RYDER CUP | INTERVIEW
The War
by the
Shore
Alex Jenkins talks to best-selling author Curt Sampson about his latest book – The War By The Shore – which takes us behind the scenes of the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island. Remembered as one of the most controversial yet absorbing events in the modern era, it was won by the United States after Bernhard Langer missed a six-foot putt on the final green that would have retained the Cup for Europe. Everyone who saw the 1991 Ryder Cup remembers it vividly. This might sound like a rather obvious question but what was your inspiration behind the book? The idea to write the book came across by dull brains when I learned that the 2012 PGA Championship was going to the Ocean Course at Kiawah, which had only hosted one other notable tournament – the 1991 Ryder Cup, which was so emotional and so dramatic. It may be the most nerve-wracking event ever. But there’s more to it. In my former life as a golf pro I worked at a place relatively near the Ocean Course. I was a aware of the resort since its opening and had played the course a number of times. It was a place deeply rooted in my consciousness. I’m very fond of it.
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Langer misses arguably the most pressure-packed putt of his or anyone’s career
It was a controversial yet enthralling event to watch. Why made this particular Ryder Cup so different? It was the perfect storm – gosh, does anyone use that phrase these days? [Laughs] But it was the perfect storm of pressure on these guys, the reputations that were at stake; the timing of the event coming soon after the Gulf War had ended. But the overriding thing is so simple: the US had started to lose this thing that it had always won. Europe, which had been clobbered through the decades, were starting to dominate. They won in 1985 and then won for the first time on American soil in 1987. The teams tied in 1989 but Europe retained the trophy. The US 47
there at the PGA Championship. Technology has changed things a lot. The golf course has softened maybe five per cent because it’s fully grassed now. Back in 1991, the left side of 17 was absolute Lawrence of Arabia. I played it a year ago from the back tees. I still love it but I’m a masochist [Laughs].
Ballesteros, Olazábal, Azinger and Pate get involved in a heated debate about the US pair’s ball switching during their famous foursomes match. The incident provided one of the most indelible images of a controversypacked Ryder Cup
hadn’t had their hands on the Cup since 1983. The desire to win it back was overwhelming. A few of the American players, including Corey Pavin, took to wearing camouflage hats during the event. How big a part did the post-Gulf War atmosphere play? Well I think the fans were going to be quite hyped up anyway. South Carolina is quite a military state. There’s a military college in Charleston and there’s an air force base nearby. It probably gave this thing an extra three to five per cent. Certainly, this was really the first time that the American fans had really gotten into the Cup. But I would say that the organizers weren’t shy about the military aspect: there were F-15 flybys to open the Ryder Cup formally. And then the phrase “The War By The Shore” caught fire – it just seemed right.
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But what of Kiawah itself? Despite being a brand new course it was a wild looking place, and it played extremely tough. The par-three 17th was a monster. I think Pete Dye [the designer] was talked about as much as the players. The Ocean Course is a very difficult design but it turned out well. It was designed for match play. You could go for a three and end up with a six, but that’s OK because you only lose one hole. The club of choice on the 17th in 1991 was a 1-iron. I can’t remember anyone hitting more than a 5-iron 48
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Looking back, it seems like there was a great cast of characters at the Ryder Cup that year. People like Ballesteros, Olazábal, Faldo for the Europeans and Floyd, Azinger and Pavin for the Americans. Yes, that’s one of the things that appealed to me – the opportunity to write little biographies of the 24 players and the two captains. Where each one was in their careers was interesting. Corey Pavin, for example, had converted from Judaism to Catholicism a few months before. There were some strange little subplots like that, which I like to go into. I enjoyed talking to Lanny Wadkins. He was very forthcoming. Bernhard Langer, too, was quite forthcoming. He’s the guy who became the very identity of this Ryder Cup. Everyone knows the photo of him buckling after missing the putt in the singles. He was blunt about the subject. His memories are not positive. The one really towering figure was Seve Ballesteros, who had so much charisma. They called him the Arnold Palmer of Europe, and I think that’s right. The pressure was enormous for everyone involved but for the Cup to come down to that final match between Hale Irwin and Bernhard Langer, with the tension and atmosphere as it was – that was almost unfair, wasn’t it? That’s one of the things I love to look at. At what point does something that you practice to the point of instinct become impossible to do? When does the pressure get too much? I think it’s a fascinating subject. I don’t think I broke any scientific ground in the book but the 1991 Ryder Cup was a wonderful laboratory for choking and pressure. What effect did the events of 1991 have on the Ryder Cup in the long term? Well, Dave Stockton wanted the captaincy job again but the PGA of America passed him over in favour of Tom Watson. Watson’s theme for 1993 sounds like a US political campaign slogan – he wanted a return to civility. He was talking about a lowering of pressure. He wanted a calmer event with the focus on sportsmanship. The War By The Shore, which goes on sale this month, is published by Gotham Books and is available in hardcover and digital formats from online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. HKGOLFER.COM