1999 Ryder Cup

In the lead-up to the Ryder Cup, Payne Stewart said of the European team, "On paper, they should be caddying for us."[9] Jeff Maggert echoed the sentiment in a press conference prior to the matches, saying, "Let's face it, we've got the 12 best players in the world."[10] Colin Montgomerie declined to react, saying, "You want someone to bite. Well, I'm not going to."[11]

The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest country clubs in the United States. It was one of the five charter clubs which founded the United States Golf Association, and has hosted numerous USGA tournaments including the U.S. Open in 1913, won by then-unknown Francis Ouimet. The club is one of the largest of its kind in the northeastern U.S., with about 1300 members.

The 33rd Ryder Cup Matches were covered live in the United States for all five sessions. USA Network covered the Friday action, with Bill Macatee and Peter Kostis in the 18th tower. The weekend was covered live by NBC Sports, with Dick Enberg and Johnny Miller in the 18th tower, Dan Hicks calling holes, and on-course reporters Gary Koch, Mark Rolfing, Roger Maltbie, and John Schroeder. Jim Gray conducted interviews, and on the final day was also used as a fifth on-course reporter. On the weekend, former European Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher was brought in as a guest analyst to provide a European perspective.

In the UK, BBC and Sky Sports both had a presence, with Peter Alliss and Ewen Murray being the lead broadcaster for each with contributions from Butch Harmon, Bernard Gallagher, Peter Oosterhuis and Tony Jacklin

The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format used from 1991 to 2002 was as follows:

• Day 1 (Friday) — 4 four-ball (better ball) matches in a morning session and 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches in an afternoon session
• Day 2 (Saturday) — 4 foursome matches in a morning session and 4 four-ball matches in an afternoon session
• Day 3 (Sunday) — 12 singles matches

With a total of 28 points, 14½ points were required to win the Cup, and 14 points were required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

No team had previously come back from more than two points down on the final day to win the Ryder Cup. Team Europe captain Mark James put most of the team's strength at the back of the lineup. Meanwhile, Ben Crenshaw arranged the American lineup to put most of the strength at the beginning, knowing that a fast start was needed if the Americans were going to recover from the four point deficit. This led to several early mismatches. James had not played three of his rookies during team play: Jarmo Sandelin, Jean van de Velde, and Andrew Coltart. Due to the opposite strategies, this resulted in the three rookies playing their first Ryder Cup matches against the three top American players at that time, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, and Tiger Woods.

Tom Lehman and Lee Westwood, playing in the lead match, halved the first three holes. However, the Europeans seemed to pick up where they had left off when Darren Clarke chipped in at the opening hole, though Hal Sutton squared the match at the next hole and did not trail again. The matches were close in the early stages, but then Love chipped in at the 5th for a birdie, which seemed to inspire his teammates. Woods, looking much more comfortable in individual play, followed with a chip-in of his own a few minutes later at the 8th, which caused an enormous roar from the crowd that could be heard through the course. The Americans now had the lead in the first six matches. Love secured the first point of the day, winning 6 & 5 over Van de Velde, followed quickly by Lehman and Sutton. Mickelson and Sandelin previously had a history with each other, stemming from the 1996 Alfred Dunhill Cup. Sandelin drew the ire of the American fans, who were well aware of the incident, which led to a strange exchange at the second hole. Sandelin missed a short putt for birdie, for which the crowd cheered, prompting Sandelin to raise his hands in mock acknowledgement of the cheering. He never looked comfortable and lost to Mickelson 4 & 3. Jesper Parnevik, separated from García, looked out of sorts, losing six of the first eight holes against David Duval, and lost by a five-hole margin. Woods then closed out Coltart to give the U.S. a 12–10 lead, their first lead of the week.

The Americans had won the first six matches of the day. Pádraig Harrington got the Europeans their first point of the day when his opponent Mark O'Meara could not escape a bunker at the final hole. Steve Pate answered by defeating Miguel Ángel Jiménez. The biggest European win came from the anchor match, with Paul Lawrie winning three of the first eight holes against Jeff Maggert, and going on to win 4 & 3. However, Sergio García lost by the same margin to Jim Furyk, his first loss of the week. Both Parnevik and García lost by large margins in singles after going undefeated in team play.

