DAWN OF A GO
30 years ago today Sam Torrance clinched Europe’s first Ryder
It was 30 years ago today that Europe won the Ryder Cup for the first time as a united continent. Sam torrance holed the winning putt and raised his arms in a v for victory salute that became one of sport’s iconic images.
On t he c l ubhouse r oof at the Belfry the team celebrated with champagne left over from Britain and Ireland’s last success, at Lindrick in 1957. From out of a clear blue sky Concorde appeared and dipped its wings.
‘It was the day the European tour took off,’ says the Spaniard Manuel Pinero, the leading points- scorer that week with four victories out of five, and the record books support his argument. A golden era was ushered in that would see British golfers win four green jackets in a row at Augusta and Europe begin a period of Ryder Cup domination that continues to this day.
to celebrate this l andmark, Sportsmail spoke to six key players — torrance, Pinero, Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam, Howard Clark and Paul Way, plus the winning captain tony Jacklin — and asked them to share their recollections.
THE BUILD-UP
JACKLIN: We were definitely a team on a mission. We were very disappointed not to win in 1983, when it looked for all the world like we were going to do it in Florida only to l ose out on the f i nal afternoon. Quietly, I was very confident. LYLE: My first Ryder Cup in 1979 was the first for Europe and there was definitely a sense that the matches were getting closer. the last one had been agonising but it set up this one perfectly. We had Seve Ballesteros as the figurehead, the Masters champion in Bernhard Langer, I was the Open champion and we had Woosie and Nick Faldo. We were ready. WOOSNAM: that match in 1983 was my first and yes, we left disappointed, but I still thought we were on the verge of something great. We knew we had the Americans rattled. CLARK: I’d missed out in 1983 and I guess that, like every other player watching, I really wanted to be in the next team. My first one had been in 1975 and it was a great event to play in but a non-event in terms of having a chance to win. In 1981 I heard our captain John Jacobs telling their captain Dave Marr to go easy on us. I remember saying to someone, ‘ Even our captain doesn’t think we can win!’ How times had changed.
DAY ONE
Europe lost the first session 3-1 but rallied in the afternoon. there was a victory for Woosnam and Way, while Ballesteros and Pinero claimed two points out of two. JACKLIN: that opening morning was definitely a reality check but I still thought it would prove a small blip. As for the two Spaniards, I hadn’t been thinking of them as partners. I thought Seve could shepherd Jose Rivero, as he had Way two years earlier. But Rivero just looked overawed in practice, so I asked Manuel. PINERO: I thought I was going to play with Bernhard Langer or Jose Maria Canizares until tony pulled me to one side. I’d played with Seve many times and I felt comfortable. He was the ultimate team player. I remember walking over the bridge on the 18th after one victory and letting him go first because the people loved him but no, he waited for me and held my arm in the air. that meant a lot to me.
When it was all over, he said to me: ‘You know, you’re going to have a real problem with me. We won the World Cup together, we won the Ryder Cup together and people will think you won it all because of me. But you finished ahead of me in the World Cup and you won more points than me at this Ryder Cup.’ that was Seve. It was a real honour to stand alongside him. WAY: I was thrilled when I found out I was playing with Woosie. Seve in 1983 and now another great player. It was a great match. We were three up at one stage (against Fuzzy Zoeller and Hubert Green) but they came back at us. At the last I hit a fantastic four-iron and managed to sink a 12-foot birdie putt to win. It was a brilliant feeling. the crowd went wild. WOOSNAM: I think tony wanted us to prove a point after what had happened in the morning and I suppose we did t hat. I was slightly older than Paul and probably a bit steadier but Paul came in at the right time. that birdie at the last was something special.
DAY TWO
Everything changed when American Craig Stadler missed an 18-inch putt for a victory in the final morning match against Langer and Lyle. Europe dominated the afternoon matches to establish a two-point lead. LYLE: We were two down with two to play but I’d holed an eagle putt at the 17th to give us an opportunity. We didn’t think we were getting anything from the match when Craig stood over his short putt. It was the sort we would have conceded if it had been for a halved match but we had to see it in as it was for a win. Was he in shock when he missed? How would you know — he always looked a bit grumpy anyway, didn’t he? TORRANCE: I was i n the team room when Stadler was putting, having won my match with Howard, and I was jumping around when the
putt missed. It was crucial. JACKLIN: It was like a light switch going on for our side. It was a hellish close Ryder Cup to that point but we could do no wrong after that. It was an example of what pressure can do. In all my years I don’t think I ever saw anything that changed a Ryder Cup quite like that putt.