So there figured to be ill will in the air when the next Ryder Cup was competed in 2001 at the Belfry in Sutton Coldfield, England. But in the wake of September 11th, the 34th Ryder Cup competition was postponed for a year. The 2002 version of the three-day competition–with last year’s teams kept intact and emotions far more subdued–begins Friday. Johnny Miller, who played on two Ryder Cup teams and who has covered the competition with NBC for the past decade, talked with NEWSWEEK’S Mark Starr about the matchup.
NEWSWEEK: With all that’s happened in the past year, has the Ryder Cup lost some of its buzz? Johnny Miller: If there’s world peace and everyone’s making lots of money, sports is huge. If you have what happened on 9-11 and what may be happening in Iraq and what’s going on in the Middle East and the stock market mediocre to terrible, then people are thinking of things other than sports. So it’s not the perfect fertile ground for everyone thinking this Ryder Cup is the most important thing happening in the month of September.
With the timing so close to the 9-11 anniversary, has that further dampened the excitement?
Well the timing, with the September 11th remembrance and everything else, is not the greatest. It’s kind of a solemn occasion. Going into it last year, they were crazy about it before September 11th. It’s a little different this year. It will probably be great again, but people are going to have to warm back up to it. Once they get into it though, I think they’ll get back to the old fever pitch.
Still, I wouldn’t expect to see the kind of antipathy that was expected out there.
We had what the World Wrestling Federation works so hard to get every time they have an event. I think a lot of people are wondering what kind of flavor the partisan gallery for Europe will have. And how fired up the players will be. There are a lot of unknowns.
The postponement seems to have taken the edge off more than just the emotions.
Well the other thing is that some of these players were pretty hot going into the Ryder Cup last year. Qualifying was a non-event this year and some of the players on the team aren’t playing all that well. And the captain’s picks [for the U.S. team Scott Verplank and Paul Azinger] don’t seem all that exciting.
Should U.S. captain Curtis Strange have changed his picks?
If I had made the rules, I would have told Curtis Strange you have the right to keep your captain’s picks or to replace them. They earned nothing. The biggest potential problem with the Ryder Cup this year was that a guy could have gone out and won two or three majors and not been on the team. It could have been ridiculous.
Or even one major with a hot golfer like PGA champ Rich Beem.
I think people would want to watch him, too. See how he did at the Ryder Cup. The fact that the team is not really current hurts.
Well, you still have Tiger. But the Ryder Cup has been one place Tiger hasn’t shined.
Let’s face it, he’s had a horrendous record [3-6-1 in two Ryder Cups]. His record almost couldn’t be any worse for a guy who is as good as he is. The Ryder Cup is probably the the worst thing he’s done as a pro.
Is there real pressure on him this time?
Yeah, there is pressure on him. If Tiger plays the way he’s supposed to play, wins all five of his matches or maybe halves one, the U.S. will have the first breakaway victory since ‘81. Europe has been very lucky that Tiger has not been Tiger.
Do you regard the U.S. team as an overwhelming favorite?
Since ‘83, the U.S. has not put together a great Ryder Cup and Europe has played terrifically. I’d say it right in front of the American players that they know they could win by four, five, six, seven points if they made the putts and played the way they can play. In some ways, it’s been wonderful that they haven’t because every Ryder Cup seems to go down to the last half hour.
It is amazing how every one goes down to the wire.
It’s like scripted in Hollywood. Like someone says, “How can we make this really interesting?” The last Ryder Cup, I said that dumb thing about Justin Leonard, that he belonged home watching it on TV. And then of course two days later he’s the guy who starts making the putts and wins the Ryder Cup. It was like it was fake, like I set it up. It was crazy.
Why does the Ryder Cup have such immense appeal. Is it the unusual match-play format? Or watching all these soloists play for team and country?
With no money involved, it’s very unique. This is the real deal. The emotions are so honest and raw. These guys are crying and basically going nuts out there because they are really into it. And the best thing is that usually some heroes emerge. The pressure of the Ryder Cup can make players play their worst golf or heroic golf. If you’re a hero in the Ryder Cup, that usually translates into super play on the Tour for the next year or two, or maybe forever. It’s the ultimate pressure-cooker and if you can handle that, it gives you so much confidence.
Do you think many Americans root for Europe because they’re underdogs?
No. What Americans do is pull for it to be real close, but for the Americans to win in the end.
