ESPN.com - Euro stars of past Ryder Cups

ESPN.com: Ryder Cup 2004

Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Euro stars of past Ryder Cups

By John Huggan
Golf Digest

Every two years it's the same old thing. In the midst of yet another strong performance from the underrated Europeans, at least one member of their Ryder Cup side leaps from obscurity to play the unlikeliest of starring roles.

Again and again, this rag-tag band of strangers -- at least to most American fans -- invariably armed with funny names or swings or both, have proved to be more than up to the task of beating the strangely vulnerable leading lights of the U.S.

Possible reasons for this perplexing phenomenon have long been debated as Europe, perennial underdogs, has amassed a 5-3-1 record over the last nine Ryder Cup matches.

Is it just that the unheralded Europeans have nothing to lose? Or perhaps the Americans too often underestimate their opponents? Maybe the inherent uncertainty of 18-hole match play is part of the reason why a Christy O'Connor Jr. can beat a Fred Couples; why a Phillip Price can take out a Phil Mickelson; why a David Gilford can edge a Brad Faxon; why a Mark O'Meara can lose to a Paul Broadhurst; and why a Tiger Woods can find a Costantino Rocca too good for him.

Whatever the underlying explanation, it keeps happening -- and, no doubt, will continue to do so. Even if, as has been the case with so many, those European heroes swiftly return to places outside Uncle Sam's range of vision.

Here are the stories of four such men.

Philip Walton

"I Felt Like I Was Floating"
When the now-retired Concorde taking the victorious 1995 European Ryder Cup side home from Oak Hill touched down at Dublin airport, skipper Bernard Gallacher immediately handed the trophy to 33-year-old Irishman Philip Walton. As Walton, the man who had secured the winning point, led the team down the steps, an enormous roar of approval from his own folk greeted him. In his homeland, Walton's hero status was forever assured.

This year's heroes?
Paul Casey Paul Casey may have broken some of Tiger Woods' scoring records while playing college golf at Arizona State, but the Englander has returned to Europe to play most of his professional golf, explaining why many are unfamiliar with his ability, even though he was T-6 at the Masters in April. Casey's game has few weaknesses. He's in the top 20 on the European Tour in scoring, distance, GIR and putts per GIR, and should make himself better known to the American audience with some timely wins at Oakland Hills. -- John Antonini Chris Riley Chris Riley has the perfect putting stroke for a Ryder Cup and the perfect attitude. He'll become a father soon, so he is unlikely to be overawed by a golf match. He never is. Riley is the same whether he shoots 68 or 78. Plus he's buddies with Tiger. Riley will keep the team room loose. -- Bob Verdi

This year's heroes?

Paul Casey

Paul Casey may have broken some of Tiger Woods' scoring records while playing college golf at Arizona State, but the Englander has returned to Europe to play most of his professional golf, explaining why many are unfamiliar with his ability, even though he was T-6 at the Masters in April. Casey's game has few weaknesses. He's in the top 20 on the European Tour in scoring, distance, GIR and putts per GIR, and should make himself better known to the American audience with some timely wins at Oakland Hills.
-- John Antonini

Chris Riley

Chris Riley has the perfect putting stroke for a Ryder Cup and the perfect attitude. He'll become a father soon, so he is unlikely to be overawed by a golf match. He never is. Riley is the same whether he shoots 68 or 78. Plus he's buddies with Tiger. Riley will keep the team room loose.
-- Bob Verdi

Sadly, the same cannot be said for his European Tour card. Since 1998, the last time he retained his playing privileges, Walton has failed to finish among the top 100 money winners on tour. So far in 2004, he has managed to win only 351 euros on the Challenge Tour.

Ironically, the start of Walton's decline came at Oak Hill, where he played only once -- losing by one hole with Ian Woosnam in a second-day foursomes match to Loren Roberts and Peter Jacobsen -- before defeating Jay Haas on the final green in the penultimate singles match to clinch Europe's unlikely victory. "That was a heavy week for me," he confirms. "It was frustrating that I didn't play much and I was annoyed that even when I played better than Woosie in our game together, it was me who didn't get a game in the afternoon.

"As for the singles, I have never in my life felt such pressure. On the last tee I had to step away from my address because I could see two balls when I looked down. My heart was beating so quickly, too. To be honest, Jay and I chopped our way up the hole. I remember nearly standing on my ball as we walked toward the green. I had actually stopped for a second and someone said, 'It's there.' I looked down, and it was right between my feet. So I was lucky there.

"At the end all I wanted to do was get off the green. I felt like I was floating. But I do remember thinking that it must have been the quickest disappearance of 20,000 Americans ever."

As his ability to compete at the highest level has waned, Walton has dabbled in course design. But he still wants to play and has done so in eight European Tour events this year, making only two cuts. At the end of this year he intends to return -- "one last time" -- to the qualifying school in Spain.

