Donald has been on a tear through the book store that would make “The Art of War” author Sun Tzu blush.
Luke Donald believes in preparation.
He didn’t become world No. 1 by accident, and he’s brought the same tenacity and work ethic to ensuring that he’s not the first European captain to lose on home soil in 30 years when the Ryder Cup is held from Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Marco Simone GC in Rome, Italy.
Donald has been planning, scripting for various scenarios so he can take each session as it comes but as he put it, “We’ll have a good plan in place.”
His goal is simple for his team: “I think they’ll be in a good frame of mind, feeling like they can win.”
But to get there, Donald is leaving no stone unturned. For Team Europe, it really began with the Hero World Cup, which pitted a team representing Great Britain and Ireland against a team representing Continental Europe in January. Donald, for instance, got exposed to eventual captain’s pick Sepp Straka, learned from past winning captains such as Thomas Bjorn, Paul McGinley and Jose Maria Olazabal, as well as vice captain Edoardo Molinari, who doubles as stats guru, and was able to experiment with how his statistical models impacted pairings and the like.
Donald also has become a voracious reader. He said he typically reads a book about every six months but has been on a tear through a section that would make Sun Tzu, author of “The Art of War,” blush.
Here’s a handful of the books Donald tells Golfweek he’s been thumbing through in the lead-up to the Ryder Cup: “The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful People,” “Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness,” “The Art of Winning,” and “Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life.”
“I felt like I needed to just pick up ideas, pick up one little thing that might make a difference,” he said.
He’s also talked to coaches in different sports, including past European Ryder Cup captains. That may sound obvious but it hasn’t always been a given. Donald phoned Tony Jacklin, the inspirational leader who was at the helm when Team Europe ended its losing skid in 1985 and won for the first time on U.S. soil.
“He called me and asked me a couple of things and I was happy to convey what I thought,” Jacklin said. “I think he’s going into this thing with his eyes wide open and he’ll do well.”
When recently asked if he would have considered a move to LIV Golf, Jacklin had an interesting response.
Tony Jacklin became a British folk hero in 1969 at Royal Lytham when he became the first native player to win the British Open since Max Faulkner in 1951.
By the time he won the 1970 U.S. Open, he was as big as The Beatles. The son of a truck driver, Jacklin capped off his Hall of Fame career by breathing new life into the Ryder Cup as four-time captain of the European squad (1983-1989).
Jacklin later moved to Florida, and although he rarely picks up a club these days, he still follows the game closely.
When recently asked by the New York Times if he would have considered a move to LIV Golf if the startup circuit was an option in his day, Jacklin had an interesting response.
“I would have probably listened, but I had everything I wanted in 1971. I was happily married. I had started a family. I had a Rolls-Royce. I had nice houses. I never made money the main criteria,” Jacklin said. “I just wanted to be the best player in the world. I was smart enough to know that money would follow if I achieved that.”
Jacklin has always been one to maintain perspective. In an interview with Golfweek’s Adam Schupak back in 2020, Jacklin was asked which Ryder Cup experience was more memorable, a victory in 1985 at the Brabazon Course of The Belfry in England or a follow-up victory in 1987 on American soil.
Former Ryder Cup captains Tony Jacklin of Europe and Jack Nicklaus of the United States speak during the 2016 Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony at Hazeltine National Golf Club on September 29, 2016, in Chaska, Minnesota. (Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
“It’s probably 1983 when we lost,” Jacklin said. “Allow me to explain. When I took the helm, as it were, I changed a number of things. They didn’t pick me for the job until 6 months before. I had no captain’s picks and we only lost by a single point. We had a team room, which we’d never had before, and leveled the playing field in travel and arranged for proper uniforms and it all boosted the self-esteem of the players. We were very disappointed we didn’t get it done, but it was Seve who said, ‘Don’t be so sad. This is a victory for us.’ He was right.
