It is interesting to look back at Tony Jacklin's earlier feelings about the Ryder Cup. He had quarreled with his captain Brian Huggett in 1977 and been dropped; he was annoyed to miss selection in 1981 and had rejected the offer to be present as an official. Overall, he had really enjoyed only his first Ryder Cup match in 1967 and the 1969 tie, when he had been at the peak of his game. With bitter feelings about his omission in 1981, Jacklin thought no more about the Ryder Cup, anyway, he was nearing the end of his playing career. Then, while on the putting green before the first round of a tournament at Sandmoor, he was asked if he would like to captain the 1983 team.

Jacklin's immediate response was that the team must travel first class to the United States. He felt that in many matches he had played in, the team had felt second-class in all respects. The secretary of the European Tour said he would see what he could do. (Was it an omen that Jacklin then went out and shot a 65 to share the lead in the Car Care event?) Ken Schofield then went better than first class travel: the team would travel by Concorde and their usual caddies would go as well -- something that was perhaps never considered in earlier years.

For the 1983 match at PGA National in Florida, representation from the Continent did not increase. Langer was there again, as was Canizares, from the Walton Heath team. Pinero was out. Ballesteros of course was in -- but only just; the Spaniard still resented the slight of his omission in 1981 and his 'revenge' was to say that he might not play. Ballesteros usually bypassed the World Cup, because of its diminished stature; if he would not play for the greater glory of Spain in that event, the concept of playing for Europe probably had even less appeal. Jacklin approached him at the British Open Championship in July. Ballesteros said he would think about it and eventually agreed to play a couple of weeks later. He was the only real world-class star in the team. Major championships were still to come for Langer, Lyle and Faldo, although the latter had enjoyed a superb year in Europe. Two or three of the team were unlikely to do well.

Jacklin began his captaincy on the wrong foot by apparently talking to Gordon J. Brand on the Concorde flight and, so it was reported, warning Brand that he could expect to play only in the singles (where all team members would automatically play). Jacklin had decided on his best pairings and they didn't include Brand who has a highly idiosyncratic swing, and one can assume that Jacklin thought none too highly of him. On Jacklin's part, it was all meant kindly, no doubt, but such words would hardly have inspired Brand to greater heights.

Jacklin intended his team to win; there would be no attempt to give everyone their fair share in the encounter at PGA National, instead, Jacklin's strength lay in getting the best out of his star players. He would tell them, in this and later years, that they might have to play continually. Faldo and Langer played throughout the first two days as did Ballesteros and Paul Way -- the latter was a surprising pairing. Jacklin felt that young Way had talent but must be paired with a very good player, otherwise he could not play him in either foursomes or fourballs. The answer was to tell Ballesteros that only he, the greatest player in the world, could do the job of supporting Way and getting the best out of him. Another of his key pairings worked out less well. This was Bernard Gallacher and Sandy Lyle. Neither of them was in peak form and Lyle can play very bad golf indeed at times. On this visit to America, he had the ball way out of alignment in his stance and could not adjust to the change in time.

U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus' strategy was the reverse; he decided to pair players who were friends and seemed to play well together. Significantly, he wanted to 'ensure that every member of the team gets as near as possible equal golf course time'. There were exceptions, however. He decided, for instance, to play Tom Watson to the maximum because of his psychological impact as the greatest player of big events in the game of golf. Watson was then ranking last among the qualifiers for places in the U.S. team but he had, and still has, that strange talent of being able to raise his competitiveness for the great occasions of golf. For Americans, the Ryder Cup had never really been much more than an enjoyable social event and so it remained in 1983, but increasingly with national pride at stake. The United States' 'worst' player managed to come through with four wins from five games, including, at the end of the singles, the decisive win.

The first foursomes on the opening day saw one of Jacklin's favorite pairings, Bernard Gallacher and Sandy Lyle, facing Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw. After a close struggle early on, inexorable U.S. holing out upset Jacklin's pre-match calculations. Their 4 and 2 defeat meant that Jacklin didn't play them again until the singles on the last day.

His second pairing, Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer, were as strong as Lyle and Gallacher had been weak and they trounced the strong U.S. pairing of Craig Stadler and Lanny Wadkins by the same 4 and 2 margin. Nicklaus, content to let everyone have a share of the play, could afford to let the match unfold in that pattern. Jacklin played to his apparent strengths; from that point on, Langer played in all matches, as did Faldo.