Peter Baker

"That Week Was the Best of My Life"
At 25, Peter Baker seemingly had the world at his size-eight feet. Twice a winner on the 1993 European Tour, he arrived at The Belfry for his Ryder Cup debut a star on the rise. And he didn't disappoint, winning three points out of four, including a brilliantly played singles victory over surely the best match player on the U.S side, Corey Pavin.

"That week was the best of my life," says Baker. "The hair on the back of my neck was standing on end as I walked onto the first tee. I played very well, too, especially when I beat Pavin in the singles. He was right at the top of his form at the time. We had a great game. I had 23 putts in the 18 holes, and he had 24. I was around in 68 and won on the last green."

Unfortunately, the 11 years since have not been so kind to the Englishman. His highest Order of Merit finish was 12th in 1998, an oasis of success in a sea of mediocrity. Only Baker's status as a member of the top 40 career money winners has kept him on the European Tour since he finished a lowly 125th on the 2002 money list.

"My career has been disappointing," he admits. "My whole game has deteriorated, from driving to putting. It has been hard to play the way I have. It is difficult to feel as though you are not competitive. I hate that. I have missed being in contention."

At this year's Irish Open, Baker recorded his first top-10 finish in more than two years, but his struggles have continued. He currently sits 121st on the Order of Merit, six spots from an exempt place in 2005.

Paul Way

"I Loved Playing Those Guys"
As soon as he joined the European Tour in 1982, Paul Way confirmed his status as one of the best young players on either side of the Atlantic. In his first four years as a professional, he was never out of the top 30 money winners. During that period he played in two Ryder Cups, 1983 and 1985, amassing an impressive 6-2-1 record in tandem with first Seve Ballesteros, then Ian Woosnam. Even more tellingly, Way won both of his singles matches, defeating the not inconsiderable figures of Curtis Strange and Ray Floyd.

"I loved playing those guys," he says. "They were great competitors, but so was I at the time. In both matches I got 3 or 4 up early and that was too much for them to come back from. "But the best part of my two Ryder Cups was playing with Seve at PGA National [in Florida]. He was so good then. I remember him giving everyone on the team a chipping lesson. None of us had much idea from the Bermuda grass around the greens, but he was a master."

By the end of 1985, Way was the Volvo PGA champion and a bona fide star. Then, almost as suddenly as he had risen, Way -- at the age of only 23 -- went into what has turned out to be terminal decline. Only once, when he appeared as if from nowhere to win the 1987 European Open, has his career even briefly flickered back to life. And not since 1993 has he figured among Europe's top 100 money winners.

"Paul had a strange career," says Roger Chapman, a 22-year European Tour veteran, with whom Way played on the 1981 GB&I Walker Cup side. "He was great at first. Then he lost it. Then he won again. Then that was it. All at a very young age and all hard to explain, although I know he did have problems with his chipping."

Way has been off the tour entirely since 2000. Today, apart from an annual appearance as a past champion at the Volvo PGA, Way's competitive golf consists of "the odd pro-am, regional event and a lot of company golf days.

"I have no great desire to play the tour again," he claims. "I was never a fan of all the travel and the lifestyle. I'm happy with my lot now."

Steven Richardson

"The Superstar We've Been Waiting For"
During the 1991 Volvo PGA Championship, Seve Ballesteros had this to say about then-24-year-old Steven Richardson: "He's the superstar we've been waiting for; he's got everything."

So it seemed, at least for a while. By the end of that summer, Richardson had two European Tour wins to his name, had finished second on the Order of Merit behind Ballesteros, had tied for fifth in the PGA Championship at Crooked Stick and made an impressive Ryder Cup debut at Kiawah Island.

Paired three times with fellow Englishman Mark James, Richardson picked up two points, the duo losing only to Mark Calcavecchia and Payne Stewart by the narrowest of margins. Richardson then lost 2 and 1 to Corey Pavin in the singles.

"What I remember is the pressure," Richardson says. "Normally you feel pressure at the beginning of an event and at the end. At Kiawah I felt it all the way through. I can still recall how I felt over the four-foot putt I missed on the last green for Mark and I to lose to Calcavecchia and Stewart. My heart was pounding, and I felt terrible. That said, looking back on the week now, it was a special experience."

The good days were not to last, however. By 1994 Richardson, the son of Scottish parents from St. Andrews, had slipped as low as 74th on the Order of Merit. Three years after that he had lost his card. Three times he returned to the tour school to regain it, but the end came in 2001, when his 17,677 euros in winnings left him 208th on the money list.

"I would give it another shot if I could get my game to the level required," he says. "My decline was gradual. I just lost a bit here and there around the greens, but the biggest problem was my driving. I couldn't keep the ball in play enough."

These days, Richardson still plays in the odd regional event near his Hampshire home and coaches four days a week at the Quindell G&CC. All a far cry from Kiawah.

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