Post Ryder Cup elation proves just a little too much for some

CADDIES'S ROLE - TOUR SCENE OPINION: AFTER A high there is almost certainly a low to follow. Having ended the Ryder Cup with a narrow margin of victory and a wide range of celebrations I was assuming last week in St Andrews was going to be a real downer.

The Dunhill Links with its unique three-round pro-am format is a challenge at the best of times. Preparing for three courses, and in particular tricky links courses and the special attention they demand in comparison to the standard inland course, after the eight-day week we had enjoyed in Wales snapped us out of our euphoria.

We left Wales last Tuesday in style. The European Tour flew us up to Edinburgh in a plush chartered plane with large, smooth leather seats that made us all feel comfortably very special. After a police escort to Cardiff Airport, we were whisked through the terminal right to the plane. With the pomp and ceremony it was hard not to feel heroic.

There were farewell wishers at the terminal, intermittent applause at various stages of our walk to the plane, it was a special feeling of accomplishment which really struck home how important this Ryder Cup trophy is to the public in general.

There was no doubt most of us on the plane were feeling the physical effects of not only a tough week’s golfing but a hard night’s celebration. Victory is a strong anodyne. Whatever we lacked in sleep was made up for in the adrenalin of a fresh success.

The pageant continued at Edinburgh. We stepped right off the plane and onto a bus bound for St Andrews. I wondered if the Americans were being pampered as much on their arrival back in Atlanta around the same time. Edoardo Molinari, my player, got applauded on the main street of St Andrews as he tried to wander inconspicuously around town last Tuesday. It was hard to get away from the feeling of appreciation. It is obviously very important for many people, apart from those of us more directly involved, to beat the Americans.

So it came to trying to prepare in a more hurried fashion than usual for the six-hour rounds each over Kingsbarns, St Andrews and Carnoustie. The draw was made with a few laps of honour in the minds of the organisers. We were to play with Francesco, Edoardo’s brother, the first day, Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie in St Andrews the next day, and with Martin Kaymer for the third round.

Edoardo had left his A game and his energy in Wales. He was even whispering earlier in the week because his voice was feeling the strain of his verbal efforts at Celtic Manor. All these players have had to deal with the after-effects of a win and the difficulties of trying to put in a good performance the following week. Edoardo had just done it last month in Switzerland by finishing second having won at Gleneagles the previous week.

It seemed like the post Ryder Cup elation was just a little too much for him and even being surrounded by victorious team-mates couldn’t carry him though the Dunhill Links cut. He will be better at dealing with it next time.

Such a week affects people in different ways. Kaymer didn’t appear to have any problems handling the after effects of his first Ryder Cup victory by backing it up with an impressive win at St Andrews on Sunday.

The sight of last week’s victor being congratulated by players, caddies and officials is a common scene on tour. It is one of those special forms of decorum that gives you a warm feeling about being involved with a civilised sport. So with a team of 12 and a captain and his assistants you can appreciate that the players and even us caddies were feeling like politicians on the final run-up to an election. If there was a hand, it was there to be shaken.

It was the first time I have witnessed applause for players arriving on the green even though they hadn’t hit the green with their approach shots. They were being cheered for their efforts in Wales the previous week.

The deliberate speed of play at the Dunhill Links Championship coupled with the relaxed pro-am format gave us all a chance to debrief about the more hectic moments of the Ryder Cup the previous week. Monty joked with us about the conversations the radio-connected vice-captains were having as they observed the matches. We all had flashbacks of the post-win party where the elixir of success brought out the best in all team members on Monday night, even the traditionally reserved ones. On the range before playing at Carnoustie last Saturday we watched a clip on one player’s phone of dance-floor antics.

Some players’ shoes even bore the remnants of the muck from the quagmire that the 2010 course had become during the Ryder Cup deluge.

We got to play with the charming and respectful Italian Gianfranco Zola, the ex-Chelsea soccer player, who accompanied Edoardo as his playing partner. Zola exuded a warmth and friendliness which got me wondering about the game of soccer and the antics that we see on the pitch and read about off the pitch.

Through this unique form of golfer/celebrity partnerships we have been out with quite a few soccer players over the years. From Marco van Basten to Niall Quinn and last week Zola.

They are three gentlemen, which makes me wonder how they survived in a game that today does not give the impression that such respectful competitors are playing any more.

Did we just happen to get to play with the three most decent people in football or were they, too, gripped by post-Ryder Cup euphoria?