Despite where Team USA stood on Sunday morning going into the singles matches, I still eagerly awaited the final day of the Ryder Cup. I attended and covered the ‘Miracle at Brookline’ in 1999 when the USA stormed back against the Euros, highlighted by Justin Leonard’s birdie putt on the 17th hole, to claim the Cup against unprecedented odds. Unlike ’99 USA Captain Ben Crenshaw’s famed premonition of “I’ve got a good feeling about this,” bewildered captain Keegan Bradley made no eerie statement other than bringing up his beloved Patriots’ comeback to win the Super Bowl after being down 28-3 at halftime against the Falcons in 2017.
And unlikely as it seemed, USA almost pulled it off. Think about it: In his match against Shane Lowery, Brian Henley—known for his rock-solid putting—had an eight-foot birdie putt on 17 to win the match and claim another whole point for USA. Instead, he left the putt short, and the match went to 18 with Henley still one up. After a sensational shot from the fairway bunker, Henley had a 10-foot birdie putt to grab a full point. Sadly, he left it short again and opened the door wide for Lowery to be a Ryder Cup hero by gaining the desperately needed 1/2 point to ensure the Europeans would retain the Cup. Seizing the moment, he poured it in.
It must have been terrible for Henley to endure that moment. Though a five-time Tour winner, Henley was a Ryder Cup rookie while Lowery was playing in his third. Ryder Cup pressure is enormous and unlike that of any other tournament because you’re playing for your team and your country. Even Henley’s claw grip on a putter couldn’t handle the nerves.
Adding to the anguish of an almost miraculous comeback was Sam Burns also giving up a 1/2 point when he was 1-up on the 18th tee against Robert MacIntyre. Like Henley, his drive found the bunker, but his second shot spun back off the green and onto the front fringe, leaving him a long putt to the back cup. When Burns failed to get it up and down, MacIntyre’s simple par meant the Europeans won the Cup outright.
It was that close to an unbelievable upset on Sunday, and it was oh so doable.
Keegan Bradley
But as it was repeatedly said, after a disastrous loss on the first two days, the USA was simply too far behind against a veteran Ryder Cup team. In fact, 11 of the 12 Europeans were returning from their triumph in Rome two years prior. The USA had four Ryder Cup rookies and a rookie captain in Bradley, who had never been a vice-captain either. Europe crushed the USA in the foursome and four-ball competition.
However, the bigger picture is that the Ryder Cup means significantly more to Europe than to the USA. A player’s legacy in European golf is defined by his mettle in the Ryder Cup. Witness the stature of Tony Jacklin, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Poulter. And Europe is kilometers ahead of the USA in terms of organization, attention to detail, and preparing its captains to lead.
Along with another loss, Team USA and the PGA of America must also suffer the embarrassment of rowdy and deplorable spectator behavior at Bethpage Black. Again, a small minority were culprits. Still, they contributed to staining the ideals of spirited but fair-minded competition. Fueled often by alcohol, some fans crossed the line by disrupting play and competitors’ concentration—particularly on Saturday. Even Rory McIlroy’s wife was subject to abuse: she had a beer tossed at her and was repeatedly taunted with cruel barbs and chants. How low can you go?
Sadly, such coarse behavior isn’t breaking news. Brookline in 1999 saw similar out-of-line antics. Montgomerie was subjected to so much personal verbal abuse that his father was forced to leave the course. And don’t forget how bad the galleries could be at the Buick Open at its par-three 17th hole, which foreshadowed the annual chaos at the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
What wasn’t foreseen was how a PGA of America-appointed emcee (a comedienne, by trade) somehow thought it appropriate to join the crowd at Bethpage with an obscenity-laden chant about McIllroy. How low can you go?
Leave it to Bobby Jones and the Masters to have the last word on the matter, written in 1967:
“In golf, customs of etiquette and decorum are just as important as rules governing play. It is appropriate to applaud successful strokes in proportion to difficulty but excessive demonstrations by a player or his partisans are not proper because of possible effect on other competitors.
“Most distressing to those who love the game of golf is the applauding or cheering of misplays and misfortunes of a player.”
Even Jones couldn’t envision what happened at Bethpage.
