Forty years on, how Jacklin resurrected Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup 2025

Venue: Bethpage Black, New York Dates: 26-28 September

In 1983 the Ryder Cup was in danger of dying.

The biannual contest between the United States and Great Britain had been ruined by decades of American dominance, which had sucked the risk and the interest.

The addition of Irish players in 1973 had made minimal impact. The trend of dramatic defeats continued.

At the request of American great Jack Nicklaus, GB&amp, I had morphed into Europe by 1979. However, they were still enjoying themselves. By six points in ‘ 79. Nine in 81, by nine.

“It wouldn’t have lasted another two matches”, said Tony Jacklin, the most important captain in Ryder Cup history.

The 81-year-old, who was the defibrillator at The Belfry in 1985, will be there for this week’s most recent installment of his career as he marks a “scarcely believable” 40 years.

Jacklin backed up that first win by masterminding a first away triumph by any team from this side of the Atlantic in 1987. It was a remarkable fortune reversal. From one win in 40 years, to two in two.

It was remarkable that the two-time major winner even participated.

The Englishman, who blazed a trail as the best player from these shores throughout the 1960s and ‘ 70s, played in seven Ryder Cups during that period before eventually declaring himself “done” after being left out of the 1981 side.

He was “frustrated and angry” with some of his peers’ approaches despite knowing that something had to change. From being a central figure, suddenly “the Ryder Cup meant nothing” to him.

Then Jacklin was given the assignment to lead the side in early 1983, six months after what was anticipated to be another shelling in the US.

“I was in shock”, Jacklin told BBC Sport. I cried “I needed to sleep on it because I was so shocked.”

Jacklin viewed himself as a winner and was constantly striving for improvement. In 1969 he became first Englishman in 18 years to win The Open. In 1970, he won the US Open and did the same. The only other Englishman to win both is Jim Barnes, in the 1920s.

However, his seven Ryder Cup appearances ended with significant losses.

The outlier was the 16-16 draw at Royal Birkdale in 1969, which was secured when Nicklaus conceded Jacklin’s three-foot putt on the last hole in what has gone down as one of sport’s great moments.

On his debut in 1967, he had a 15-point advantage, and the gap remained that much longer.

In 1977, the final match as GB&amp, I, the number of matches was reduced.

The only session per day was at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s, where Sir Nick Faldo, who won all three of his rubbers, said BBC Sport. “They didn’t want the singles to be so far ahead that the singles would be obsolete,” he said.

The US still won 12½-7½.

The European blood for 1979 arrived. Newly crowned Open champion Severiano Ballesteros and his fellow Spaniard Antonio Garrido bolstered the dozen heading to West Virginia. But not much has changed.

“We went to The Greenbrier and they didn’t know who we were or what to call it”, recalled Faldo. The International Ryder Cup is on a small plate I have, the owner says.

A sense of frustration was palpable in Jacklin as he recalled what turned out to be his final appearance as a player.

He claimed that everything was done “on a shoestring budget.” “It was all too similar to what I’d experienced before, when you couldn’t take your own caddie, the players wore anything they were given and thought their only job was to turn up.

The Americans were treated like kings, they claimed. First-class travel, nice clothes. “

Jacklin continues to criticize Mark James and Ken Brown’s “disappointing” behavior at that Ryder Cup.

” They did every bloody thing they could to jeopardise our chances, “he said”. They resembled spoiled infants. They didn’t turn up to meetings at the right time, they wore the wrong clothes.

“If I had been the captain, I would have sent them home,” he said. “They were a total disgrace.”

European skipper John Jacobs was also unimpressed, saying they turned up “dressed as though they were going on a camping holiday”.

James was fined £1,500 for “unprofessional conduct,” and would go on to lead Europe to a consoling defeat at Brookline in 1999.

Brown, who has forged a career as a successful TV commentator, later admitted “it wasn’t the greatest moment of my career”. He was prohibited from international duty for a year and subjected to a £1, 000 fine.

A US team that featured eight rookies and was without leading players Nicklaus, who failed to qualify, and Tom Watson – absent for the birth of his first child – still pulled away in the singles to win 17-11.

Even more unfairly distributed was the 1981 edition. Generally regarded as the best dozen ever assembled, with 11 players having won major titles, the US rampaged to an 18½-9½ victory at Walton Heath in Surrey.

Jacobs preferred the “disgraced” James over Jacklin, who was dropped from the side. Also on the sidelines, incredibly, was Ballesteros.

The mercurial Spaniard had won the 1980 Masters, which helped him win the 1979 Open, but the tour and him had gotten into a fight over appearance fees.

It was the final straw for Jacklin. He claimed that the Ryder Cup was over after that transpired.

“Seve was at his absolute zenith. Before Tiger Woods, he was Tiger Woods.

” I didn’t think they were interested in winning. I believed that they were only concerned with a team that could be defeated.

Europe lacked a captain for the PGA National in Florida until six months prior to the 1983 contest.

They turned to Jacklin. He went to the European Tour’s hierarchy with a list of demands after being told to step in and over the shock of being asked to do so.

” I saw it as an opportunity to make a difference, “he said”. So I began robbing myself of six or seven desires. First-class tickets on Concorde, the best clothes, a team room, our caddies to travel with us. They approved of everything.

