It is only a game. Nearly two decades ago, things were particularly rambunctious in the Ryder Cup. The Battle of Brookline in 1999, infamous for its boorish hostility, gamesmanship, rowdiness and appalling American attire, dragged the transatlantic tussle into a murky mire. Two years later the world changed. A couple of planes hurtling into the Twin Towers ensured that.
In the traumatic wake of the 9/11 outrage, the Ryder Cup was postponed and a sense of perspective washed over an increasingly divisive event which, in the grand scheme of life, was still just 24 men battering away at a wee, dimpled ba’. They will be doing it again in Paris this week as the biennial skirmish for that cherished gold chalice takes place on continental Europe for the first time since 1997. Rewind to 2001 and the Ryder Cup clock stopped. Those who had made the team remained in the team as the contest was adjourned for a year. By the time the players got to The Belfry 12 months later, some of them were so badly out of form they just about needed to be dusted down with a lint free cloth.
Phillip Price was a case in point. The Welshman was 51st on the global rankings when he initially qualified for Sam Torrance’s side. As the Ryder Cup finally teed-off he had slithered to 119th. By the end of it, though, he was on top of the world as his famous, momentum-shifting 3&2 victory over Phil Mickelson in the Sunday singles helped Europe to a narrow, nail-nibbling triumph. Mickelson, at a sprightly 48, will be back on the frontline this week for a 12th Ryder Cup appearance. For his conqueror Price, meanwhile, there will always be the memories … good and bad.
Let’s get those bad ones out the way first.
“I'd already suffered the summer before [in 2001] and my game had gone by the time I actually made the team in the last event,” reflected Price. "I was starting to struggle in the middle of the year and I made a decision to play a lot - too much - in the last few weeks to accumulate enough points. I then thought having an extra year would be great but it was actually worse. It was just terrible. I didn't find any form in that year and there was always the scrutiny. One comment was, 'do you think you should pull out?', which was quite painful. I had to live with that. It was a pretty unpleasant build-up - really unpleasant, in fact. It could have been the worst experience I ever had. I could have been awful. Luckily, I wasn't. As soon as I arrived at The Belfry I felt great.”
That feel-good factor was aided considerably by Torrance’s pat-on-the-back man-management.
“Sam was fantastic,” gushed Price. “He made a big difference, definitely to me. I stopped fretting about everything. A few boys were out of form heading into that match. It was an odd Ryder Cup because of the year everyone had to wait after qualifying for the teams.
"But Sam never made us question whether we were going to win or not. Not once. It was quite an odd experience. When he was talking to us, I remember sitting there thinking, 'do you realise how out of form we are?' But he got us feeling really good. He did that all week. I thought we were the favourites the way he was talking and that made us feel great.
"Nobody felt unwelcome. Nobody was unwanted. Everyone pulled together big time. You can come in as a rookie and feel unwelcome, but Sam never allowed any of that."
The rookies have changed a bit since 2002. In Paris this week, Europe will have five debutants but four of them are in the top 26 of the world rankings and they are well versed in the big time atmosphere on both sides of the Atlantic. In contrast, Price, along with Paul McGinley, Niclas Fasth and Pierre Fulke, were hardly global campaigners but they certainly earned their stripes amid the tumult of the final day singles. McGinley, who would go on to grab the half-point which pushed Europe over the winning line, also gave a glimpse of the qualities that would make him one of Europe’s most respected captains when he eventually performed the role at Gleneagles in 2014.
“It was tight going into the singles and four of us rookies were having breakfast together and I remember Paul McGinley saying, 'boys, we need to dish something up today',” Price said. “That was a bit of a team talk from him and I think we all went out and dished something up that day.” Price and McGinley certainly served up a dish of the day. Mickelson was No 2 in the world and was unbeaten in his three previous Ryder Cup singles matches. He came unstuck against a man from Pontypridd who was 117 places below him on the global pecking order.
Thomas Bjorn, the current European captain and a member of that 2002 side, said at the time: "Heroes are made in the Ryder Cup. Paul McGinley and Phillip Price are big heroes."
Bjorn will be hoping he has a few of them in Paris next weekend.
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