The Americans now led 14–12, with two matches on the course. The U.S. now needed just half a point to win, while Europe needed two points to retain the cup in a tie situation. The remaining matches pitted Colin Montgomerie against Payne Stewart, and José María Olazábal against Justin Leonard. Montgomerie and Stewart had gone back and forth for much of the front nine, with both players making several long putts. Montgomerie then won the 12th to move 2 up. Stewart won the 14th, while both players found trouble at 15, and both faced lengthy par putts. Montgomerie missed from 15 feet, while Stewart holed from 35 feet to square the match with three holes to play. Stewart's excited fist pump has been used on many Ryder Cup promotional materials, including NBC's telecast opens, since his death a month later.

Meanwhile, the other match appeared to be a blowout with Olazábal leading Leonard 4 up with just seven holes to play. However, the Spaniard played the next three holes in 5-6-5, losing all three, to drop his lead to one hole. Leonard then sunk a 40-foot putt at the 15th to square the match, a scene very similar to Stewart's putt at the same green. At the 17th, Leonard had another 40 footer for birdie, with Olazábal about 15 feet closer. Leonard holed the unlikely birdie, sending the American team into a frenzy. The team, their wives and NBC cameramen all ran onto the green to hug Leonard, with the cameramen allegedly stepping in Olazábal's line which is considered a breach of golf etiquette.[12] Eventually order was restored, and Olazábal had a 25-foot putt to keep Europe's hope alive. He missed the putt which gave Leonard a 1 up lead with 1 hole to play. This guaranteed the U.S. the half-point they needed to win the Ryder Cup and complete the improbable comeback. Olazábal managed to win the 18th hole with a birdie and the match was halved.

With the crowd in a frenzy, the marshals unable to keep order, and the result already decided, Stewart conceded the putt Montgomerie had to win on the 18th, in a gesture of sportsmanship for the abuse Montgomerie in particular had suffered throughout.[13][14] This made the final score 14½–13½ officially.

	Results		Timetable
Lee Westwood	3 & 2	Tom Lehman	2nd (10–8)
Darren Clarke	4 & 2	Hal Sutton	4th (10–10)
Jarmo Sandelin	5 & 3	Phil Mickelson	3rd (10–9)
Jean van de Velde	6 & 5	Davis Love III	1st (10–7)
Andrew Coltart	3 & 2	Tiger Woods	6th (10–12)
Jesper Parnevik	5 & 4	David Duval	5th (10–11)
Pádraig Harrington	1 up	Mark O'Meara	8th (11–13)
Miguel Ángel Jiménez	2 & 1	Steve Pate	7th (10–13)
José María Olazábal	halved	Justin Leonard	11th (12½–14½)
Colin Montgomerie	1 up	Payne Stewart	12th (13½–14½)
Sergio García	4 & 3	Jim Furyk	10th (12–14)
Paul Lawrie	4 & 3	Jeff Maggert	9th (12–13)
3½	Session	8½
13½	Overall	14½

Several members of the European team were critical of the actions of the U.S. team and fans. Colin Montgomerie said that his father had left the course due to the amount of abuse that Montgomerie was receiving, and Mark James reported that a fan had spit at his wife.[3][15][16][14] Andrew Coltart's caddy claimed that a course marshal had concealed Coltart's lost ball until five minutes had elapsed, resulting in a one-stroke penalty for Coltart.[2] Vice-captain Sam Torrance stated that many of those who had run onto the green had done so over Olazábal's putting line, and further singled out Tom Lehman's behavior on the final day as "disgusting" for someone who "calls himself a man of God".[12]

Some of the American players afterwards apologized for the behavior of their team.[17] American newspapers were also critical of their side: The Washington Post stated that "It seems an American team can't get through an international competition without acting like jackasses at some point" and the Los Angeles Times described the American team as having "violated every principle of proper golf decorum and decent manners."[3]

Each entry refers to the Win–Loss–Half record of the player.

Source:[18]

• Coverage on the BBC site