The ‘War on the Shore’, as it came to be known, was one of the most controversial matches in the history of the Ryder Cup.
Kiawah Island staged the 1991 event and, following the coalition victory in the first Gulf War, it took on a stridently patriotic tone – something which caught the European contingent off guard.
With the American team donning camouflage hats, and the spectators getting involved in a way the three-day competition had not seen before, the dramatic ebb and flow of the event set up a thrilling finish.
Bernhard Langer had a putt for Europe to tie in his match against Hale Irwin, but the six footer on the 18th slid agonisingly by and the US reclaimed the Ryder Cup for the first time in six years.
Steve Carroll went to meet three of the leading protagonists in the drama – Irwin, Fred Couples and Colin Montgomerie – to get their take on what happened at Kiawah.
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