Mark Garrod
After winning their first three games together at Muirfield Village and helping Europe to their first win on American soil, it was no surprise when Tony Jacklin paired Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal again at The Belfry in 1989.
New United States captain Raymond Floyd had tried to ignite a fire under his side by calling them the 12 best players in the world.
But all that did was make the home team want to beat them again even more, although they went into the match without one of their stars – Sandy Lyle.
The Scot had won the Masters the previous season, but had felt in such bad form in the build-up to the Ryder Cup that he asked Jacklin not to consider him for a wild card.
Europe’s captain called up Christy O’Connor Jr instead – 14 years after his only previous appearance – and, while the first two days made it look a questionable choice, the climax to the match certainly did not.
Ballesteros and Olazabal began against five-time Open champion Tom Watson, one of Floyd’s wild cards, and Chip Beck and by the time the Spanish pair eagled the driveable par four 10th – it was to become their signature hole – they were three up.
Game over? Far from it. The Americans took three of the next four holes to level and Olazabal had to make a 12-footer on the long 17th to keep it that way.
Watson and Beck bogeyed the 18th and Ballesteros had a chance to win the game, but by missing it and having to settle for a half Europe trailed 3-1.
As they had two years earlier, however, the Americans were whitewashed in the afternoon fourballs and, although Ballesteros and Olazabal were sent out last, they were the first to finish.
Watson again and Mark O’Meara were on the receiving end of an amazing 6&5 drubbing, with the famous 10th hole demonstrating their superiority.
Three up at the time – it had been five up after five – Ballesteros drove over the water to 12 feet, Olazabal followed to four feet and with the chance to putt first Ballesteros holed for another eagle there.
The next was halved in birdies, Ballesteros added another at the short 12th and on the next – 394 yards – his adrenalin was such that he drove to the edge of the green while Mark Calcavecchia was still putting on it.
“When Seve gets his Porsche going not even San Pedro (St Peter) in heaven can stop him,” Olazabal beamed.
Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam completed the clean sweep of the session, after which Faldo said: “We were motivated by a few criticisms. We know there’s a long way to go – but we’ve done this before.”
It was Tom Kite and Curtis Strange next for the two Spanish stars. They had beaten them in 1987 and they did it again, although not until Ballesteros made a six-foot putt on the final green after he had bunkered their approach.
Calcavecchia and Ken Green had the task of trying to stop them in the fourballs, but they were soon three down and Ballesteros missing a three-foot putt on the 15th did not matter as victory – their sixth in eight games – was sealed on the next.
Europe led by two, but the excitement was only just starting.
Jacklin sent Ballesteros out first, but an early dispute with Paul Azinger - more, much more, was to follow – gave the game a real edge and it came to a head on the last.
The fired-up American drove into the lake, but as Ballesteros watched on from afar he took a penalty drop and produced a spectacular third shot that made it over both stretches of water and to the edge of the green.
Europe’s talisman could hardly believe it and later questioned where the drop took place, but his own second shot from the right-hand rough went in the water and although he made a great putt for a bogey five Azinger needed only to match it to win and did.
Olazabal was playing only two games behind and up against Stewart for the second match running.
He avenged his defeat in Ohio, but only after more 18th hole drama. Stewart followed Azinger into the water off the tee, but the ball was visible and he thought he could splash it out.
The winner of the USPGA Championship a month earlier put on his waterproofs, but needed two thrashes to move it a few inches and was soon conceding defeat.
Olazabal had finished with 4 1/2 points out of five, but Europe were making hard work of retaining the trophy and when three more games came to the 18th they needed to win all of them.
First Ronan Rafferty, the only rookie in the side, beat Calcavecchia, then O’Connor hit the two-iron of his life and defeated Fred Couples.
That left the stage for Canizares to become the hero, Green three-putting and the Spaniard brilliantly getting down in two from about 60 feet.
With 14 points on the board Europe had retained the trophy and, although the Americans won the last four games for a tie, you never would have guessed it from the celebrations.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/yFzwc5Y7aqw/post.aspx
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