Thoughts From Valhalla

Once more with feeling: players at a Thursday pep rally in Louisville. Photo: Sam greenwood/getty images

Still, it was impossible to envision past American captains such as Jack Nicklaus or Tom Watson advocating fans to applaud an opponent's misfortune, regardless of how much their inner competitor wanted to win. Much of the cheering for missed putts did feel like the atmosphere overseas, whether you like it or not, but one moment in Sunday's singles did feel ugly. After Garcia hit two balls in the water at the par-5 seventh to lose the hole and go 3 down to Anthony Kim, many fans cheered loudly. The sounds were exactly the same, but it brought to mind the reaction after Seve Ballesteros dunked his second shot on the 15th hole in the final round of the 1986 Masters.

Europe's Lee Westwood, who was irritated by Weekley in a Friday four-ball match when the American exhorted the gallery several times with the Englishman yet to putt, made peace with Weekley after he apologized and watched the timing of his antics in a Saturday four-ball rematch. "He didn't do it between the shots like he did yesterday, so he's obviously learned," Westwood said. "He apologized last night, which is the kind of man he is. He's a nice guy."

Westwood was less kind toward the bozo he said made a crank call to his hotel room early Sunday morning and the minority of fans who razzed him inappropriately during his singles loss to Ben Curtis, including someone in a ghost costume. "All of the abuse I got was fairly nasty," Westwood said. "That was only a minority, and the crowds were great. I expected them to get behind the American team, which they did, but some people don't know the difference between supporting their team and abusing the opposition."

There was no doubt where much of the full-volume support went, to Perry, Holmes and Weekley. Perry, who at 48 had built his whole season around making the team—and was heavily criticized for skipping the U.S. and British Opens as a result—went 2-1-1; Holmes, the 26-year-old long hitter who justified his captain's selection, was 2-0-1; Weekley, one of the tour's best ball-strikers and biggest characters, went 2-0-1. In all, the trio combined for six points while inspiring the partisan gallery to make some of its loudest noise.

Ken Perry, 84, shares a moment with son Kenny. Photo: Donald Miralle

Perry is a fixture in his native Franklin, Ky., where he is known for his good deeds and charitable giving. But after his performance last week, which included a 3-and-2 singles victory over Henrik Stenson in which he made seven birdies and an eagle despite hurting his arm on the ninth hole, Perry probably will be OK with people pausing briefly to recall his glorious week at Valhalla. Perry had an obsessive focus on making the Ryder Cup team, a quest that wasn't going well at all until he lost a playoff at the AT&T Classic in May. He won the Memorial tournament a couple of weeks later, followed by victories at the Buick Open and John Deere Classic. The Deere win was Perry's 12th career PGA Tour triumph, moving him past fellow Kentuckians Frank Beard, Bobby Nichols and the late Gay Brewer, who each won 11 times.

"There are very few men in golf who have the game to set a goal in January, go through tough times, then win three tournaments and come and deliver here like he did," Russ Cochran, another tour pro from the Bluegrass State, said Sunday. "When you draw it up and ask for it, and it comes your way and you step in and deliver, that is something pretty special."