article by Nicola Pucci
The year is 1985, and for the 26th edition of the Ryder Cup, that’s for sure, a moment destined for golf immortality needs to be recorded.
It is played at Brabazon Course di The Belfryin Wishaw, Warwickshire, England, September 13-15, e the team from Europeinvolved for the fourth time after it was decided in 1979, in order to restore a minimum of lifeblood to an event like the Ryder Cup which was suffering a bit due to the inviolability of the American team, that the United States would not only be challenged by the best golfers in the United Kingdom, as has happened since the debut edition, in 1927, is ready to interrupt a stars-and-stripes series that has lasted since 1957. And you will soon discover that he will succeed, signing for the first time the roll of honor of the most prestigious team golf competition.
For the occasion, Captain Tony Jacklin fields a team of which 9 players are included by right in the European Tour rankings, namely the Scots Sandy Lyle, fresh from success at the Open Championship, and Sam Torrence, the Welshman Ian Woosnam, the German Bernhard Langer, winner of the Masters, the English Paul Way and Howard Clark, and the Spaniards Severiano Ballesteros, Manuel Piñero and José Maria Canizaresselected at the end of Benson & Hedges International Open which on August 18th not only declared Lyle himself the winner but also rejected the illusions of being part of Christy O’Connor Jr.’s Europa team, which by missing the cut was overtaken in the rankings by Canizares himself. Nick Faldo and Ken Brown, one English, the other Scottish, were chosen, as expected, by Jacklin, while the last name called by the selector, the Spaniard José Rivero, arouses some surprisewho at the age of 29 plays the role of Ryder Cup rookie, the only one without experience in the European team competition.
Lee Trevino, called as captain of the United States team, instead relies on Andy North and Hubert Greenwho earned their place by virtue of victories in two tournaments MajorUS Open e PGA Championship, mentre the other 10 members of the team are in turn selected from the ranking produced by the PGA Tour, responding to the names of Curtis Strange, Lanny Wadkins, Raymond Floyd, Calvin Peete, Craig Stadler, Tom Kite, Fuzzy Zoeller and the three rookies Mark O’Meara , Hal Sutton and Peter Jacobsin.
We play, ed on Friday morning, with 4 foursomes, the Iberian couple made up of Ballesteros and Piñero brought home the first point by beating 2&1 Strange and O’Meara, before the United States scored a trio of successes thanks to the effectiveness of Peete/Kite, Wadkins /Floyd and Stadler/Sutton.
In the afternoon the 4 four-ball opens with Europe scoring two points thanks to Way and Woosnam (1 up against Zoeller and Green) and the very close-knit Ballesteros and Piñero (2&1 against North and Jacobsen)and if the match between Langer/Canizares and Stadler/Sutton ends in a draw, the last victory of the evening by Floyd and Wadkins against Torrence and Clark (1 up) sends the two teams back to the clubhouse with the score of 41⁄2 to 31⁄2 for the United States.
On Saturday, as scheduled, the order of the type of matches to be played is reversed, 4 four-ball in the morning and 4 foursomes in the afternoon. AND after Europe secured two capital points thanks to Torrence and Clark who beat Kite and North (2&1) and Way and Woosnam who do the same with Green and Zoeller (4&3)and O’Meara and Wadkins imposed their first defeat on Ballesteros and Piñero (3&2), Stadler’s putting error on the 18th hole from just under half a meter forced the Americans to settle for a draw in the last match of the morning against Langer and Lyle, which ended with the two teams at 6-6.
Europe is in the running, and in the afternoon he even had the opportunity to extend with three resounding successes from Canizares/Rivero (4&3 against Kite/Peete), from Ballesteros/Pinero (5&4 against Stadler/Sutton) and from Langer/Brown (3&2 against Floyd/Wadkins)and if Strange and Jacobsen do better than Way and Woosnam (4&2), in the evening the score of 9-7 in favor of Europe opens up interesting scenarios for captain Jacklin’s team at the dawn of the 12 decisive match-play matches on Sunday. For which, strategically, the European captain decides to deploy his most reliable cards midway through the match, launching the less experienced golfers at the start of the day.
Effectively the dominance of the Europeans is absolutely not called into question, given that Pinero, who will ultimately be the most productive of the Europa team with 4 points won, dominates Wadkins3&2, scoring three decisive birdies on holes 10, 11 and 15, Way, Lyle and Langer enforce the law of the strongest, surpassing Floyd, Jacobsen and Sutton in that orderand if Stadler beats Woosnam and Ballesteros snatches the draw from Kite after a long chase and holing two sensational putts from a sidereal distance, it’s up to Sam Torrence, a 32-year-old Scot with already 11 successes on the European Tour and a fifth place at the 1981 Open Championship as the best result in a Major tournament, to take on the role of hero, recovering from 3 down and on the last hole shooting a masterpiece teeshot that lands right in the fairway. And while his opponent North, goes into the water, that’s it for Torrence the walk towards the green, reached with a magnificent second shot, is equivalent to a triumphal walkwayin the rejoicing of the public The Belfrywhich now breathes the fragrant breath of final victory. The Scot’s hand does not tremble, and by holing the 6 meter putt on the 18th hole which allows him to beat (1 up) his American rival, he ensures the team point number 141⁄2.
The image of Sam Torrence throwing his arms in the air after that final putt is one of the most iconic snapshots in the Ryder Cup encyclopedia. And it means, gentlemen, that for the first time in history Europe has won the most coveted cup.
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