“That was a stepping stone for winning on home soil in 1985. That was fantastic, but the win in ’87 at Muirfield Village in Jack’s backyard (Nicklaus was U.S. captain) will always be the ultimate. That cracked the dominance and validated the changes I’d made.
“You have to understand that in the 1960s and ’70s, we turned up and we wanted to win, but we didn’t have the confidence. We had the bravado but we didn’t really believe it. I went back after ’83 and reflected on how we could improve and I decided we’d gotten it right, and basically, Europe has dominated ever since.”
Less than 24 hours after his youngest son, Sean, had qualified for the U.S. Open on June 6, World Golf Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin was still buzzing.
“That was bloody nerve wracking,” the 77-year-old Englishman said from his home in Bradenton, Florida, where he followed his son’s progress in a USGA Sectional Qualifier online. “My wife and I were hole-by-holing it. Just kept hitting refresh.”
Sean shot 66-71—137, his 5-under total good enough to share co-medalist honors at The Club at Admiral’s Cove (North and West Courses) in Jupiter, Florida. His success one week ago was all the more remarkable considering he was first alternate (from local qualifying at Sara Bay Country Club) and didn’t get into the field until 20 minutes before his eventual tee time.
“He went over there on a wing and a prayer,” Tony said. “He nearly didn’t bother to drive over. He had a good friend in Palm Beach to stay with and didn’t have to fork out for a hotel. He hung around the putting green.”
Sean, 30, who is named after his father’s good friend, the late actor Sean Connery, will be making just his second PGA Tour start and first at any of the four majors at the 122nd U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, a mere 52 years after his old man won the title at Hazeltine near Minneapolis.
“It was the best week of my career,” Tony said of his victory in 1970, his second major championship. “There was a lot of pressure. I shot under par the first day in horrendous conditions (an opening-round 71 in 40 mph winds) and built the lead each day. I putted beautifully thanks to a tip from Jim Yancey, (tour pro) Bert’s older brother and a club pro, to look at the hole in practice. It gave me a wonderful sense of distance control and I was able to take it on to the golf course. It was the best I ever putted.”
But Tony missed short putts at Nos. 7 and 8 during the final round and fear of failure crept into his mind.
“I said to myself, ‘Oh God, not now,’ ” Jacklin recalled. “I suppose you could say I was frightened of screwing up. It would have stayed with me my whole life. I managed to stay focused.”
The turning point? His birdie putt at the ninth hit the back of the cup and went in.
“That relaxed me,” Jacklin said.
Jacklin became the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to hold both the British Open (1969) and U.S. Open trophies concurrently. He led from start to finish and was the only player to break par for the tournament, finishing a whopping seven shots ahead of Dave Hill, the largest margin in 49 years. Jacklin also became the first golfer born in Europe to win the U.S. Open since Scottish-born Tommy Armour in 1927.
Son of a Ryder Cup legend
Sean grew up with the pressure of being the son of a major champion and European Ryder Cup legend. He played his college golf at North Carolina and has had status at times on PGA Tour Latinoamerica, but has mostly been beating around the mini tours since turning pro.
“He’s not a kid anymore. He’s been trying to Monday in and play the mini tours. He’s won a bunch of West Florida events and plays in Orlando,” Tony said. “He’s got the game. It’s as much luck as anything. There are so many good players.”
This week at the U.S. Open presents a huge opportunity for Sean, and Tony said he won’t have to remind his son of that.
“A good week next week will give him a real boost,” Tony said. “But I won’t bother to give him some pep talk. He already knows every damn thing I know.”
Author Shane Ryan provides the definitive explanation for the European renaissance in the Ryder Cup and how America got its groove back.
No offense to the many other accounts of the Ryder Cup through the years, but “The Cup They Couldn’t Lose: America, the Ryder Cup and the Long Road to Whistling Straits (Hachette, $29),” provides the definitive explanation for the European renaissance in the Ryder Cup and how America got its groove back.
