Ryder Cup intensified with European team changes
By Dave Shedloski, PGATOUR.COM Senior Correspondent
The seminal moment in the transformation of the Ryder Cup from a sleepy exhibition to a gripping and intense international competition isn't difficult to discern.
It came in 1983, 25 years ago, when Lanny Wadkins helped the American squad to its last gasp of unquestioned dominance.
The United States, which comes in as an underdog on its home soil this week when they host Europe in the 37th Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., had won 18 of 22 matches before European players were added to the Great Britain and Ireland squad in 1979. America registered its 19th victory in '79, and in 1981, with perhaps its most talented team ever, the U.S. triumphed by a remarkable nine points -- the total by which Europe has won the last two meetings.
The '81 match, featuring an American team captained by the late Dave Marr and which included Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Ray Floyd and Johnny Miller, was the last time anything came easy for the Yanks.
The tide began to turn in 1983, and America managed to surf over it before being awash in setbacks. The U.S. contingent held onto the cup by the slimmest of margins only because Wadkins, the '73 PGA champion who played in a record-tying eight Ryder Cups for the U.S., fashioned one of the gutsiest finishes in 20th century golf.
Securing the most important half-point of his 30½ career points in the Ryder Cup, Wadkins birdied the home hole at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., with a 60-yard wedge shot that checked up within a foot of the cup. That enabled him to halve his match with Jose Maria Canizares and gave the U.S. a 14½ to 13½ victory.
Nicklaus, in the first of his two stints as captain, at the time called Wadkins' stroke, "One of the best little pressure shots you'll ever see."
Pressure wasn't a Ryder Cup staple before then. Even after Europe was added for the '79 matches, no one could say that it made a difference. In '79 at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., the U.S. took a commanding three-point lead after the first day, captured 8½ of a possible 12 points in singles, and won for the 10th time in 11 outings by yet another wide margin.
How wide? Since a stumble against Great Britain in 1957, the American margin of victory had been by five points or more and the '79 matches saw the home team post a 17-11 triumph.
"It was the start of something special," Lee Trevino a member of the U.S. team that year, said, "but we didn't really realize it then, and, in fact, not until much later. But that was history happening right there."
Indeed, a new dawn for the Ryder Cup arrived in '79 when players from continental Europe were added to the team that would challenge America. Just six years after Ireland's initiation, Europe joined the fray with Spaniards Seve Ballesteros, the reigning British Open champion, and Antonio Garrido becoming the first players outside the British Isles to compete in the biennial competition.
Furthermore, the present-day competitive format was established that year whereby 28 points were made available via eight four-ball matches, eight foursome (alternate shot) matches and 12 singles matches.
Spearheading the move to an expanded roster was British PGA President Lord Derby, who in 1977, after another decisive American triumph at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, England, entertained a proposal from Nicklaus to include Europe in the matches. Nicklaus followed up with a letter to Lord Derby, writing, "It is vital to widen the selection procedures if the Ryder Cup is to continue to enjoy its past prestige."
Since then the prestige of the Ryder Cup has steadily grown and far exceeded its former level. Since then, the level of competition has been fierce and the quality of play has been exceptional. Since then, Europe has nosed ahead, winning seven times to six for the U.S. with the teams tying once. More compelling and starkly dispiriting for the Americans, starting in 1985, when Europe posted its first win, the new squad from abroad has gone 7-3-1 and has outscored the U.S. 167-141.
"I can't begin to tell you how differently the Ryder Cup is now from the year when I first played," said European Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 1977. "I remember what our optimism was like back then; it was zero. No one thought we had a chance. As it developed, I guess they were right. But we weren't really sure how to take the changes."
"We knew they had to do something, because we simply weren't competitive against the Americans," added Peter Oosterhuis, whose 6-2-1 singles record in six Ryder Cups contrasted with his team's 0-6 mark from 1971-81. "Did we like the change? It wasn't a matter of liking it or not. We had to be realistic about it. I can honestly say I don't recall us acting any differently as a team."
As for the Americans, the fact that European players would be on the opposing squad did not make an impression at first.
"We heard there was going to be a change, and we said, OK, and we got ready," said Wadkins, who played on a record eight U.S. teams and captained the '95 squad. "We were just excited to be playing, and the change never really entered our minds much except we knew they were adding some quality players."
"Whatever they (organizers) thought was best we supported," said Tom Kite, a rookie in '79 who went on to captain the U.S. against Ballesteros in '97. "My biggest memory is that I played decently, our team played well, and it was still one-sided for a while. The improvement to the Ryder Cup wasn't immediate, but, eventually, we all know it made a huge improvement."
Noteworthy events of that 1979 Ryder Cup included these harbingers: after the U.S. staked itself to that three-point lead on Friday, Europe closed the gap to one on Saturday before a U.S. blitz in singles -- the five-point Sunday margin being the largest until America's stunning 8½-3½ rally in '99. The U.S. won or halved six of seven matches that went to the 17th or 18th hole.
Three U.S. players, Kite, Hayes and John Mahaffey, each won his singles match 1 up, with Kite's the most stirring. He birdied four holes on the inward nine, played the last 10 in 5 under par, and edged Tony Jacklin, the man who, though an inspiring turn as captain, helped orchestrate Europe's rise in the '80s.
The whole ordeal prompted the victorious captain, Billy Casper, to say, "The gap is closing quickly."
He couldn't have been more prescient.
The 1981 edition saw America at the height of its power with an unprecedented talent pool from which to draw. But just two years later the gap was a mere point thanks to Wadkins. Europe won the following year, and then came to Muirfield Village Golf Club in '87 and won for the first time on American soil against a team captained by Nicklaus and playing on the Golden Bear's home course in suburban Columbus, Ohio.
The pendulum had, indeed, swung. The gap was closed. These days, the gap yawns again, only this time it is not on the side of the Americans, who must be wondering when it will close again.
Get the best deals on the best equipment all at the SHOP.PGATOUR.COM.
TOP 100
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network