1965: One of the USA team players remarked, ‘If we played this hard in the tournaments back home, we’d all be millionaires.’
1975: British captain Tony Jacklin before the Ryder Cup, which the Americans won, 21-11: ‘If we don’t score more than nine points that’s the Ryder Cup equivalent of a butt-kicking. If we win, then we ought to be knighted.’
1983: Jack Nicklaus, the US captain, addressing his players before Sunday’s final matches, with the scored tied, 8-8: ‘I will not be the first captain to blow this thing. Now you guys show me some brass.’ Nicklaus, after the Americans won 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 on the strength of a key wedge by Lanny Wadkins. ‘Lanny, that little son of a gun. He needs a wheelbarrow to carry his brass around.’
1987: Tom Kite, playing in his fifth consecutive Ryder Cup, which the Europeans won, 15-13: ‘This has nothing to do with money. It’s bigger than that. This is playing for Uncle Sam, and Sam expects a lot.’
1989: Jose Maria Olazabal, after teammate Seve Ballesteros went eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie on the back side to defeat Tom Watson and Mark O’Meara: ‘When Seve gets his Porsche going, not even San Pedro in heaven could stop him.’
1991: Hale Irwin, who lost a one-up lead with two holes to play in the decisive Sunday singles match against Bernhard Langer: ‘I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t swallow. The sphincter factor was high.’ (The match was halved when Langer missed a six-foot par putt on 18 to give the Americans a 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 victory.)
2002: Sam Torrance, the European captain, while exhaling cigarette smoke through his nostrils after his team’s victory: ‘Hurry up with your questions. It sounds like a hell of a party out there.’
2006: Sandy Lyle, after another rout of the US squad: ‘We’re going to have to start giving the Americans handicap strokes. This is getting boring.’
