The past 20 years dominate the Ryder Cup's memorable moments.
By BOB HARIG
Published September 15, 2004
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - The Ryder Cup is filled with memorable moments, both good and bad. It has seen top players melt under the glare while unknowns shined for perhaps the only time in their careers. It has produced gut-wrenching pressure despite playing for pride and not a paycheck.
The 35th Ryder Cup begins Friday at Oakland Hills Country Club in suburban Detroit, and there no doubt will be plenty of nerves on the first tee.
That is the nature of the event, which has been hotly contested for much of the past two decades. Although the Ryder Cup had its share of memorable moments in the early years, the event was dominated by the Americans, who won all but four (one was a tie) through 1983.
Things began to change in the early 1980s, after all of continental Europe was added to what had been a Great Britain and Ireland team. England's Tony Jacklin took over the captaincy for four Ryder Cups and brought a change in attitude to the European side.
The result has been a virtual deadlock in the matches, with one tie, four victories for the U.S. and five wins for Europe. Here is a look at five of the most memorable moments over the past two decades of Ryder Cup play.
WADKINS AVERTS UPSET: Four years after all of Europe was added to the Ryder Cup, the Americans learned just how intense the competition would become in 1983 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens. After two days, the Ryder Cup was tied at 8, and the teams still were tied after 10 singles matches Sunday.
It wasn't until Lanny Wadkins salvaged a tie with Spain's Jose Maria Canizares at the par-5 finishing hole by hitting a 60-yard wedge shot to within a foot of the hole that the Americans could breathe easy. Wadkins had been 3-down with seven holes to play.
"It was the most pressure I have ever felt in making one shot," Wadkins said.
His half-point meant the United States would retain the Cup. And when Tom Watson won the final match with a 2 and 1 victory over Bernard Gallacher, the United States had won by a single point, 141/2 to 131/2.
"It's a shame it wasn't a tie," U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus said afterward. "I felt a bit like Tony and me back in 1969 (when Nicklaus conceded a par putt to Jacklin, meaning a 16-16 tie). I wanted to win, but I guess it was more like I didn't want to lose."
O'CONNOR SHAKES COUPLES: Tied with long-hitting Fred Couples coming to the final hole of the 1989 matches at the Belfry in England, Ireland's Christy O'Connor was at a huge disadvantage. Despite a good drive at the final hole, he was 240 yards away, while Couples had rocketed a drive that left him with just a 9-iron in.
"Coming down the fairway (European captain) Tony Jacklin said to me, "If you put him under pressure, I promise you will win the hole and the match. Just have a good swing.' That's all I thought about. I had a big 2-iron, I made a good turn and just hit it."
O'Connor's shot stopped 4 feet from the hole, and Couples, flustered, hit his 9-iron approach well right of the green. O'Connor's birdie gave him a 1-up victory and helped earn a 14-14 tie, meaning the Cup stayed in Europe.
CALC'S CHOKE: The 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island, S.C., was among the most intense. Europe had retained the Cup for three straight matches, and U.S. captain Dave Stockton was determined to get it back.
Mark Calcavecchia, however, showed just how pressure-filled the event had become. The 1989 British Open champion, Calcavecchia had a then-unknown Colin Montgomerie 4-down with four holes to play. That meant a simple tie on any of the remaining holes would mean a valuable point for the Americans.
But Calcavecchia could not get it done, losing all four holes to Montgomerie. The par-3 17th was particularly ugly. After Monty had already hit his tee shot in the water, Calcavecchia stepped up and shanked his. Incredibly, he lost the hole, then the 18th, too. Had Germany's Bernhard Langer made a 6-footer on the last hole, Calcavecchia's blown half-point would have meant the difference. Instead, the Americans got by with a 141/2 to 131/2 victory.
"I just freaked out for no reason," Calcavecchia said years later. "I just took it way too personal. I felt like the weight of the world was on me when, in fact, it's just a game. One guy does not win or lose a Ryder Cup, but I just felt my finish had cost us the Ryder Cup, and that's when I had a hard time."
LEONARD'S PUTT: Given his remarkable birdie putt on the 17th green during the 1999 Ryder Cup at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., it is easy to forget that Justin Leonard never has won a Ryder Cup match. But that birdie against Jose Maria Olazabal meant a half-point and clinched the Cup for the United States.
Of course, there was much more to it than that. After the ball went into the hole, members of the American team and their wives went bounding across the green in celebration. Never mind that Olazabal still had a putt of his own to try to tie.
"A great putt, indeed, but what followed was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen," assistant European captain Sam Torrance said.
Leonard had been four down with six holes to play but fought back to square the match through 16 holes.
The celebration, to this day, still rankles the Europeans.
"It was overexuberance, no question about it," American Tom Lehman said. "But that was no ill will intended. Sometimes you get carried away. That was a great, great putt Justin made and we just reacted instinctively."
PHIL'S FLOP: Few Americans played well during the final round of the 2002 Ryder Cup at the Belfry in England, but Phil Mickelson's performance against Wales' Phillip Price was particularly distressful for the United States.
Price pulled off a stunning upset, knocking off the No. 2 player in the world 3 and 2, a huge victory for the Europeans on their way to a 151/2 to 121/2 win. Price, 35 at the time, was a journeyman pro with a total of two European titles to his name. Price did not make bogey in his match with Mickelson. Moments after Price closed out Mickelson, Paul McGinley sank the clinching putt for the Europeans.
"Out of the shadows come heroes," captain Torrance said. "And that's where Phillip Price and Paul McGinley came. I couldn't be more proud."