Heading to Whistling Straits last September, the great mystery of the Ryder Cup had been that America routinely lost despite having the superior team. “You know, if I could put my finger on it, we would have changed this bleep a long time ago,” said losing 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk.
That quote from the prologue perfectly encompasses what Ryan sets out to do in the 289 pages that follow. He puts more than a finger on it; he diagnoses what he terms “the 40-year disease” in astounding detail, artfully piecing together the history of this biennial match-play event pitting teams of 12 players each from the United States versus initially, Great Britain and Ireland, and since 1979, players from throughout Europe.
The section on England’s Tony Jacklin, who established a template that has been passed down from one European captain to the next, alone is worth the price of the book, and included this description of Lanny Wadkins that should be added to his Hall of Fame plaque: “Wadkins was the cockiest son of a bitch you ever met in 10 lifetimes. He was an arrogant bastard, But in the nicest way.” Jacklin served as captain for four Cups spanning from 1983-1989, and you could argue the Euros are still running much of Jacklin’s playbook.
“If 1983 had been the warning shot, and 1985 had proved that the Europeans were a winning team, at least at home, 1987 was the victory that transformed the Ryder Cup forever,” Ryan writes in emphasizing Jacklin’s importance.
Ryan tabs the period from 1983-1999 the golden age of the Ryder Cup when all but one match was decided by two points or less. It’s during this period that Team USA had its head in the sand as to why it continued to struggle despite often being the favorite.
“They adhered to the mindset that a Ryder Cup among equal talents is essentially random, that sometimes they would play better, and sometimes the Europeans would, but all thoughts of strategy or team building were blown out of proportion. Call it arrogance, complacency, or lack of imagination, but they stuck to this belief even as the results showed a pattern that was anything but random,” Ryan writes. “The Americans has been too successful for too long on the strength of talent alone to study the lesson. In that sense, they were victims of their own success, and it would be years before they could humble themselves enough to learn.”
Jack Nicklaus congratulates Tony Jacklin for a tied match at the 1969 Ryder Cup. (AP files)
The 2008 match, where Nick Faldo captained the Euros and Paul Azinger was at the helm of the U.S., “was perhaps the purest test of the old question: Did the captaincy matter?”
Azinger, America’s one outside-the-box thinker, was a winner on home soil, conceiving the pod system and getting the most out a U.S. lineup that featured the likes of Chad Campbell, Boo Weekely and Ben Curtis. Azinger wanted the captaincy again in 2010 and should’ve been given it. Instead, the PGA turned to Corey Pavin and a stretch where each captain approached the Ryder Cup in their own way, with little to no continuity.
“There were plenty of lessons to be learned,” Ryan writes. “They learned none.”
Paul Azinger was able to sell his ’08 American team as underdogs, and the attitude paid off.
The Miracle at Medinah in 2012, when the Euros rallied from a 10-6 deficit was exactly that – a miracle. “Whatever quibble you have with Davis Love III’s strategy, his loss at Medinah was a fluke, built on a pyramid of absurd longshots coming through one after another, and if any of them failed, Europe would have lost.”
There’s a whole chapter, an interlude titled “Why does Europe win?” where Ryan diagnoses the seven most-common theories for the 40-year disease, including old standbys that the Americans just need to play better and Europeans just like each other more. (Ryan quotes an oldie but goodie from a Euro vet explaining their team chemistry: “We get together for a week, we get along, and when it’s over, we all go back to hating Monty.”)
Ryan’s narrative moves briskly back and forth between the drama in Wisconsin while deconstructing the fascinating history and evolution of this 93-year-old competition. He delves deep into the brilliant mind of 2014 Euro captain Paul McGinley, while also explaining the mistakes made by past U.S. captains that led to the infamous U.S. Task Force in 2014.
From left, Europe’s players Jamie Donaldson, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose pour champagne over captain Paul McGinley as they celebrate winning the 2014 Ryder Cup.
