Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2016 - 38

U.S. Captain Ben Crenshaw with the
Ryder Cup trophy after victory at
the 33rd Ryder Cup matches held at
The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.,
Sept. 26, 1999.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson at the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.
Ryder Cup captains don't always get
credit for making good pairings, but
they certainly hear about it when their
decisions don't work out.
Good Pairings and Bad Chemistry
The Ryder Cup captains don't always get credit for making good
pairings in team competition, but they certainly hear about it
when their decisions don't work out. In 2004 at Oakland Hills
Country Club near Detroit, U.S. captain Hal Sutton thought to
form a super team of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to create
some points for the U.S. and some excitement for the fans.
He failed on both accounts.
The two golfers, both at the height of their powers in golf,
had always exhibited an uneasy friendship, and it was on full
display on the fi rst tee Friday morning.
Woods and Mickelson lost 2 and 1 to Montgomerie and Pa1969
U.S. team (left to right): Sam Snead (non-playing captain), Lee Trevino,
Raymond Floyd, Gene Littler, Ken Still, Frank Beard, Dave Hill, Dan Sikes, Miller
Barber, Billy Casper, Dale Douglass, Tommy Aaron, and Jack Nicklaus.
needed a jolt, and there is nothing like taking down kingpins to
help turn things around.
Two Americans-captain's pick Chip Beck and rookie John
Cook-making their fi rst appearance in the matches on Saturday
afternoon, took on the juggernaut pairing of Nick Faldo
and Colin Montgomerie, one of the Europeans' best teams in
its history. The Americans were down by three points when the
session began, and Cook and Beck were the fi rst team out. They
won 2-up when Faldo hit his approach on 18 to 7 feet and Cook
hit his to 3. Faldo missed the putt and conceded the match-
which propelled the U.S. to three wins in that session and to a
15-13 win the next day. It is the last time the U.S. team has won
on European soil.
36
MINNESOTAGOLFER Directory 2016
draig Harrington in the morning four-balls, and by the same
margin to Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood in the afternoon
foursomes. It put the entire U.S. team in a funk that it never
recovered from (losing convincingly 18 ½ to 9 ½), and this twosome
never played together again.
Compare that to the Euros' " Spanish Armada " -Jose Maria
Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros-who were paired 15 times in
team play during the period of 1987-1993, and lost only two
matches. Such a pairing makes the job of Ryder Cup captain
look like genius. The Woods/Mickelson duo? Not so much.
Incredible Comeback or Epic Collapse?
The players say there is nothing quite like Ryder Cup pressure-
it can fuel implausible performances and bring the most steely
competitors to their knees. There are two recent Ryder Cup
matches that feature amazing come-from-behind wins that can
be considered incredible comebacks or epic collapses, depending
on your perspective.
In 2012 at Medina Country Club outside Chicago, the Euros
trailed the Americans 10-6 going into Sunday's single matches.
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