The next two matches must have bemused Jacklin; Ballesteros and Way lost 2 and 1 yet their opponents, Calvin Peete and Tom Kite, had won partly by holing chip shots. At the end, Way left a putt of about three yards an inch short of the hole while Peete holed from a little closer. Way was distressed; Ballesteros consoled him and told Jacklin that he had also found the burden too heavy. Jacklin told the Spaniard that he was by far and away the world's greatest player and that Seve could undoubtedly do it. Seve agreed. Jose-Maria Canizares and Sam Torrance had by this time, surprisingly, dismissed Raymond Floyd, who was looking cross, and his partner Bob Gilder, by 4 and 3. At the end of the morning foursomes, the match stood all-square.

Jacklin then introduced his combination of the 'difficult' young man, Ken Brown, paired with the oldest man ever to make a debut in the Ryder Cup, 44-year-old Brian Waites. Brown lacked self-confidence and Waites did not believe he had the ability to compete at tournament level until late in his golf career. However, they put Europe into the lead by beating Fuzzy Zoeller and Gil Morgan 2 and 1, but any euphoria aroused by this result was probably dispelled rather quickly by the fact that Langer and Faldo went down by the same margin. Theirs was the strongest European pairing -- the only one which put two sound eggs into one basket. They had seven birdies -- but that is often not enough in fourball play.

On the first day both teams wondered whether they had anyone capable of getting up in 2 at the 578-yard 18th which had water all along the right-hand side. Ballesteros couldn't quite do it but he managed to drive around 40 yards further than anyone else in his fourball and then hit a fairway wood just short of the front edge of the green. This meant a 4 for Ballesteros which the Americans, after good third shots, couldn't quite match. With a half in the other match, Crenshaw and Peete versus Torrance and Woosnam, the Europeans went into the second day with a 1-point lead.

Jacklin was pleased that his men had taken 2 1/2 points from the 4 available and decided to use the same pairings in the repeat fourballs which opened the match on the second day. Brown and Waites again led the way, beginning with four birdies in the first six holes to go a commanding 3 up after seven holes. At about this time, the first three European pairings out on the course were all in the lead. Last came Ian Woosnam and Sam Torrance facing Tom Watson and Bob Gilder. In this last match, the Americans took the first three holes with birdies, were never threatened thereafter, and went on to win very convincingly by 5 and 4.

Waites and Brown, on the other hand, failed to exploit a similar position. They lost two holes with neither being able to produce a par and a couple of U.S. birdies then put them behind before Brown squared with a birdie of his own on the 13th. That was the position on the 18th tee. Waites parred this 578-yard hole; Brown grazed the hole with his attempt at a birdie putt. Craig Stadler had gone through the green with his third shot into light rough but was not very far from the hole -- perhaps six or seven yards. He flicked a sand-iron shot into the air and watched with increasing interest as it ran true to the hole -- and fell in. It was an unexpected blow for the Europeans but Stadler was one of the great short gamers and he had simply played one of his best shots when it was needed.

For Europe, the second pair out was Faldo and Langer against Calvin Peete and Ben Crenshaw, the only pairing Jack Nicklaus hadn't changed from the previous afternoon. Langer, distressed at his form when losing with Faldo on the first afternoon, suggested to Jacklin that he be dropped. The captain pointed out to the German that he was a player who had the knack of putting a good score together when below his best. Langer played and he and Faldo were 3 up at the turn on the Americans and went on to win by 4 and 2. With the other matches finished, this left just Gil Morgan and Jay Haas facing Paul Way and Seve Ballesteros. Having been ahead early, the European pair lost both 16th and 17th to birdies and came to the last 1 down. Could Ballesteros get up in 2? He drove well past the other three players and then lashed a 3-wood not only to the green but on through the back, about 20 yards from the pin. With the other three on in three shots, Ballesteros then ran up to a few feet. The others missed their birdie putts, Ballesteros didn't. The match was halved and the teams were level at 6 points each.

There had been no signs of a European weakness in four-ball play as there had been in the past when two good Americans had often seemed to be playing no more than one and-a-half opponents.