It all came to a head in the post-match press conference after a beatdown at Gleneagles in Scotland when Phil Mickelson threw U.S. Captain Tom Watson under the bus. Ryan writes of the 2014 debacle, noting it “embodied the stereotypes of the past four decades – brutal efficiency through hyper-organization on the European side, and rank dysfunction on the American side – that the contrast demanded to be recognized. When the mess was over, it was no longer possible to say with any credibility that the Ryder Cup was simply a test of which individuals played better. The effect of management was so obvious that even the most dyed-in-the-wool stubborn American couldn’t pretend everything was fine…It’s the Ryder Cup that broke the Americans.”
And also, he points out, “the one that set them free.”
The Task Force was a necessary evil and while the changes implemented in its aftermath “may not sound like earth-shattering ideas…what may look like foundational elements for any team sport, or even a business, are plainly not obvious in an individualized sport like golf,” Ryan writes.
The showdown at Whistling Straits is at the center of this book and Ryan takes us inside all of the back-room decision-making. He’s at his best when he’s picking apart the shortcomings of Euro Captain Padraig Harrington, taking us into the childhood home of USA Captain Steve Stricker and a meeting with his parents and detailing the importance analytics played in determining the various captain’s picks and who paired well together in foursomes and four-ball.
Ryan provides a road map that details how after a slew of embarrassing defeats, Team U.S.A. won in record fashion in 2021, with its six rookies combining for a 14-4-3 record.
“I think the most important thing for the U.S. team is a lot of young guys that are great players have bought into the Ryder Cup,” Rory McIlroy said. “I think that was probably missing in previous generations.”
Now the question remains: did the U.S. victory on home soil represent a generational shift and a sea change in America’s fortunes?
“Even in an era when home course advantage is massive,” Ryan concludes, “it’s clear that America is operating from a position of strength, and Europe from a position of hope.”
It will have been 30 years since America won on the road when these two proud competitors next meet. Sounds like the subject for a sequel in Italy in 2023.
The new award will debut at the September Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
When you think of the 1969 Ryder Cup, the first thought isn’t that the Americans retained the cup for the sixth straight event. It’s always the concession.
It’s been 52 years since Jack Nicklaus famously conceded a three-foot putt to Tony Jacklin that halved their match and resulted in the first tie in event history. That moment of pure sportsmanship has been discussed and re-lived before each playing of the biennial event between the United States and Europe since, and now it will live on through a new award.
On Tuesday in a joint release, the PGA of America, Ryder Cup Europe and Aon announced the creation of the Nicklaus – Jacklin Award presented by Aon, which will be handed out for the first time to one player from each time at the upcoming 43rd Ryder Cup, held Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.
The award will be given to the player who best embodies the spirit of the event, “seeing the bigger picture and making decisions critical to sportsmanship, teamwork and performance at the Ryder Cup.”
“The excitement and energy surrounding the Ryder Cup always tests your poise, composure and decision-making, and when it matters most,” said Nicklaus, the 18-time major champion, two-time U.S. Ryder Cup captain and six-time player. “The challenge is that every decision is magnified to its fullest because we’re not playing for just ourselves, but we’re playing for our country, teammates, captains, and fans. I’m glad to see that everyone involved in the Ryder Cup is identifying the importance of the choices these players make in the heat of competition and on one of golf’s biggest stages, and that they are recognizing and celebrating individuals who approach this competition with the proper spirit and who put an emphasis on good will and camaraderie.”
“There’s always a decision that defines you in the Ryder Cup and to have an award that also highlights that decision is innovative for the game of golf and the Ryder Cup,” added Jacklin, a two-time major winner, four-time European Ryder Cup captain and seven-time play. “When I look back on my career, to be a part of Ryder Cups, the team atmosphere, and the importance of the decisions that followed – to giving players the opportunity to win an award based on that decision carries a lot of weight and will be a key accomplishment in their career.”
