RYDER CUP 2008 HISTORY you the opportunity.” Although 1969 was the first time since 1957 that the Americans failed to win the Cup outright, it did not prove to be a watershed in GB&I’s fortunes. The seventies witnessed victory after crushing victory for the might of American golf. Had Nicklaus not written to Lord Derby, then president of the PGA, suggesting the inclusion of top European players in the GB&I team, the Ryder Cup might have ceased to exist. Even Nicklaus could not have foreseen the revival this move would trigger. Yet the change did not yield immediate results. The 1981 match, at Walton Heath, resulted in the most overwhelming US victory on British soil. Indeed, in perhaps the strongest Ryder Cup line-up ever assembled, Bruce Lietzke was the only American who never won a major. In retrospect, the 1983 match at the PGA National course in Florida signalled the long-awaited turning point. Europe still lost – 14.5-13.5 – but they showed a marked difference in attitude. This was largely inspired by two people – captain Jacklin and Seve Ballesteros, who became the on-course lieutenant. Jacklin assured everyone that 1983 was no one-off. “One thing is for certain, these matches are going to be as close as this from now on. There will be no more American walkovers,” he said. The abiding image from 1985 is of Sam Torrance standing on The Belfry’s 18th green, arms aloft and tears running down his cheeks. Once again, Ballesteros was the inspiration, bolstering his team-mates’ confidence and guiding fellow Spaniard Manuel Pinero to three victories out of four. After winning the last four holes to halve his singles match with Kite, the Amercian observed: “He hit shots I never even dream about.” There was little in it prior to the singles, traditionally the Americans’ domain, but five matches were still on the course when Torrance holed the putt which came to symbolise the moment the Ryder Cup was reinvented. The 1987 match at Muirfield Village, the course that Jack Nicklaus built, was billed on the other side of the Pond as a return to the norm. No visiting team had won in America, and it was widely felt that with Nicklaus as captain on his own course, and a strong US side, there would be no repeat of 1985. However, Jacklin had learned the art of steering his men to victory. Four points to the good after day one and five up after day two, Europe required just four out of a possible 12 to win for the second successive time. However, with only one point from the first seven matches, the tension was mounting and much hinged on Eamonn Darcy’s match against Ben Crenshaw. What made it worse for Darcy, other than the pressure of trying to win the Ryder Cup, was that his opponent was using his wedge on the greens because he had broken his putter on the sixth hole. Darcy somehow managed to ignore all these factors and clinched the vital point by holing a downhill six-footer on the last green. Ballesteros then secured Europe’s first triumph on American soil to confirm his captain’s view that he was “the best golfer in the world”. Europe retained the trophy with a 14-14 tie at The Belfry in 1989 but two years later saw the balance of power shift back Stateside at Kiawah Island. Despite the partisan crowd, the outcome was only decided by the last match on the last green. In an image as memorable as that of Torrance in 1985, Bernhard Langer stood, back arched and staring heavenward, after missing a six-foot putt that would have halved the entire contest and retained the trophy. In 1993 at The Belfry, Europe were a point to the good going into the singles only to surrender a couple of tight but ➤ Above Justin Leonard celebrates after holing the crucial putt on the 17th hole at Brookline in 1999 Opposite page (Top to bottom right) The Great Britain & Ireland team in 1969; the 1933 scoreboard; Walter Hagen in 1933; Tony Jacklin and Jack Nicklaus after the first tied match in 1969 CLASSIC SPORTS SERIES / 185