In the afternoon foursomes, Faldo and Langer gave Europe a good start with a comfortable 3 and 2 win, the German holing a chip shot of nearly 20 yards to finish the match on the 16th. The United States hit back by winning the next two matches, in one of which the European pair were disgraced. Torrance and Canizares were 4 over par and without a birdie on their card when they went down by 7 and 5 to Gil Morgan and Lanny Wadkins. But a final point which would leave the match level at the end of the second day was always sure to come from the Way/Ballesteros pairing, which faced Tom Watson and Bob Gilder. They won five holes in a row from the second and were 5 up with only six holes left to play. Then the Americans made a splendid comeback, throwing birdies at Way and Ballesteros but they were just a little too late and lost on the 17th green by 2 and 1.

The score stood at 8 points all. Not only was this the first time that the result of a Ryder Cup match on American soil had been in real doubt as it went into the final day, but it was also the first time that the scores had been level at this point. Jacklin's words were, 'I'm happy and numb'. He must have known, however, that the odds were in the United States' favor.

Jacklin apparently had little trust in a couple of his players and one or two others were not in good form. In what order should he send out his 12 men? He sensibly decided that he needed a good start more than strong men out at the end -- when the match could well have been over. He put his best man, Ballesteros, at number one, followed by the in-form Faldo and Langer. In last place, he put Bernard Gallacher, a proven match player. There was probably no particular logic in the order of places four to 11. In the pairs matches, Jacklin had to choose the best combination of players; in the singles, when everyone of his team had to play, all he could do was hope that each man would perform as well as he was able.

Nicklaus put his strength at the bottom of the order and sent his weakest man out first. This was Fuzzy Zoeller, who had played just one match because of recurring back trouble. Zoeller had asked to go first as he, like Nicklaus, reckoned that Jacklin would put his strength at the bottom of the order.

Ballesteros went behind at the 2nd but then produced four birdies in a row, none from short putts. Zoeller, bad back or not, was by no means done for. He won four holes in a row, twice needing only a par to win the hole. Ballesteros was behind though he squared on the 16th with a putt of several yards in length. The 17th was halved and the odds favored Ballesteros, the man who had shown he could get up in 2 on this 578-yard hole. He hit what he later called 'one of the worst drives of my life'. From deep rough, he could make no more than a pitching wedge shot which, disastrously, he sent into a fairway bunker, just 20 yards further on. He was still nearly 250 yards from the green but Zoeller had been doing none too well either. He was also in the rough from the tee and had to play out with a lofted club. He needed a 2-iron for his third.

Ballesteros's ball lay well in the fairway bunker, on an upslope, but close to the face. He decided to try to play a high slicing 3-wood when, it was said, most golfers would have settled for a sand iron onto the fairway. In both imagination and execution it was the shot of the 1983 Ryder Cup and it came to rest on the fringe of the green. Zoeller responded with a 2-iron of the highest quality to about three yards. Eventually both hole and match were halved in 5s.

As the first match finished, the last -- Watson versus Gallacher -- was well into the first nine. Overall, things were going well for Europe. Five matches were all square but Europe led in four and were down in only two. Jacklin's tactics also seemed to be succeeding. Maybe Ballesteros hadn't brought in the expected point but in quick succession both Faldo and Langer had won to give Europe a 2-point lead. Brand then lost, as did Lyle. The latter player, though off form, had played well enough but Ben Crenshaw had produced seven birdies when he won on the 17th green. The sixth match, Waites versus Peete, also went to the United States, and Woosnam lost to Stadler 3 and 2. However, with things going very much America's way, there came a welcome surprise for Jacklin; young Paul Way exceeded all hopes by beating Curtis Strange 2 and 1 when the American had played par golf.

Playing well down the field at number 11, Ken Brown handed Ray Floyd a heavy defeat by 4 and 3, ending with a string of birdies. It had been a disastrous Ryder Cup for Floyd, one of the best U.S. players. He had played and lost four times, arguably the worst performance ever in these matches by an American. More importantly, the encounter as a whole was leveled at l2 1/2 each. Three matches were still out: Torrance versus Kite, Canizares versus Wadkins and Gallacher versus Watson. After all, it had come to a test of the Jacklin and Nicklaus tactics.

Playing the 16th, Torrance was 2 down but Kite dropped a shot here. After a half at the 17th, they came to the last with Kite holding a one-hole lead. For his pitch to the green at the last, Torrance was playing from the rough. Though he played the shot well he needed luck -- and got it. His ball finished dead. The result was a halved match and the Ryder Cup was still level.

