NEWS AND NOTES
U.S. Comes Undone at 17
Posted: Wed October 1, 1997
During the Ryder Cup's final practice round, on Sept. 25,
European captain Seve Ballesteros ordered his superstar foursome
of Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie and Lee
Westwood back to the 17th tee after their first try at the hole
failed to impress him. SEVE? HE CRAZY! scolded the headline in
the following day's London Daily Mail, but the newspaper had it
only half right. What it should have added to the headline was
LIKE A FOX because Ballesteros apparently has known for some
time what both teams eventually found out: The 17th would be the
Ryder Cup's pivotal hole.
It was on this awkward 511-yard par-5 that Langer closed out
Brad Faxon for the point that kept the Cup in Europe. That
two-putt par, however, barely rates mention given all the other
drama that went down on 17. "That hole has been the difference,"
said Scott Hoch after Saturday's play.
Because the par-4 18th was relatively benign and generally
halved, winning 17 was crucial. Four times during pairs, the
Europeans won 17, then closed out the Americans on 18; a U.S.
pair won the hole once. During a high-testosterone second day of
four-ball, Faldo, Westwood, Mark O'Meara and Tiger Woods all
reached the green in two. Westwood's two-iron from 235 yards to
six feet was one of the brassiest shots of the Cup, and Woods
and O'Meara were eventually forced to concede the eagle putt,
ending their match 2 and 1.
Earlier that day Montgomerie and Darren Clarke took the lead for
good in their four-ball match against Fred Couples and Davis
Love III at 17 when Montgomerie made an eight-foot birdie putt.
Ever the curmudgeon, Montgomerie could be seen brushing off
Ballesteros as Seve tried to dispense advice before the decisive
putt. "Sometimes Seve would be better off staying in his buggy
and watching, especially on the 17th,'' said Montgomerie.
The first Sunday singles match to reach the 17th was between
Justin Leonard and Thomas Bjorn. Both laid up and wedged to
within seven feet. On their ensuing putts, only Bjorn found the
bottom of the cup, for a birdie that gave him his first lead.
Leonard, who had won the first four holes, came back to win 18,
but halving the match instead of winning it went a long way
toward aborting the furious U.S. comeback. Although both Hoch
and Lee Janzen later won the 17th, it didn't matter. The damage
had already been done.
Issue date: October 6, 1997
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