The following committee will select the inaugural recipients: Jack Nicklaus, Tony Jacklin, other past European and U.S. Ryder Cup Captains, PGA of America President Jim Richerson, PGA of Great Britain and Ireland Chairman Alan White, representatives from Sky and NBC Sports and Carlo Clavarino, Aon’s Executive Chairman of International Business.
“Since its inception, the Ryder Cup was imagined as a spirited but friendly competition amongst allies. At its core, this remarkable tradition is based on the fundamental pillars of sportsmanship, teamwork and performance,” said Seth Waugh, PGA of America, CEO. “We want to recognize and celebrate that key foundational tenet and so in collaboration with Aon, created an award to honor Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin’s historic act from 1969 that exemplified those honorable traits and set the stage for the future of the Ryder Cup.”
“The players are the beating heart of the Ryder Cup,” said European Ryder Cup Director Guy Kinnings. “Once every two years, these individual giants of our sport come together as a team and have to make decisions under the utmost scrutiny that not only affects themselves, but also their team-mates, their fans and their continent.
“Decision-making under such intense pressure is a crucial part of any Ryder Cup. It is fitting, therefore, that this new award, presented by Aon, not only recognizes the decisions that ultimately characterize success, but also the sportsmanship which has defined many of them over history and will continue to do so.”
The new award will debut at the September Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
When you think of the 1969 Ryder Cup, the first thought isn’t that the Americans retained the cup for the sixth straight event. It’s always the concession.
It’s been 52 years since Jack Nicklaus famously conceded a three-foot putt to Tony Jacklin that halved their match and resulted in the first tie in event history. That moment of pure sportsmanship has been discussed and re-lived before each playing of the biennial event between the United States and Europe since, and now it will live on through a new award.
On Tuesday in a joint release, the PGA of America, Ryder Cup Europe and Aon announced the creation of the Nicklaus – Jacklin Award presented by Aon, which will be handed out for the first time to one player from each time at the upcoming 43rd Ryder Cup, held Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin.
The award will be given to the player who best embodies the spirit of the event, “seeing the bigger picture and making decisions critical to sportsmanship, teamwork and performance at the Ryder Cup.”
“The excitement and energy surrounding the Ryder Cup always tests your poise, composure and decision-making, and when it matters most,” said Nicklaus, the 18-time major champion, two-time U.S. Ryder Cup captain and six-time player. “The challenge is that every decision is magnified to its fullest because we’re not playing for just ourselves, but we’re playing for our country, teammates, captains, and fans. I’m glad to see that everyone involved in the Ryder Cup is identifying the importance of the choices these players make in the heat of competition and on one of golf’s biggest stages, and that they are recognizing and celebrating individuals who approach this competition with the proper spirit and who put an emphasis on good will and camaraderie.”
“There’s always a decision that defines you in the Ryder Cup and to have an award that also highlights that decision is innovative for the game of golf and the Ryder Cup,” added Jacklin, a two-time major winner, four-time European Ryder Cup captain and seven-time play. “When I look back on my career, to be a part of Ryder Cups, the team atmosphere, and the importance of the decisions that followed – to giving players the opportunity to win an award based on that decision carries a lot of weight and will be a key accomplishment in their career.”
The following committee will select the inaugural recipients: Jack Nicklaus, Tony Jacklin, other past European and U.S. Ryder Cup Captains, PGA of America President Jim Richerson, PGA of Great Britain and Ireland Chairman Alan White, representatives from Sky and NBC Sports and Carlo Clavarino, Aon’s Executive Chairman of International Business.
“Since its inception, the Ryder Cup was imagined as a spirited but friendly competition amongst allies. At its core, this remarkable tradition is based on the fundamental pillars of sportsmanship, teamwork and performance,” said Seth Waugh, PGA of America, CEO. “We want to recognize and celebrate that key foundational tenet and so in collaboration with Aon, created an award to honor Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin’s historic act from 1969 that exemplified those honorable traits and set the stage for the future of the Ryder Cup.”
