We are just days away from experiencing the most coveted tournament that the sport of golf has to offer. The 12 member teams are all set to clash on September 29th as the Ryder Cup graces the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome for the first time. As tensions pile up, it is but evident that a tournament so steeped in tradition will have controversies brewing up every now and then. With players drenched in passion, enthusiasm and national pride, there are bound to be moments when the sport’s greatest biennial event might reach a boiling point. As the 44th Ryder Cup approaches, we take a peek at the moments when tensions soared high and things got a little out of hand.
1. The Golf Club Squabble
During the 1929 Ryder Cup in Moortown England, the US team faced a rather surprising confrontation when Great Britain Captain George Duncan, refused to allow them to play owing to their cutting edge steel shafted golf clubs! Although legal in the US, these golf clubs were not accepted as per the R&A’s rules, until a year later. As a result, the US team had to bow down and despite a narrow lead, ended up losing to the European side.
2. The Chair Incident
Slow play has been a matter of controversy in golf for years now with many golfers calling it out publicly. So when England’s Eric Brown became pissed at his single’s opponent Tommy Bolt in 1957, for deliberately playing slow, he asked his caddie to get him a chair to sit while Bolt delayed his shots. Brown and his caddie carried the chair throughout the tournament until their team finally emerged victorious.
3. A Ryder Cup Embroiled in War
With the Gulf War ongoing in 1991, the tension among fans were quite palpable at the Ryder Cup that year. Held at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina, the tournament saw the US side high on patriotism. Corey Pavin, along with other team members, wore a camouflage cap in order to show support for the troops, but the European fans present were not happy about this. The persistent heckling from the American fans added to the hostile atmosphere on the course, to the point that some Americans fans ended up calling the European players’ hotel rooms only to wake them up in the middle of the night. It was the most intense Ryder Cups in the history of the sport.
4. The Brookline Battle
The 1999 Ryder Cup saw a swarm of fans along with the US team and their caddies, jump onto the green in premature celebrations when Justin Leonard unleashed a roaring 45 foot long putt uphill holing a smashing birdie at the 17th hole, which tied the match with Europe’s José María Olazábal. However, Olazábal still had the chance to take the game to the 18th if he managed to sink his own putt. But that didn’t happen, leading to a straight US win!
5. Darcy’s Perfect 10
In the 1987 Ryder Cup held at Muirfield Village, Eannon Darcy, a golf veteran with 3 previous Ryder Cup participations, was in a drought after losing nine matches. He finally squared up with US’s Ben Crenshaw. But on the 6th hole during their match, Crenshaw lost his temper and broke his putter. This gave Darcy an advantage over Crenshaw’s three-iron that he was forced to use to complete the round. Darcy made his long-awaited win on the 10th attempt and led his team to victory at the 18th hole, making it Europe’s first win on US soil.
6. An Order of No Help and More
In 1969, the Ryder Cup was marked by yet another controversy involving British team Captain Eric Brown. Apparently, he ordered his team to not help the Americans look for their balls when hit into the rough. Thus, a series of clashes commenced on greens one to eight, specifically when Dave Hill and Ken Still played Bernard Gallacher and Brian Huggett. At one point Still was seen shouting: “You can have the hole and the goddamn cup,” and Hill allegedly threatened to wrap the one-iron around Gallacher’s head!
7. Rory vs. the Hazeltine Crowd
In 2016 in Hazeltine, Rory McIlroy had just won two matches with Thomas Pieters, and the crowd was not happy. McIlroy was seen bowing and fist pumping as the American fans heckled him continuously.
It got so bad that McIlroy had to have at least one fan kicked out for an offensive comment. Sergio Garcia and Danny Willette also faced the heckling, but it was somehow worse for Rory. The US team ended up winning the cup that year.
8. Seve vs. Strange: “That bother you?”
Seve Ballesteros has to be the centre of tense moments when it comes to the Ryder Cup. But one particular moment stands out from the rest. In 1987, during his 2nd match against Curtis Strange and Tom Kite, with José María Olazábal, an altercation transpired as narrated by Strange himself: “…We’d discussed having a “through line,” which means the line of your putt past the hole. You don’t want people putting on it if you miss the previous putt long. On the first hole Seve had a chip from just off the green. I had a long putt down the hill and putted it past the hole. Olazabal putted, then wanted to putt out, but I said, ‘Well, wait a minute, wait a minute, you can’t do that. You’re right on my through line.’ Seve came charging up. ‘That bother you?’ he said. ‘That bother you?’ I said, ‘yes, that does bother me.’ And so Seve stomped over to his chip and chipped it right into the back of the hole—then walked off the green pumping his fist at me!”
Well, Seve and Olazábal ended up winning that match, and the European team took home the Ryder Cup for the first time on American soil.
