2003, I quickly became a Mariners fan. I know the despair of following spectacularly unsuccessful professional sports teams. I know they are capable of winning and actually do sometimes, but I never expect them to. If Southampton is 3-0 up with five minutes to go, I always think the opposing team will manage to squeeze three, even four, past us before the referee blows for full-time. Likewise, if the Mariners are leading by five after eight and a half innings, I’m convinced the team we’re up against is going to ride a series of hits, walks, stolen bases and home runs all the way to a shocking 6-5 win. The first Ryder Cup I watched was in 1985 when Europe won for the first time, Sam Torrance holing the winning putt across the 18th green and Seve Ballesteros saying in a TV interview that he felt like he had “won another British Open.’’ Europe then won 10 of the next 16 Cups, amassing 236 points against the USA’s 212. Twice the European team secured three straight wins. And yet, not once during this 30-plus-year stretch did I ever feel like Europe was going to win. The scarcely imaginable feats achieved with smoke and mirrors would inevitably stop soon enough and the house that Seve built would come crashing down. cascadegolfer.com
