Lately, It Has Not Been an Easy Ryder for the U.S.

On the final hole of the 1969 Ryder Cup at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, Jack Nicklaus conceded a two-foot par putt to Tony Jacklin.

As a result, the Ryder Cup ended in a tie for the only time since it began as a biennial series matching the best golfers from the United States and Great Britain in 1927.

Today, 20 years since Nicklaus’ gracious gesture, the 28th Ryder Cup begins at the Belfry, a few miles north of Birmingham, with the 12 U.S. players willing to concede nothing, neither a decisive putt nor the overwhelming sentiment here that they have relinquished their position as the sport’s best to the Europeans.

Despite some of the obligatory media hype on both sides of the Atlantic, a competition that was begun to foster friendship between golfers from the United States and Great Britain, and was eventually extended to include all of Western Europe, has not become unfriendly.

There is little question, however, that the players approach it with considerably more resolve than they did in 1969.

Then, the United States had won 14 of the previous 17 Ryder Cups, including 12 of the last 13. It could afford a tie every 40 years or so. But in case some U.S. egos were damaged, they no doubt were soothed by seven straight victories that gave the Americans a 21-3-1 edge before the 1985 competition here at the Belfry.

The United States lost that year but rationalized it as just one of those weekends.

“There was a feeling of, ‘Oh well, it had to happen. It’s good for golf. They were lucky,’ ” said Ray Floyd, one of the players on that team. “You know, all the excuses.”

But in 1987, on Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village course at Dublin, Ohio, a U.S. team captained by the Golden Bear himself lost again. Not only was it the first time that the Americans had lost two straight, it was the first time they had lost in the United States.

“All of a sudden, it wasn’t luck, there weren’t any more excuses, and we felt that we were slipping down in the rankings of world golf,” Floyd said. “That’s what we’ve come to put right.”

As the non-playing captain of the U.S. team, Floyd has been wearing a red, white and blue visor this year that reads: “Bring Back the Ryder Cup.” But in a recent article, “The Battle of the Belfry,” Golf Digest put a World War II helmet on a drawing of Floyd and presented him as Gen. George S. Patton.

Not to be outdone, Golf magazine, in an article headlined “Bound for Glory,” gave the Patton treatment to one of the U.S. players, Mark Calcavecchia.

Since this is just golf, none of the players particularly embrace the war metaphors. But the Americans admit their goal is essentially the same as Patton’s: Victory in Europe.

HISTORY

There was team competition between the United States and Great Britain as early as 1921, but the first official Ryder Cup matches were played in 1927 at Worcester, Mass.

The competition was named for Sam Ryder, an Englishman who earned his fortune by selling penny packets of seeds to gardeners. A golf enthusiast, he donated the small gold cup, which was worth about $375 at the time.

The sides split the first four competitions, but British golf was devastated by World War II. In 1973, the Irish joined the cause against the Americans. But there was no serious challenge until 1979, when reinforcements came from all of Western Europe.

That was Nicklaus’ idea. Whose side is he on, anyway?

THE CAPTAINS

Even with the addition of players such as Seve Ballesteros of Spain and Bernhard Langer of West Germany, the Europeans did not threaten until 1983 at the PGA National Golf Club at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

There, on the final hole, Lanny Wadkins pitched from 70 yards to within 15 inches and then birdied, giving the United States a one-point victory. The U.S. captain, Nicklaus, kissed the ground from where Wadkins had pitched.

That was a case of the United States winning, not Europe losing. Credit for restoring the Europeans’ confidence went to their non-playing captain, Jacklin.

The man who returned respectability worldwide to English golf in 1970 with a U.S. Open championship treated the Europeans as what they were, professionals. They flew to the United States on the Concorde, stayed in a five-star hotel and had only the best in equipment and uniforms.

They lost that one but won the next two. Believing that was a good time to go out, Jacklin, 45, intended to quit after 1987. But, on the Concorde flight home, the European players insisted he remain for their attempt to win a third straight.

The last two years have been turbulent ones for him. He lost his wife of 22 years, Vivien, in an automobile accident and became fodder for the London tabloids when his association with a 16-year-old waitress was revealed. She later cashed in by revealing herself in a magazine centerfold.

Seeking stability, he married Astrid Waagen, the former wife of the Bee Gees’ drummer, but she had a miscarriage last December.

Planning to retire to a calmer life in Spain after this Ryder Cup, Jacklin has not lost his trademark brashness, saying, “I am 100% confident we will retain the trophy. It’s not going anywhere this week.”

One who disagrees is Floyd, 47, who is making his first appearance as the U.S. captain. He said that he has been researching the players who might be available for the Ryder Cup, their strengths and weaknesses in match play, for a year, but it is apparent that he also has taken some history lessons.