At the time, this seemed likely to be the final score of the 1983 Ryder Cup competition. Canizares had been 3 up with seven to play on Wadkins and held a one-hole advantage playing the last. Alas, though never in trouble he made a sad mess of it; his pitch to the green was short in the rough just before the fringe. With Ballesteros watching his fellow Spaniard from a few paces away, Canizares sent his next right to the back of the green. By this time the real damage had been done. Wadkins, from about 60 yards, had put his third shot almost dead and when Canizares putted back wide and too strong he conceded the hole for a halved match.

The failure even to par the 18th would mean the loss of the 1983 match -- unless Gallacher could now produce a miracle. Against a very determined Watson, thwarted in his wish to face Ballesteros, Gallacher was 3 down after seven holes and always struggling to get back into the match. However, when Watson dropped a stroke on the 16th, he had done it, though still 1 down with two to play. Both missed their tee shots to the 192-yard 17th; both also failed to make the putting surface with their next shots. Running chips caught in the semi-rough. Alas for Europe, Gallacher then took 3 more, missing a putt from about five feet while Watson did rather better. Watson won the Ryder Cup, in a sense, with his bogey 4 to a double bogey 5.

So ended a Ryder Cup match as exciting as those close finishes in 1933, 1953 and 1969. Surely Europe would win in 1985, especially as the Americans hadn't a logical selection system. In 1983 the U.S. Open champion Larry Nelson couldn't play as he hadn't accumulated enough points from other tournaments. Nor could the U.S. PGA champion Hal Sutton as he wasn't yet a full member of the U.S. PGA.

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DAY ONE

Morning Foursomes
Tom Watson/Ben Crenshaw (US) d. Bernard Gallacher/Sandy Lyle (E), 5 and 4

Nick Faldo/Bernhard Langer (E) d. Lanny Wadkins/Craig Stadler (E), 4 and 2

Tom Kite/Calvin Peete (US) d. Seve Ballesteros/Paul Way (E), 2 and 1

Jose Maria Canizares/Sam Torrance (E) d. Ray Floyd/Bob Gilder (US), 4 and 3

Afternoon Four-Balls
Brian Waites/Ken Brown (E) d. Gil Morgan/Fuzzy Zoeller (US), 2 and 1

Tom Watson/Jay Haas (US) d. Nick Faldo/Bernhard Langer (E), 2 and 1

Seve Ballesteros/Paul Way (E) d. Ray Floyd/Curtis Strange (US), 1 up

Ben Crenshaw/Calvin Peete (US) vs. Sam Torrance/Ian Woosnam (E), halved

Europe 4.5, United States 3.5

DAY TWO

Morning Foursomes
Lanny Wadkins/Craig Stadler (US) d. Brian Waites/Ken Brown (E), 1 up

Nick Faldo/Bernhard Langer (E) d. Ben Crenshaw/Calvin Peete (US), 4 and 2

Gil Morgan/Jay Haas (US) vs. Seve Ballesteros/Paul Way (E), halved

Tom Watson/Bob Gilder (US) d. Sam Torrance/Ian Woosnam (E), 5 and 4

Afternoon Four-Balls
Nick Faldo/Bernhard Langer (E) d. Tom Kite/Ray Floyd (US), 3 and 2

Jay Haas/Curtis Strange (US) d. Brian Waites/Ken Brown (E), 3 and 2

Gil Morgan/Lanny Wadkins (US) d. Sam Torrance/Jose Maria Canizares (E), 7 and 5

Seve Ballesteros/Paul Way (E) d. Tom Watson/Bob Gilder (US), 2 and 1

Europe 8, United States 8

DAY THREE

Singles
Fuzzy Zoeller (US) vs. Seve Ballesteros (E), halved

Nick Faldo (E) d. Jay Haas (US), 2 and 1

Bernhard Langer (E) d. Gil Morgan (US), 2 up

Bob Gilder (US) d. Gordon Brand Sr. (E), 2 up

Ben Crenshaw (US) d. Sandy Lyle (E), 3 and 1

Calvin Peete (US) d. Brian Waites (E), 1 up

Paul Way (E) d. Curtis Strange (US), 2 and 1

Tom Kite (US) vs. Sam Torrance (E), halved

Craig Stadler (US) d. Ian Woosnam (E), 3 and 2

Lanny Wadkins (US) vs. Jose Maria Canizares (E), halved

Ken Brown (E) d. Ray Floyd (US), 4 and 3

Tom Watson (US) d. Bernard Gallacher (E), 2 and 1 MISSING A SINGLES MATCH

United States 14.5, Europe 13.5