This century or that, Irish can bear the unreal pressure for Ryder Cup
If we calculate the amount of contributions made to the Ryder Cup, then the Irish can be put in the top spot for playing a huge part in Europe’s grandeur event.
Let us move way back in history and start from the record. Recall the defeat of Ben Crenshaw. He was beaten by Eamonn Darcy in 1987, whose victory was the first ever by any European on American soil. It was achieved at the final hole of the green.
Two years later, a 14-14 draw took birth after Christy O’Connor and Ronan Rafferty both won at The Belfry. The win was at the last hole and both retained the trophy.
Stepping into the current century, Paul McGinley won the Cup at the Sutton Coldfield by playing his putt on the last hole. This was in 2002 and the American side was crushed by the Europeans with the help of two exceptional players, Harrington and McGinley.
In 2004 at K Club, another star shined as Darren Clarke displayed an all-glimmered performance, just a month after his wife’s death.
If you are bored with this century, then let us move back to the previous one. In 1995, Philip Walton was like a winning card for the Europeans. Unlike many golfers and if you consider winning to be everything, then nearly everything depended on this golfer.
At the beginning of the event, with R1 and R2 at Oak Hill, Walton played only once. The point is; it led to losing the Sunday morning foursomes, which had Ian Woosnam face to face with Loren Robert and Peter Jacobson.
The European side trailed behind with two points when it entered the singles, after which saw the spectacular Corey Pavin chip-in. If you are wondering that who was the last to put out, then the answer is obvious; Walton along with Per-Ulrik Johansson.
Walton was then seen playing against Johansson and Jay Haas, whereas the whole competitive aura had two things in mind. The celebrations could either go in the American hands or they could well end up hinging on one or both of them. The end saw the second
statement come true and Walton was seen in the hot-seat.
With 3 still to play, Walton was leading by three in hands and had the pressure of the world on him. Well at least the European side if not the whole world. The 16th hole was won by Walton while he claimed a bogey at the 17th.
When Walton was asked to comment, he said that after this bogey he had thought that he was a goner as this might have been the end of the game but a wake-up call by his friend, Sam Torrance, changed the scenario.
The shot played by Jay was a terrible one. The difficulty was that there were a lot of people leaning over the ropes and all Walton needed to do was to hit above them so that the ball could reach the fairway but he just couldn’t bring himself in killing
some from the crowd. What the 48 year old did at the Oak hill is something that nobody can take away from him and as people say, once a Ryder Cup hero always a Ryder Cup hero.
Walton had said that you need a heart of steel to play such a game. Golf is a game of precision with intense mental pressure and considering the contributions by the Irish, some would say that they have the heart to bear the unreal pressure.
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