Remember VHS tapes? Those prehistoric things that no longer have any use other than as coasters? Well, I’ve been thinking back to when I had the 1999 Ryder Cup on tape, recorded during the tournament by my dad, as much of a golf fan as I turned out to be. I must have watched the 3 days in their entirety well over 30 times.
I can remember all the pivotal moments, the Europeans taking the early lead on Friday thanks to the stellar play of Sergio Garcia (19 years old at the time) and Jesper Parnevik: the duo who defeated such big names as Tiger Woods and Tom Lehman in the morning 2 & 1.
The pair came back out in the afternoon to beat Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk, 1up, including a hole out from Sergio for eagle on the par-5 14th … . That’s when the tape cuts out for me. I guess my Dad couldn’t take much more of the onslaught either. The day ended with Europe leading 6-2 over the US side.
Then there was Colin Montgomerie, who drove me and the rest of the United States fans nuts with precise iron play and clutch putting, cementing my dislike of him and Sergio for decades.
On Saturday things got worse for the Americans, even with Tiger Woods winning his first match after pairing up with Steve Pate in the morning. He fell again in the afternoon to Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie. The Americans, having the number 1 player in the world lose three out of four matches, did not help matters.
The immortal press conference Captain Ben Crenshaw gave the night before the final day of play is one that will be replayed every two years, when the Ryder Cup comes back around. The US team was down 10-6 to the golfers from Europe, and he said,”I’m going to leave y’all with one thought. I’m a big believer in fate. I have a good feeling about this.”
It seemed entirely out of place. Hadn’t the Americans been getting pummeled on their home soil all week long? A Ryder Cup team had never come back from such a large deficit to win the Cup, yet here he was, making this bold statement. The scary part is, he turned out to be right.
The Euros had played only 9 of their 12 players on the first two days, with the three rookies on the team having not seen any action. Captain Mark James sent these three out early, which led to mismatches when facing Ben Crenshaw’s front-loaded lineup.
The matches were close early on, but after being sparked by a chip-in from Davis Love III on the 5th hole, the momentum shifted. He secured the first point of the day for the Americans with an absolute beatdown of Jean Van de Velde, 6 & 5. The USA’s Tom Lehman quickly followed with a 3 & 2 win over Lee Westwood. In a match up of lefties, Phil Mickelson defeated one of Europe’s rookies, Jarmo Sandelin, 4 & 3, and the US was rolling. Now tied 10-10 after taking the first four matches, Crenshaw’s statement was starting to look better.
After being separated from Sergio Garcia, Jesper Parnevik lost 5 & 4, looking out of sorts while playing the normally reserved David Duval in a singles match. After draining a long putt on the second hole, Duval showed more emotion than at any other point in his career, pumping both fists and getting the crowd into it. Tiger Woods also got in on the action, defeating the 66th ranked player in the world, rookie Andrew Coltart, 3 & 2. The US team now had its first lead of the week: 12-10, with 6 matches left on the course.
Pádraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie responded for Europe by defeating Mark O’Meara and Jeff Maggert to bring them back into it.
The Americans led 14-12 with two matches left. They needed just a mere half-point to win the cup back from Europe. With European star Colin Montgomerie in the other match, Justin Leonard was the best chance for the Americans to get that half-point they so desperately needed. There was only one problem: he was 4 holes down with 7 to play against José María Olazábal.
After winning 3 holes in a row on the back nine, Justin Leonard drained a 40-foot putt on the 15th to bring the match to all square. On the 17th, Justin Leonard was on the front edge of the green, facing another 40-foot birdie putt to give him the lead in the match, and this happened:
With that putt, Leonard had secured the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history. The Americans came back from a 10-6 deficit, and Captain Crenshaw suddenly seemed like a prophet.