September 30, 1999
Americans fight back in Ryder Cup war of words
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
PINE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (AP) — It took the Americans four years
and the greatest comeback in history to win back the Ryder Cup,
and they aren't about to let Europe spoil the thrill.
“We didn't cry when we lost two years in a row,” Davis
Love III said Wednesday on the eve of the Buick Challenge.
Meanwhile, David Duval said Mark James was nothing more than a
“sore loser” if the European captain's suggestion of
a Ryder Cup boycott in America was aimed at the U.S. team instead
of the boorish behavior by the Boston gallery.
“I can understand a little bit of it, especially the reaction
of what they viewed as some very poor fans, which I would agree
with,” Duval said on ESPN's “Up Close.”
“But to direct some of the remarks the have towards the players,
I think it is inexcusable,” Duval said. “And I think
it is a case of sore losers.”
Love accused Europe of purposely playing slowly to rattle the
Americans. He also said excessive partisanship that marked the
matches last week at The Country Club was no different from what
Love heard at Ryder Cups played on the other side of the Atlantic.
At The Belfry in 1993, Love said fans poked umbrellas through
the ropes trying to trip people going from tee to green.
“And how long have they been calling our wives `flight attendants'
and `bimbos'? They act like we're the only ones who do it,”
he said.
At the heart of Europe's bitter complaints is a fan who spit on
James' wife. Others heckled Colin Montgomerie with such profanity
that the Scotsman's father, a former secretary of Royal Troon,
left the course after seven holes.
Also on Wednesday, the American caddie for European Ryder Cup
star Sergio Garcia said he was attacked in a hotel bar after the
tournament and had to go to a hospital with a head wound. Jerry
Higginbotham said several men taunted him because he was an American
working with the European team.
After a Ryder Cup that featured shots holed from the fairway,
the rough and a 45-foot birdie by Justin Leonard regarded even
now as the one of the most dramatic putts in the 20th century,
the shots keep flying.
The heavily favored Americans trailed 10-6 after two days, but
won 81/2 points from the 12 singles matches Sunday to complete
the greatest comeback in the 72-year history of the Ryder Cup.
“The European team is on the losing side of a historic comeback,”
Duval said. “That is probably not the most comfortable thing
to be a part of.”
Love agreed that the fact Europe had a large lead, and then lost
it, fueled the complaints.
“If it had been even the whole way and one of us eked it
out at the end, then maybe they wouldn't be feeling so bad,”
he said. “But they just got pounded into the ground on Sunday,
and they're embarrassed by it — as we were at Oak Hill.”
The U.S. team led 9-7 at Oak Hill in 1995, but were outscored
71/2-41/2 in singles and lost the cup. Europe celebrated on the
18th green, but only after the hole was over.
“They beat us into the ground there, but we didn't complain
about all the celebrating,” he said. “That's been going
on a long time. For them to say it all of a sudden happened on
Sunday, or it all of a sudden happened this week ... it didn't
just start.”
One thing both sides seem to agree on is the U.S. players' reaction
to Leonard's monster putt that eventually gave the Americans to
the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1993. Jose Maria Olazabal
still had a 25-footer that would have halved the hole and kept
the match tied going to the final hole.
Europeans have complained that Americans walked — and jumped
and jigged — in the line of Olazabal's putt, which he missed.
While Love conceded the celebration was “a little out of
control,” he immediately took issue with what he considered
slow play by Europe.
In the match ahead of Leonard, Padraig Harrington walked from
the fairway to the green to step off his shot and get a look at
the pin position.
“You never heard Mark O'Meara complain that Padraig took
10 minutes to hit his second shot on 17,” Love said. “I'll
bet you $1 million that their strategy was to play slow, because
they knew it would frustrate us. They played as slow as they possibly
could all week and we never complained about it. We are now, obviously.”
Tom Lehman apologized for excessive celebration on the green,
but not for being excited about winning. U.S. captain Ben Crenshaw
and Leonard also apologized for the football-like atmosphere on
the green.
Montgomerie, subjected to constant heckling, said no apology could
suffice.
That prompted Love to recall how Montgomerie spoke harshly of
some U.S. players before the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama. Among
other things, the Scotsman said Brad Faxon might not play well
because he was going through a divorce, and Scott Hoch showed
in the 1989 Masters that he did not respond well to pressure.
“We accepted Colin's apology at Valderrama for how bad he
ripped our whole team, and we've kept being friends,” Love
said. “They should be able to accept our apology for the
17th green.”
The next Ryder Cup is scheduled for The Belfry in 2001. At this
rate, what began in 1927 as friendly matches once every two years
could really get nasty.
“I don't know what this will do,” Leonard said. “I
hope most of the criticism is from European writers, and they're
not getting this stuff directly from the players. If grudges are
held, there's nothing I can do.”
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