Ryder Cup 2012: Remembering Brookline; Why It Matters

The Ryder Cup at Brookline was like the Miracle on Ice, only it was on grass.

I can remember being at a family picnic during the Ryder Cup matches at Brookline in 1999.  My nephew, just four-years-old, was rattling off the ever-changing Sunday leaderboard like he was singing the alphabet. His updates were legendary; he would tilt his head back, "The UR-A-PEEONS just lost another match."

Some would say the matches were magical and others would term them mystical. The Ben Crenshaw captained American team faced long odds going into Sunday singles matches. Four points down (10-6), the team responded in posting American flags across the leaderboard in a somewhat miraculous 81/2 point comeback to win (14!/2 to 131/2) - the closest score possible.

On the eve of the Crenshaw-led team's final day, there was a series of speeches that served as the preamble to the final day's pendulum swing to victory.  

In 2010, Wall Street Journal's Stephanie Wei reported in an article post Brookline:

Consider, for instance, the legendary pep talk delivered by Robin Love, Davis Love III’s wife in 1999 at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass. The U.S., down four points, needed a Sunday miracle. Love, the last to speak on the eve of the singles matches, didn’t flinch.

“I remember Robin Love holding up the trophy and telling the guys to take dead aim,” said Tabitha Furyk. 

Wives? in the team room?  They do things a little differently at the Ryder Cup. The wives of the players have been part of the gathering for years. Would Bill Belichick let Gisele Bundchen give a pep-talk to the New England Patriots before the Super Bowl? Only, in golf everything is a little bent on family values, self-imposed rulings and in 1999 the Americans were losing big time. If Robin Love was getting the players fired up by telling them to take dead aim - then maybe they should listen to her this year.

Brookline was an interesting mix of burgeoning talent with David Duval, Phil MIckelson, Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard representing the new guard on the PGA Tour.  And, the big brother guard represented by Hal Sutton, Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Jeff Maggert, Steve Pate and Payne Stewart. Not lost on the eve of another event, both captains of this year's teams (Love III and Olazabal) played minor roles in that event.  

There are several ties to that epic comeback as the teams prepare for Medinah in three weeks. This year's captain's pick, Jim Furyk, is the same player who upset Sergio Garcia to give the U.S. their 8th win in singles. Furyk also snared his lone career major down the road at Olympic Fields in 2003.

When Justin Leonard's putt hammered the back of the cup and dropped, his combatant was current Euro Captain, Jose Maria Olazabal. What will never be lost in that Ryder Cup was the actual celebration that ensued when Leonard's putt went south. Olazabal could have made a 25-footer to send the match to the 18th. Order needed to be restored, but the memories of that celebration will never be forgotten. Several golf historians thought the celebration hurt the essence of sportsmanship of the event.

Assistant Captain, Darren Clarke was also at Brookline as a player. Actually, Lee Westwood who will play at Medinah, and Clarke were the first two European players out on the course in Brookline for Sunday singles. Westwood lost to Tom Lehman 3 and 2 and Clarke was bettered by Hal Suttorn 4 and 2 to start the American flag waving on Sunday. Mickelson, Woods, Love III and Duval also managed wins for the U.S. It can be argued that Mark James, then the Captain of the Euros made some tactical errors, but having some of the same combatants duel at Medinah - is an interesting twist.

This year's American squad features some of the same youth that was forced to make points on Sunday in 1999.  Jason Duffner, Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar will be counted on to make a difference without much experience.

And, my now 17-year-old nephew Parker knows that proper phonetics of the Euros. And, they will likely head to midwest soil as the favorite.  

Their captain, Olazabal, is likely to remind them that no lead is safe.