The Best Remember The Ryder Cup
Combing through the "My Shot" and Golf Digest Interview archives has turned up some incredible Ryder Cup material. Here's what some of the best had to say
Over the years Golf Digest Senior Writer Guy Yocom has interviewed a number of Ryder Cup captains and players for his "My Shot" series and "The Golf Digest Interview." Some behind-the-scenes highlights on everything from pressure to gamesmanship to sportsmanship:
"You don't win three U.S. Opens without having some ability to handle pressure. But the 1991 Ryder Cup was another animal. I wasn't playing particularly well, and I'm playing Bernhard Langer, one of the toughest players of all time. As the day went on, it got more and more intense. By the time we reached the 17th hole, it became difficult to breathe. I was 1 up but missed the green with my tee shot. As I'm walking to the green I see Seve Ballesteros talking to a teammate in Spanish. Trying to keep things light, I say, 'Hey, Seve, what did you say?' He looked at me and says, 'I said, "Too bad you didn't knock it in the water." ' That didn't bother me at all. He's competitive. That's fine."
(On Langer's missed putt against Irwin that kept Europe from retaining the cup at Kiawah Island): "I'm glad I didn't have it. I wouldn't have wished that on anybody. But I will tell you who would have liked to have been in that position: Jack Nicklaus."
(On losing to the Europeans at Muirfield Village in 1987): "Muirfield was not nice. And [captain] Jack Nicklaus let us know about it when we finished. We had a little meeting before the dinner we had to go to that night, and Jack just wore us out. He told us, 'You guys just don't know how to win. How many matches were we leading going into 18 and didn't win them? Look at you, Payne Stewart. You make all this money on tour, but how many tournaments have you won? Why don't you win more?' He said, 'You guys need to learn how to win or you're going to continue getting beaten in this thing.' There wasn't any sugarcoating it. I'll tell you, that speech was good for me."
"In the Ryder Cup, one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel. In 1979 at The Greenbrier, we had a player who sabotaged any chance of our team putting up a fight. This guy didn't show up for team meetings, he disrespected the team captains, didn't stand up for the national anthems, didn't wear the right uniforms and wouldn't help his partners. He signed the menu at the team dinner, and then was told the menu was for a priest. He asked for the menu back and added, 'son of a bitch' after his name. The point is, the Ryder Cup is all about being a team, and this fellow only cared about himself."
"In 1985, Nick Faldo was going through a divorce. When the Ryder Cup got under way, he didn't look comfortable and lost his morning foursomes match. I took him aside after that and said, 'Nick, I've got a job to do. Do I send you out this afternoon, or do I sit you down?' Nick told me, very quietly, 'Sit me down.' It took enormous courage and humility for Nick to put himself aside. Now there is a team player."
"Paul Azinger was a constant thorn in my side. He was the best American player in my years as captain. Match play is in this man's blood. The better the player Azinger went up against, the better he played. Even Seve Ballesteros, who could intimidate almost anyone, couldn't faze Paul."
"After we won at The Belfry in 1985, the guys threw me in a swimming pool and ruined a very expensive suit. To tell the truth, it spoiled some of the thrill. When we won at Muirfield Village two years later, we visited a post-tournament party, and I left after two minutes. I went back to my hotel room, sat with my wife and reflected over a large whiskey."
"At the Ryder Cup at Kiawah in 1991, Steve Pate got hurt in a car accident and couldn't play, so our man in the envelope also had to sit out. That player was David Gilford. Our captain, Bernard Gallacher, bless his heart, chose me to inform Gilford he wouldn't be playing. When I broke the news, Gilford was absolutely gutted. I've never seen a man so broken. That's one part of the Ryder Cup I do not miss."
"There's no way I would have missed the two-footer Jack Nicklaus gave me for a tie in the 1969 Ryder Cup. But you'd better believe I sent him a thank-you note when it was over."
"The 1969 Ryder Cup had an element of intrigue not everybody knows about. You've heard how Jack Nicklaus conceded the putt to Tony Jacklin on the last hole on the last day, the competition ending up tied. [The U.S., as the defending champion, retained the Cup.] Jack has said that he conceded the putt purely out of sportsmanship, but I was on the team, and none of us players believed that. See, our captain that year was Sam Snead. He sat Jack down in the morning the first day and in the afternoon the second day because he didn't want Jack to get worn out. Jack wanted to play and was upset about being benched. Most of us believe Jack conceded the putt at least in part to get back at Sam. And it worked, because behind the scenes Sam was furious that Jack didn't make Jacklin hole that two-footer."
