1991, Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Yep, the one that truly brought a nasty edge to the Ryder Cup ... dubbed with some justification as the “War by the Shore,” the match – played in the aftermath of the Gulf War – had friction aplenty with the fallout extending beyond a missed six-foot putt on the last hole in the last match by Bernhard Langer which led to the Americans’ over-the-top celebrations.
The scene had been set from early on in the week when US captain Dave Stockton screened a film to both teams called the “History of the Ryder Cup.” Little did the Europeans know until the screening, however, was that it was a highlight reel of American victories not helped later when Stockton introduced his team at the official dinner citing how much money each player had won through their careers.
“We were more pissed off than you can imagine,” David Feherty would reveal.
The scene setters were nothing compared to the real thing with, from the off, some bad blood evident. Indeed, in the very first match, which pitted Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal against Paul Azinger and Chip Beck there was a standoff at the turn. Three-down through nine holes, the Spanish pair accused the Americans of having changed balls on the seventh. The call, though, should have been made when it happened, which would have resulted in a penalty, not three holes later.
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Then, ahead of the singles, the USA’s Steve Pate was declared injured – his match against David Gilford declared a half – which only added to the sense of mistrust.
So the match was played in a cauldron which went right to the wire, Langer’s singles against Hale Irwin providing drama to the death. To this day, a question mark hangs over Irwin’s drive down the left of the 18th which seemed destined for the sandhills but finished up in the middle of the fairway. But the German still had a six-footer to win the match on the 18th which would have seen the overall result finish as tie and for Europe to retain the trophy. His missed putt meant a halved match with Irwin but an overall win – 14 ½ to 13 ½ – for the USA. Stockton was thrown into the Atlantic as part of the celebrations which saw the Americans get their hands on the trophy for the first time since 1983.
1999, Country Club, Brookline, Massachusetts
The so-called “Battle of Brookline” featured a final day’s turnaround by the Americans which finished in raw acrimony when the home players – along with an entourage of wives and even television cameramen – invaded the 17th green after Justin Leonard holed a putt although his opponent José María Olazábal still had a putt to share the hole.
Yet, the rancour had been in evidence long before that invasion. In the build-up, Payne Stewart had observed of a European team featuring seven rookies – among them Pádraig Harrington – that, “on paper, they should be caddying for us.”
Europe defied that lack of experience to hold a 10-6 lead going into the final day’s session of 12 singles.
On the night beforehand, future US president George W Bush gave a speech to Ben Crenshaw’s team that focused around the letter written by Barret Travis to his troops during the siege of the Alamo.
If that served to fuel up the USA players, the Sunday singles brought accusations of skulduggery – Andrew Coltart, who had not played at all until pitched against Tiger Woods in the singles – believing a marshal had stood on his ball in the rough until the five minutes search time had finished, while Colin Montgomerie claimed his father had been forced to leave the course due to the amount of abuse he had received.
Still, it was the invasion of the 17th after Leonard’s putt and before Olazabal’s that was the abiding image of the Battle of Brookline.
2016, Hazeltine National, Chaska, Minnesota
The boisterous home support for the USA at Hazeltine crossed a line on occasions, with Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia targeted for most of the verbal abuse that came from outside the ropes.
At one point of his afternoon fourballs on the second day’s afternoon fourballs sessions, McIlroy – who partnered Thomas Pieters to a 3&1 win over Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson – requested marshals to remove a spectator from the course due to the level of abuse hurled his way.
“I think there have been some boundaries crossed. I let it get to me a couple of times which I probably shouldn’t have ... someone just said a few derogatory things I thought were over the line,” admitted McIlroy. “That particular guy, who is obviously in a very small minority, just took it a bit too far.”
Ahead of the final day’s play, the PGA of America issued a statement insisting on “zero tolerance” for spectators who stepped over the line.
“We are encouraging all spectators on Sunday to be passionate and support their team in a way that is respectful to those around them, the players, and the Ryder Cup. Our security staff will continue to enforce a zero-tolerance policy, removing from the course any fans who are disruptive in any way, including the use of vulgar or profane language directed at the players.”
The USA defeated Europe by 17-11, with the Americans dominant in the final day’s singles.
