European Revelry in 1988 Motivates U.S. in Ryder Cup

Hours after the meek Americans officially lost, the European revelry was in full swing on the pavilion adjacent to the 18th green.

The champagne-splattered T-shirts read “Super Seve” and “Slammin’ Sam” and “Aimin’ Darcy,” and the boisterous choruses of “We Won the Cup” flowed as freely as the bubbly two years ago at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

You got the feeling this little piece of The House That Jack Nicklaus Built was about to crumble as quickly as several U.S. players had under the pressure of their European foes.

The fans’ celebration followed the players’ Rockettes-style jig after Seve Ballesteros, Sam Torrance, Eamonn Darcy & Co. scored vital points to clinch a 15-13 Ryder Cup victory. It was the Americans’ first defeat on home soil and second consecutive loss in golf’s prestigious international competition.

From that moment, Professional Golfers’ Association Tour players wanted to have another shot at being considered the ’27 New York Yankees of professional golf, something they had been for decades since Samuel Ryder first formally conducted the biennial event the same year. That is in stark contrast to 1977, when Tom Weiskopf made the American team but opted to go on a hunting trip.

“I remember all those Europeans smiling, dancing around and looking cocky,” British Open winner Mark Calcavecchia said at last week’s Bank of Boston Classic. “They had a right to feel that way because they’d beat us in our own backyard, but the whole thing was sickening, just sickening. Right then and there I said, ‘Man, I’m back on this team in ’89 and we’re going over there and win.”’

Calcavecchia, a Ryder Cup rookie in ‘87, and 11 others will try to regain the cup Friday through Sunday at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England, site of the Europeans’ 1985 success, which ended a 28-year victory drought and began a golf renaissance on the other side of Atlantic.

Part of the Americans’ game plan will be to handle those sometimes-rowdy European fans, who can make the record 25,000 flag-waving partisans at Muirfield Village Golf Course seem like choir members.

“Four years ago, there was cheering for our bad shots,” said Tom Watson, one of captain Raymond Floyd’s two wild-card selections who played on victorious teams in ‘77, ’81 and ’83. “At least we are prepared for it this time. I think it really affected some of our players (in 1985).”

Mark O’Meara’s only Ryder Cup appearance was in 1985, and he also recalls the hometown hostility.

“They applauded misses, which was shocking at first, but it wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be. It was no more than you would expect if you were playing in someone else’s stadium,” O’Meara said. “Our job is to avoid all the hype and not try too hard. It’s good to be motivated, but let’s not let it consume us.

“I’ve talked to Ray several times, and the guys playing well will do most of the playing. That’s the way it should be and the way (the Europeans) do it. If we just play our game, I think we’ll be successful.

No one is more hyper then Canon-Greater Hartford Open champion Paul Azinger, a Ryder Cup rookie with Danbury, Conn., native Ken Green and Chip Beck. Azinger has had some celebrated run-ins with the British press and was more than a little rankled when European captain Tony Jacklin said Americans had no chance to win the 1988 British Open (Ballesteros won his third title).

“Everyone has been preparing to peak for this week. It’s a little like preparing for a major tournament,” said Azinger, whose second GHO victory in July enabled him to attain a yearlong goal to make the team. “The Americans are so much out to prove themselves that it’s like anger has taken over, which can alleviate the nerves. It’s not that we have anything against any individual, it’s just the whole idea of their claiming superiority.

“When you have something to prove, it takes away a little of the pressure. And, heck, the British bookies say we’re the underdogs.”

Floyd and his team (except U.S. Open winner Curtis Strange, who is competing in the Lancome Trophy in Paris) met with President Bush and Vice President Quayle before heading for England.

The first team meeting was Monday; the first practice is Tuesday. Opening ceremonies are Thursday, and the first round of foursomes and four-ball is Friday.

The Americans have a 21-5-1 record, but they realize it’s time to put up or shut up in Britain’s version of the Super Bowl.

“There’s not much left to be said. Speech is one thing, golf is the other,” Calcavecchia said. “When we win, and I think we’re up to it, we’ll show better decorum than the Europeans did. At least I hope we do.”