Last Sunday I was preparing for a quiet comfortable evening on my own. The Companion of My Life was away, enjoying a well deserved long weekend on the Cote d’Azur. At home I prepared, perhaps rather complacently, for an indulgent evening in front of the tv.
It was a very pleasant prospect. What could be better than watching Europe coast to an easy win in the Ryder Cup? And not just a win but a rare away win. By the end of the evening who knows? I might even weaken and break the habit of a lifetime by wickedly sipping a classy malt on my own.
Sadly my supply of Springbank is currently exhausted, though the huge contribution to Europe’s imminent triumph made by Irish team members probably made an Irish tipple more appropriate. I haven’t yet sourced the right Midleton Very Rare, to which I was introduced a few weeks ago by Frank Casey Jnr. This didn’t prevent me from fantasising about toasting Rory as he sank a birdie putt, maybe on the 16th green, to clinch a memorable European victory.
At this moment the doorbell rang. On a Sunday afternoon it could only be a fellow resident of the block which has been my London home for 39 years. A visitor couldn’t have reached my front door unannounced. I opened up and was delighted to see my friend and neighbour Amanda, whose husband Ed has been the leading light in the European Ryder Cup organisation for three decades and was therefore on duty across the pond at Bethpage.
Amanda explained that her tv didn’t have access to Sky Sports and asked if she could join me when the final day’s singles began at 5 pm London time. That solved the drink problem because there was just time to chill a bottle of champagne and smarten up in preparation for my glamorous guest.
Once the golf got under way the Europeans started exactly as they’d left off the previous evening. Blue names soon appeared on the leader boards. By 6.30 Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg were all ahead in their matches.
What could possibly go wrong, Amanda and I thought? We agreed it was time to open the fizz and began chatting about a variety of subjects other than golf while casually keeping no more than half an eye on the screen. Rose soon surrendered his lead and John Rahm lost the first hole and then the second as well. His putt to win the third stayed obstinately above ground. So what, we shrugged, scarcely noticing.
Then Rory McIlroy, up against Scottie Scheffler who’d been struggling all week to find his best form, ominously lost his fourth hole to slip back to “tied” in the modern parlance. Never mind, Europe was still ahead in four of the first eight matches. On tv someone someone reassuringly observed that it was “just the start captain Luke Donald would have been looking for.” Clearly, then, nothing to worry about. Amanda and I confidently downed another generous slurp of fizz.
In the top match Justin Rose, a hero on Friday and Saturday, suddenly lost two holes to Cam Young, an unwelcome reminder of how quickly a one up lead can change to one down. Offsetting this, however, Matt Fitzpatrick swiftly moved to 5 up against Bryson DeChambeau.
Nick Dougherty took over the tv commentary. “Not a lot to do for Europe to win the Ryder Cup away for the fifth time in history,” he said complacently. “History could be in the making. Just two and a half points required from twelve singles.”
Alongside Nick in the commentary box, Dame Laura Davies was worried about the fate of Rasmus Hojgaard, the only rookie in the European side. He’d lost the one match he’d played in so far and was off to a bad start on Sunday, bogeying the first hole, one of the easiest on the course. “It’s important to him,” she said speaking the obvious, “to try and get at least a half for his own personal enjoyment”.
As for the US team, Laura suggested that Europe shouldn’t “try to humiliate the Americans but to set a record”. Listening to what sounded to me rather over confident comments made me feel uneasy but I kept my fears to myself. With four matches still showing blue on the scoreboards there wasn’t really anything to worry about.
Nick appeared to be thinking along the same lines as Laura. He suggested it “might be easy for people at home watching to think ‘this’ll be over soon’. What is there to play for?” He went on to answer his own question, continuing “From a European perspective there’s an element of not just wanting to win but to do it in some serious fashion”.
In golf as in life, however, there’s an umbilical chord joining hubris to nemesis. An hour passed and the US was up in three matches and Europe only in two. Amanda and I began to pay closer attention to the leader boards. Soon afterwards Rory left a putt for a half in bogey short of the hole and the US went up in four. Scary thoughts entered the minds of European fans. If Rory is making double bogeys could the unthinkable happen?
Suddenly the US team caught fire and mounted a very courageous and almost unbelievable recovery. On the lightning fast greens their putts start to drop the way the European ones had done on the first two days. Momentum is far more important in match play than in the endless diet of medals which provide most of the huge riches earned by today’s professionals, and it had now switched away from Europe to the US.
Every golfer who’s squandered a good lead knows how pressure mounts once the fear of losing replaces confidence in winning. Amanda and I watched more and more anxiously from the edge of our seats. The champagne was finished so I offered alternative refreshment. Amanda declined it but I reached for the whisky decanter as the US moved to being up in five matches and Europe only in two. It was now clear that many matches were likely to go to the final hole.
First there was Cam Young who finally defeated the courageous Justin Rose in a great battle which did credit to both players. This was soon followed when the calm Justin Thomas birdied the 18th to beat the previously all-conquering Fleetwood and win a second point for the US. Next Matt Fitzpatrick’s 5 up lead over DeChambeau evaporated into a tied match. Rory McIlroy looked drained as he succumbed to Scottie Scheffler, both playing far from their best and John Rahm suffered his worst defeat of the week.
So it went on, agonisingly tense, until finally Shane Lowry holed a very missable putt to clinch the tie which ensured that Europe retained the Ryder Cup. Moments later Tyrell Hatton and Robert Macintyre also delivered ties which gave Europe the satisfaction of winning, rather than merely retaining, the trophy.
Enormous credit is due to the US players for their very brave final day comeback which produced a far closer outcome than almost anyone was predicting overnight. Had they succeeded it would have deservedly gone into history as one of the greatest recoveries of all time. Unfortunately, though, this contest will also be remembered for a darker side about which much has already been said and written.
Luke Donald’s captaincy contributed significantly to Europe’s success. On Sunday he wisely deployed Thomas Bjorn, one of his vice-captains and a former winning Ryder Cup captain himself, to stay close to Rory McIlroy for the whole of his match on that afternoon. Bjorn was accurately described as “a very intimidating presence, arms folded, looking out for Rory”. Though Rory eventually lost his single I’m sure he benefited from the proximity of such an experienced and senior figure.
I’ve attended two Ryder Cups on the other side of the pond. One was at Oak Hill in 1995, the scene of another away win, and the other at Valhalla in 2008. At neither of these did the behaviour descend to anywhere near the level seen at Bethpage. The next test will occur not at Adare Manor in County Limerick in 2027 but at Hazeltine in 2029. Let’s hope the lessons of last weekend will be heeded.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The unfolding drama last Sunday was a reminder that in golf you should never ever anticipate. Actually no reminder should be necessary. By Sunday morning the US were in the unfamiliar position of underdogs. A failure by Europe to close the door would have had a devastating impact on the whole team. There’s a good chance that the event itself will emerge stronger as a result of what happened at Bethpage.
REMINDER
ONLY FRIENDS will in future be posted once a month
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.