“And then I said ‘ what about Seve’? I was aware of his insane behavior.

” I was told ‘ well you’ve accepted the job so he’s your problem now’. “

Ballesteros was summoned to the Prince of Wales hotel in Southport, a coastal town that has hosted three editions of the Ryder Cup, and the dream was sold to him over breakfast.

Jacklin needed the fiery Spaniard on board if he was to breathe new life into the competition.

Ballesteros, who won the third of his five Masters degrees that year, was blatantly expressing his opinions.

” I told him the things that I had insisted upon. And I told him that he was unable to assist me. He said ‘ OK, I’ll help you’. “

After that, Jacklin traveled to Palm Beach Gardens to meet with US captain Nicklaus to talk about lodging options and the crucial team room. Time was short though. Additionally, qualifications had been established.

The top 12 would qualify, Jacklin would have no say in the team.

However, he was able to acclaim his incredible talent, with the additions of Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer, and Faldo, who would become the next major contenders, who would provide a spine that would rule the next ten years.

The match was level at 8-8 after the opening two days. For the first time, parity was established before the singles.

Faldo and Langer were paired together four times and won three of their matches. Ballesteros, who won one of his matches and lost four of his subsequent matches, won 21 points with rookie Paul Way, who was 20 years old, in a disappointing debut debut in 1979.

Ballesteros, who was himself only 26, initially complained about how much he had to help the Englishman. However, the skipper had made an innovative move.

” He said, ‘ I feel like his father’, “recalled Jacklin”. You are his father in this place, according to what I said, and you are doing that because of your experience. And then the penny dropped.

Seve had such an incredible presence that it was difficult to partner with, despite what may seem silly. But Paul had his own self confidence and didn’t fear him”.

Jacklin stacked his strongest players against Jacklin to win the most matches. Nicklaus put his strongest players out last.

Ballesteros shot three holes up on Fuzzy Zoeller, but he was relegated to the backfield and required a miraculous 245-yard 3-wood to win the match. Langer and Faldo delivered wins. With two matches on the course, Way and Brown also won all three points.

A sensational Lanny Wadkins chip on the 18th rescued what would turn out to be a crucial half point for the home side before Watson beat Bernard Gallacher on the 17th to clinch a narrow 14½-13½ triumph.

Jacklin’s opinion was that “we did everything but win.” “But there was a different vibe to the whole thing. This is suddenly the subject of its discussion.

” It went right down to the wire and we were all gutted.

Given the accomplishments both on and off the course, Jacklin was the obvious choice to stay in charge. He returned home and spent time looking back on the defeat, “wondering if there was anything I had overlooked”.

He claimed that “nothing jumped out at me.” “There were no complaints from the players, so we went with the same strategy for 1985”.

Although expectations had been raised in Europe, the competition needed a different winner as soon as Florida could come.

Reports suggest about 16, 000 fans watched the walloping at Walton Heath. Around 90,000 people attended The Belfry, located just outside of Birmingham, four years later.

But Europe got off to a slow start. After Friday’s opening foursomes, they were 3-1 up. Faldo, who had been one of Jacklin’s three captain’s picks, asked to be rested after barely contributing as he and Langer were beaten.

Faldo, who was experiencing a swing change at the time, said, “You can’t play for a team and it’s the worst feeling in the world.”

“I said to Tony ‘ don’t play me for the rest of the week’. I didn’t feel any part of the bad week that I had. It’s why I stayed in my room for the celebrations”.

Faldo’s call drew Jacklin’s attention, so he was omitted until Sunday’s singles.

“He wanted the best for the team”, he said. “We all did,” he said. The team came first. As captains or players, this is the most selfless thing we do.

” Your own individual achievements and ego, leave them outside, they don’t go into that team room. “

But Jacklin didn’t cause any panic. You don’t start jumping around, changing, “he said.

It requires self-assurance, self-assurance, and knowing what you have prepared.

Europe edged the afternoon fourballs to trail 3½-4½ overnight and then the momentum flipped on an 18-inch putt on the Saturday morning.

With two minutes remaining, Craig Stadler accidentally stabbed the ball wide of the hole to give Open champion Lyle and Langer a half-point in the process.

It left the overall score 6-6 with two sessions remaining. Although it was only a half-point, it still felt significantly larger.

Was it the miss that saved the Ryder Cup?

There was still a lot of golf to play, Stadler noted. But the statistics show that of the 16 matches played after that putt, Europe claimed 10½ points to the US ‘ 5½. Since then, they have won 11 of 17 contests.

Europe won the afternoon session 3-1 to take a 9-7 lead into the 12 singles, which historically had been dominated by the US.

However, the scoreboard’s top was flooded with European blue. Manuel Pinero, Way, Lyle and Langer all won, while Ballesteros added a half point. Only Woosnam was defeated in the top eight games.

It left a platform for Sam Torrance to clinch victory with a famous putt and an iconic celebration against Andy North.

The hosts eventually came out on top 161 – 112 as they put an end to a 28-year US run that had been unbeaten before it took Europe over the winning line.

” I can’t believe it’s 40 years since we stood on that roof celebrating, “smiled Jacklin, who would lead the side to two wins, one tie and one defeat as captain.