Criminal and suicidal tohavehad Ryder Cup
Ewen Murray has brought those magical biennial moments to life at Oak Hill, Medinah and Le Golf National.
But he is glad that common sense has prevailed, and he won’t have to commentate on a Ryder Cup without spectators at Whistling Straits this year.
It was confirmed last Wednesday that the match – due to take place from September 25-27 – had been postponed, with golfing bodies on both sides of The Pond reaching the conclusion there was no alternative.
The prospect of describing the best players from Europe and America competing against each other on a deserted course was not an appealing one for Sky Sports’ voice of golf.
“To have a Ryder Cup without spectators would have been criminal,” said Murray.
“But with the Covid-19 situation in the US as it currently is, it would have been suicidal to stage it with fans.
“They make it what it is with that unique atmosphere and all the cheering. Think of the scenes at the first tee in Paris two years ago.
“Moving it back a year – and fingers crossed, everything is back to normal – was the right decision.
“I would have hated to have finished commentating on the Sunday night and thought: ‘We should not have played that’.
“Imagine Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood are playing Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth, for example.
“They are announced on the first tee – nothing. The match is all square on the last and one of them hits a four-iron to two feet – again, not a peep.
“That is not what the Ryder Cup is about.
“The event is too big to throw it away. If it had gone ahead behind closed doors, it may have lost credibility, which is hard to regain.”
In a normal year, right now Murray would have been preparing for the Open Championship at Royal St George’s, which would have been starting this Thursday.
But he admires how the R&A took decisive action in April to cancel this year’s tournament entirely.
“The Open would have been diluted without spectators,” admitted the man from Edinburgh. “It would not have been The Open as we know it.
“The Major championships and the Ryder Cup should not be diluted. Will the US PGA feel the same next month without fans? No, it won’t. Or The Masters in November?
“I am OK with regular tournaments going ahead because we have to keep the wheel turning. But the Majors are different.
“I would hate to think a winner of a Major this year would almost have an asterisk to his name.
“History doesn’t need that.” One strong contender for the Majors that do take place is sure to be Bryson DeChambeau, whose new bulkier build has got the golf world talking.
He has put on 45lb of muscle over the last nine months, allowing him to become the longest hitter on the PGA Tour, ahead of the likes of Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy.
Since golf resumed last month, he has claimed three top 10s and then sealed a three-shot win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last Sunday.
With all the shafts of his clubs the same length and a notoriously slow player, the 26-year-old was not short of critics anyway.
But, on this topic, he has an ally in Murray, who admires the American’s dedication towards self-improvement.
“If he thinks this is the way to perform best, I am 100% behind him,” he said. “A lot of the criticism he has received is grossly unfair.
“Sir Nick Faldo tried to bulk up in the 1990s, but it didn’t work and
he lost distance. But Nick was a pioneer, and it was an effort to get the best out of himself.
“Lots of players don’t make the most of their ability. Bryson is trying to maximise his talent and that should be applauded.
“He’s a very intelligent lad and he will have worked all this out.
“It takes a lot of hard graft but he has the diligence and discipline to carry it out.
“The courses in the US lend themselves to being attacked.
“He may find it difficult at somewhere like Royal St George’s for The Open next year. But he could have won half-a-dozen times by then.
“Bryson is hitting the ball 30 or 40 yards further, but we have had long hitters before. That doesn’t make you a champion.
“In winning last week, Bryson was the leader in putting. We must take the focus away from how far his tee shots are going and recognise him for what he is – a fine tournament golfer.”