I had to persuade Seve to go out first, and – wow – what a day it turned out to be
I had been reluctant to take the job at Oak Hill because I didn’t want to be a three-time losing captain.
It had taken me a long time to get over Kiawah Island in 1991, and everything that went on there.
Two years later, I had experienced another huge disappointment as things conspired against us at The Belfry.
But I had a nice letter from one of the players, urging me to carry on, and I was eventually persuaded.
I had a good feeling about Oak Hill, as it reminded me of Wentworth in early autumn, which I tried to get across to the players.
But when Corey Pavin chipped in on the 18th on Saturday evening to win his Fourball, the US went 9-7 ahead and there were big celebrations.
I turned to my wife, Lesley, and Mark James’ wife, Jane, and said: “They can celebrate tonight – we’ll celebrate tomorrow”.
The crucial thing was the order for the Singles, and I had a dilemma with Seve Ballesteros.
He was a passenger, and he knew it.
I put him out first because then he had 11 guys behind him who could bail him out and, after a bit of persuasion, he agreed.
Seve lost to Tom Lehman, but he inspired people with how far that match went.
Once I saw the draw, my optimism got over to the team.
We were very upbeat and we liked the match-ups.
Mark James and Howard Clark got us off to a great start early on, and then I had a strong middle order.
Nick, Monty, Sam, David Gilford – who I rated very highly– they all came through, before Philip Walton secured that final point to spark special celebrations on the 18th.
During lockdown, I actually sat down and watched the Sunday Singles for the first time, and I saw so much stuff I had never seen previously.
Wow, what a day it was!