From the highest highs to the lowest lows: A Ryder Cup A-Z

U is for Umbrage

If you’ve got a thin skin then you might not be best suited to playing in a Ryder Cup. Two years ago the players supposedly got some horrific abuse, along the same lines as Brookline and, before that, Kiawah Island.

You might like to think that all this is a) something that only happens in the States, and b) something that has only happened in the past 30 years.

Well, in 1969, things also got a little heated. After a series of fall-outs things, including where to stand, who was to hold the flag and so on things culminated when Dave Hill allegedly said to Bernard Gallacher: “If you say one more word I’m going to wrap this 1-iron around your head.”

Charming.

V is for Valhalla

Ryder Cup A-Z

After three straight defeats, Paul Azinger got the Americans going with his pod system and it worked a treat. While Faldo, not helped by his superstars adding very little, got a few things wrong.

When all the rookie chat comes up it’s worth pointing out that America had six of them at Valhalla, including Anthony Kim who looked made for the Ryder Cup.

Another debutant also provided a first by exiting the 1st tee by pretending to ride his driver as though it were a horse. Which may never be repeated.

W is for Webb Simpson

More crucially, that tee shot at Gleneagles. This was the Ryder Cup equivalent of Steve Harmison’s opening ball in the 2006-07 Ashes.

How not to hit the ground running by skying your opening tee shot so badly it only travels 190 yards. Simpson and Bubba were stuffed 5&4 and ol’ Webb wasn’t seen again until Sunday, when his divot still remained intact.

X is for X-rated

Kiawah Island

To give you some idea of what the atmosphere was like at Kiawah Island in 1991, here’s what Irwin said in Behind the Ryder Cup: The Players’ Stories, by Peter Burns: “As I’m walking to the green I see Seve Ballesteros talking to a team-mate in Spanish. Trying to keep things light, I say to him, ‘Hey, Seve, what did you say?’ He looks at me and says: ‘I said: ‘Too bad you didn’t knock it in the water.’”

Y is for Yorkshire

God’s own county can boast having staged three Ryder Cups at Moortown in 1927, Ganton in 1949 and Lindrick in 1957.

The last time the Ryder Cup visited England was back in 2002 and you might be waiting some time before it gets another go with Italy pencilled in for 2022 and Adare Manor also being linked with future matches.

Z is for Zinger

Paul Azinger

We’re struggling for Zs and the usual go-to answer would be Zoeller and he never played in a Ryder Cup.

So let’s go with maybe America’s greatest captain.

His actual playing record wasn’t the best surprisingly but he left his mark in some memorable singles when he got the better of his arch-rival Seve as well as grabbing a half with Faldo at the peak of his powers in 1993.

Why he has never had a second go at the captaincy is anybody’s guess.