“The players are the beating heart of the Ryder Cup,” said European Ryder Cup Director Guy Kinnings. “Once every two years, these individual giants of our sport come together as a team and have to make decisions under the utmost scrutiny that not only affects themselves, but also their team-mates, their fans and their continent.
“Decision-making under such intense pressure is a crucial part of any Ryder Cup. It is fitting, therefore, that this new award, presented by Aon, not only recognizes the decisions that ultimately characterize success, but also the sportsmanship which has defined many of them over history and will continue to do so.”
Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin dishes on the Ryder Cup, why Sergio Garcia is the biggest underachiever and his love of Sinatra and good lyrics.
England’s Tony Jacklin, 76, became a national hero in 1969 at Royal Lytham when he became the first British player since Max Faulkner to win the British Open since 1951. By the time he won the 1970 U.S. Open, he was as big as The Beatles. The son of a truck driver, Jacklin capped off his Hall of Fame career by breathing new life into the Ryder Cup as four-time captain of the European squad (1983-1989).
These days, Jacklin and wife, Astrid, are sheltering-in-place in Bradenton, Florida, not far from The Concession Golf Club, which he co-designed with Jack Nicklaus. He has a regular Friday golf game; 14 grandchildren that he dotes on; tracks the play of his son, Sean, who is an aspiring touring professional; works on a Ryder Cup book he is co-writing; and enjoys marquetry, the art and craft of applying pieces of veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns, designs or pictures.
Tony Jacklin and his wife, Vivien, pose with his trophy at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. on June 21, 1970. Tony Jacklin, also the reigning British Open Champion, won the U.S. Open Championship with a score of 281.
Golfweek: From 1969 to 1972, you made golf look easy. What clicked?
Tony Jacklin: My game just got better and better and I got my PGA Tour card in 1967. I befriended Tom Weiskopf and Bert Yancey when I started playing in the U.S. We helped each other. We played a lot of practice rounds together and hit balls together. I worked on my tempo and I learned the importance of the lower body. I hit a thousand 7-irons. Once I got that done, I was able to fulfill my ambitions.
I also learned how to slow my swing down when the pressure was on. Winning in Jacksonville in 1968 was a big thing because I was drawn with Arnold Palmer and Don January in the last round and it was never easy to play in front of Arnie’s Army. To win in that environment proved to me that I could take the heat and I got pretty good at it.
Tom Watson gets a kick out of his final-hole birdie during the second round of the 2009 British Open.
GW: What golfers putting stroke do you wish you had?
TJ: Back then, I didn’t want anyone’s but my own. Putting is 90 percent confidence and 10 percent method. I did play with Bobby Locke and never saw a better putter. I never saw anyone make more long putts than Tom Watson.
GW: What defeat haunts you the most?
TJ: No doubt, the Open in 1972. It did change my outlook when (Lee) Trevino chipped in five times during the last two rounds (at Muirfield) and I was alongside him. Something in my psyche got tripped up there. I didn’t think luck played that big a role in the game. I thought if you worked hard and kept your head down you’d become better than everyone else. He did some audacious things the last two days, and the final thing was when he chipped in on the 71st hole for par and three-putted from 15 feet for bogey. The timing of it all was pivotal. There was no time to recover. That was undoubtedly the thing that knocked the stuffing out of me. I won more events on the European Tour during the rest of the 70s, but I knew all along that the majors were the only ones that really counted from a history standpoint.
GW: Who inspired you as a mentor and why?
TJ: I was inspired by the Ryder Cup in 1957 when it came to Lindrick (GC) and my dad took me to watch at age 13. That’s a very impressionable age to find inspiration, and it was the first time I’d seen world-class golf. The irony was GB&I won that one. I rushed home after we’d been there the final day and went out to play and shot my lowest scores for nine holes.