In 1967 at the Champions Golf Club at Houston, the British captain, Dai Rees, introduced his players by reciting their hardly imposing resumes. The U.S. captain, Ben Hogan, countered with: “Ladies and gentlemen, I present the American team, the 10 greatest golfers in the world.”

At a banquet here Wednesday night, Jacklin introduced his players and their impressive credentials. When it was Floyd’s turn, he pointed to “the best 12 players in the world” and sat down.

Jacklin, for once, was speechless.

Asked Thursday if he’d had a chance to reply, Jacklin said: “I had a chance to chuckle, which is better than a chance to reply. I guess one of our guys, Seve, is 13th.”

THE PLAYERS

United States: Paul Azinger, Chip Beck, Calcavecchia, Fred Couples, Ken Green, Tom Kite, Mark McCumber, Mark O’Meara, Payne Stewart, Curtis Strange, Wadkins, Tom Watson,

Europe: England’s Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Howard Clark and Mark James, Spain’s Ballesteros, Jose-Maria Olazabal and Jose-Maria Canizares, Scotland’s Sam Torrance and Gordon Brand Jr., West Germany’s Langer, Ireland’s Christy O’Connor Jr. and Northern Ireland’s Ronan Rafferty.

Most of the players were automatic selections because of points earned on their respective tours, but Jacklin had three wild cards and Floyd had two.

Floyd has been second-guessed because he used his for Watson and Wadkins. Neither has played particularly well this year, although Watson had top-10 finishes in the British Open and the PGA.

One second-guesser is Gary Player, who handicapped the competition in Thursday’s London Daily Mail. The headline read: “Floyd Has Opened the Way for a European Hat Trick by Recalling Watson, the Man Who’s Lost His Touch.”

But Watson, 39, is at least talking a good game. When he was selected in August, he said, “We’re going to go over there and kick some butt.”

Even more succinct in his comments has been Calcavecchia, who said the Europeans tried to humiliate the Americans during the victory ceremony in 1987. He already has taken some revenge by winning the British Open this year, but he said previously tha the would trade a championship in a major tournament for a Ryder Cup victory.

The London Daily Mirror Thursday called Calcavecchia a “Sicilian Yank” who has a “Mafia-style lust to draw more European blood.”

The Europeans do not know quite what to make of all this jingoism. The Americans stopped at the White House for breakfast with George Bush before flying over, but Jacklin said that the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, did not send his team an invitation.

“We’ve not been threatened with that yet,” he said.

THE FORMAT

Four foursomes will tee off this morning and play 18 holes. There are two men from each team in the foursomes. Teammates will hit alternate shots.

In the afternoon, four foursomes, including some players who competed in the morning, will tee off for another 18 holes. All the golfers will play their own shots, the best scores on each hole counting.

That also is the format for Saturday.

On Sunday, each player will be matched against a player from the other team in 18 holes of straight match play.

Teams score one point for each round won.

Both captains have chosen to go with experience in the opening foursomes this morning, Strange and Kite against Faldo and Woosnam. Another interesting match should be Watson and Beck against Ballesteros and Olazabal.

The captains are not required to use all of their players until the final day. But, in the interest of team spirit, Floyd said that all 12 Americans will play on the first two days as well.

“Good,” said Jacklin, who made no such commitment.

THE COURSE

The Belfry was a potato field until work began in 1975 to construct a course in England that would prepare British players for the U.S. tour. In other words, there is a lot of water and sand. Jacklin believed the Europeans would have more of an advantage on a traditional British seaside course, where the gales and showers might distract the Americans. But since this course worked out so well for the Europeans in 1985, he was happy to return.

The most interesting hole is the 275-yard, par-four 10th, where the green is guarded by water. In 1985, the U.S. captain, Lee Trevino, advised his players to lay up and pitch to the green. The Europeans went for the green and probably won the Cup because of their daring.

This week, it appears as if everyone is going for it. In a gusting wind that Jacklin calls “nonsensical,” the 10th should claim more than its share of victims.

THE FANS

Accustomed to polite applause for one and all on the PGA Tour, the U.S. players were not ready for the rowdy reception they received four years ago from the English fans.

Couples was not part of the U.S. team in 1985, but he said that he heard the fans would step on a player’s ball in the rough to make him wish that one of his clubs were a machete.

That probably is exaggerated, but the fans undoubtedly were partisan. When the Americans complained, their captain, Trevino, called them crybabies.

Floyd warned them this week that they should keep their minds on their games, no matter what confronts them of an extracurricular nature.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Jacklin said. “I want the galleries to cheer and cheer loud. I want them to cheer louder for the home team. That’s part of the advantage of playing at home.”