Why EUROPE DOMINATES the RYDER CUP
More than two decades on, it remains the most controversial moment/incident/shot in the 94-year history of the Ryder Cup. In the immediate aftermath of Justin Leonard’s 40-foot birdie putt disappearing into the cup on the 17th green at The Country Club back in 1999, players, caddies, wives and fans rushed headlong across the putting surface. Billed as “understandable” by the Americans involved, it also betrayed what the watching Europeans felt was an unforgivable amnesia. Jose Maria Olazabal still had a putt for a half – one the Spaniard eventually missed –that would have prolonged the biennial contest between Old and New Worlds.
But here’s the thing.
For what many see as the most egregious lapse in sportsmanship golf has ever known, Ken Brown, an assistant to close friend and then-European skipper, Mark James, blames himself.
“Long before Justin made that famous putt, there was another incident, one I regret like hell now,” says Brown, who has attended every Ryder Cup since 1977 (apart from 1991) in various guises – player, broadcaster, Ryder Cup board member and vice-captain. “I was following Darren Clarke in his match against Hal Sutton. When we got to the 15th, Darren was down but starting to make a bit of a comeback. Sutton had maybe an eight-foot putt for a half. If he missed, Darren was right back in it.
“The late Bruce Edwards – long-time caddie for Tom Watson and Greg Norman – was there, standing right on the edge of the green. He was a