A few years later, I’d won everything there was to win in my county and I remember my dad said to me the best players in the world are no different than me. He said, “They had two arms, two legs and a head on their shoulder just like you.” It may have been an oversimplification in some respect but it was a down-to-earth view of things and I never forgot it. I made it my absolute business to play with the best players in practice because those were the ones I could learn from and if I could beat them, I could beat anybody.
Seve Ballesteros, left, and captain Tony Jacklin celebrate as Europe marched toward its first Ryder Cup win on U.S. soil in 1987 at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.
GW: Since you’ve mentioned the Ryder Cup, let’s stay on that topic. Which Ryder Cup victory was more memorable for you – the first win in ’85 or winning on American soil in ’87?
TJ: That’s a tough question. Funny enough, it’s probably 1983 when we lost. Allow me to explain. When I took the helm, as it were, I changed a number of things. They didn’t pick me for the job until 6 months before. I had no captain’s picks and we only lost by a single point. We had a team room, which we’d never had before, and leveled the playing field in travel and arranged for proper uniforms and it all boosted the self-esteem of the players. We were very disappointed we didn’t get it done, but it was Seve who said, “Don’t be so sad. This is a victory for us.” He was right. That was a stepping stone for winning on home soil in 1985. That was fantastic, but the win in ’87 at Muirfield Village in Jack’s backyard (Nicklaus was U.S. captain) will always be the ultimate. That cracked the dominance and validated the changes I’d made.
You have to understand that in the 1960s and 70s, we turned up and we wanted to win, but we didn’t have the confidence. We had the bravado but we didn’t really believe it. I went back after ’83 and reflected on how we could improve and I decided we’d gotten it right, and basically, Europe has dominated ever since.
Ian Poulter celebrates on the 18th green after his win against Dustin Johnson at the 2018 Ryder Cup. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
GW: Should the Ryder Cup be played this year or does it need to be postponed?
TJ: No way. Not unless they can have the crowds there and things change very quickly. It would be a disaster. I think they should delay it and go back to the odd years while things get back to whatever normal is going to be.
More than any event, the Ryder Cup needs the galleries. They make it. The pressure builds up and there’s like a spiritual connection between the players and the galleries, and they make it, more than any other event, in my view.
It’s not war, but you’re certainly going out to battle every time in your armor and sharing so much emotion with all of your teammates. It really makes you appreciate what it has become. I remember prior to playing in it, Rory (McIlroy) made the statement that it is just an exhibition. I thought, you’ll find out different, pal, and he has and he’s passionate about it now. The atmosphere created is just extraordinary. It’s something else altogether.
Danny Willett presents Sergio Garcia with the Green Jacket after Garcia won in a playoff during the final round of the 2017 Masters Tournament. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
GW: Who do you consider the biggest underachiever in golf you ever saw and why?
TJ: Sergio Garcia. He’s been one of the best players on the planet for the last 20 years and doesn’t have much to show for it. Seve had more courage in his little finger than this lad. Don’t get me wrong, Sergio has been a prolific winner, but he had the ability to win double-digit majors. Trevino said long ago, God never gave one man everything. Garcia would be the one that jumps out to me. He’s been a marvelous Ryder Cup player. When he’s bathed in the team environment it brings the best out of him. It seems to give him comfort to perform at his best as opposed to when he’s all alone and it seems like a huge task. Even the Masters he won (in 2017), I thought the wheels were going to come off at the 13th. He’s 41 now, and I can’t see him being born again. To think that he’s only won one major as a ball striker like he is, well, it’s mind-boggling.
GW: If you could have front row seats to any concert, who would you like to see?
TJ: I’ve seen him. It was Frank Sinatra. I saw him at the Albert Hall when he was still performing. “Fly me to the Moon” and “My Way” are my favorites. I was a lyric man and I think they ran out of good lyrics about 25 years ago, to be honest with you. But I’m profoundly deaf now. I’ve got the best pair of hearing aids you can get. Noise and I do not do very well.
