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A silver lining

Comeback may prove to be best thing for Ryder Cup

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Posted: Tuesday September 28, 1999 01:04 PM

BROOKLINE, Mass. (CNN/SI) -- It was painful viewing for European golf fans, but perhaps one of the best things that ever could have happened to the Ryder Cup.

The United States' historic comeback at Brookline on Sunday gave them the most unlikely of victories and the last Ryder Cup of the 20th century.

They went into the final day trailing a rookie-loaded European side by four points. Mark James and his laid-back gang were a mere four points away from retaining their trophy. That would have been three in a row for Europe.

With the U.S. supposedly boasting 10 of the top 20 players in the world, favoritism was always going to rest on their shoulders. But then it always does. The Europeans are perennial underdogs.

So how damaging would it have been to this biannual competition if Europe had completed a third straight success and the big guns of the American Tour had been left to lick their wounds?

You have to believe the talk would have been of an American team who know all about individual success and nothing of team unity; of an American team whose leading players were involved in a cash dispute just last month at the PGA Championship; of an American team full of fat, rich cats who care less for patriotic duty than personal glory. All so damaging.

David Duval, the world's No. 2, once called the Ryder Cup an exhibition -- and yet Sunday he was exhibiting the kind of fist-pumping emotion never before seen from this multi-titled golfer. The rookie came of age.

At last he gets it. This is no exhibition. It's the most enthralling golf event in the world.

But another defeat for the Americans and I sense the likes of Duval would have played it down. One of those "OK, we lost" deals but really "it's no big deal".

The fans would have been disappointed and resentful. The media would have been merciless.

However, the U.S. charge on Sunday was simply scintillating. Europe could do nothing to stem the tide, however high Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie and Padraig Harrington tried to build the barricades. The crowd loved it. The American press here in Brookline delighted in it.

The Ryder Cup is American property for two more years. Their defense in England in 2001 will be more eagerly anticipated than ever before. Had they lost, the battle at the Belfry would have somehow lost some of its gleam. Now it can't come soon enough for vengeful Europeans.

This American victory ties the overall points record between the two teams in all Ryder Cup competitions over the last decade. It also keeps all of us aware, especially Americans who might otherwise attach less importance to this event in defeat than it warrants, that the Ryder Cup is golfing nirvana -- sports heaven.

An unprecedented third straight European victory just wasn't meant to be. A comeback of stunning proportions was the order of the day and a fantastic way to carry this magical confrontation into the new millenium.

 

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