When Dave Thomas designed The Belfry in the 1970s, one of his aims was to produce an American-style course. This it certainly is, with shots over water to some of the greens. It is a course whose design favors the Americans' style of play and its choice did not seem to bode well for a European victory. Commercial considerations, however, dictated its choice for the 1981 match, but its poor condition forced the organizers to change their minds.

Captain Tony Jacklin was not happy with the choice of The Belfry as the 1985 site. He would have preferred a links course with the happy prospect of some chill autumnal winds and rain to unsettle the Americans. Of course, many Americans -- Tom Watson, for instance -- grew up playing in bad weather but for tournament players really cold weather is exceptional rather than almost the norm as it is on the European Tour.

Though still numerically dominated by the British, the European Tour had an increasing number of Continental players rising to the top. This was reflected in the make-up of the 1985 Ryder Cup team. There were four Spaniards -- Seve Ballesteros, Manuel Pinero, Jose Maria Canizares and Jose Rivero -- and one West German, Bernhard Langer. The British players were Ken Brown, Howard Clark, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Sam Torrance, Paul Way and Ian Woosnam. Although Ballesteros remained the acknowledged number one on the team, he had been joined by the other major champions Langer and Lyle, winners of the Masters and British Open Championship, respectively, in 1985.

The winners of the other major championship that year were both in the U.S. team -- Andy North (U.S. Open) and Hubert Green (U.S. PGA). Other winners of the majors on the U.S. team were Ray Floyd, Craig Stadler, Hal Sutton, Lanny Wadkins and Fuzzy Zoeller. Tom Watson had needed to par the last hole in the U.S. PGA that year to reach the points total to qualify for the team and hadn't managed it. He could still have played in the next and final qualifying tournament but chose not to. His presence would have provided a psychological boost to the American team. Ironically, the changed selection procedures which brought in the U.S. Open and PGA champions did not automatically strengthen the U.S. team.

The European captain, on the other hand, had the option of choosing the last three players himself. Those who got the nod were Nick Faldo, Ken Brown and Jose Rivero. Their performances in the 1985 match went some way toward demonstrating that the money list, contrary to popular belief, is a reasonable basis for choosing members of Ryder Cup teams. This, in spite of the fact that results in 72-hole tournaments really ought to be a poor guide to how a man will play over 18 holes of match play.

Wanting a good start, Jacklin picked perhaps his strongest pairings for the foursomes of the first morning. Ballesteros and Manuel Pinero were first off, facing Mark O'Meara and Curtis Strange. At 8.15 a.m., the first shot of the 1985 Ryder Cup was struck by O'Meara. It was a push to the right, which left his partner to play over young trees. Pinero's drive was just off the fairway and Ballesteros bunkered the second shot. Pinero played a fair sand shot and his partner holed the putt to halve the hole in 4s. A scrappy start but the trial of the new European strength was under way.

Early on, the Spanish players didn't need to do anything spectacular as the Americans took 28 strokes to play the first six holes and go 4 down. Their first win came at the 7th, a par 3 of 183 yards where Pinero missed the green and the six-foot putt which Ballesteros' chip left him. When they birdied the next to win Strange and O'Meara were back in business and were only 2 down after the first nine holes. Then came that very odd Belfry golf hole, the 10th. Throughout this Ryder Cup, it was played from a forward tee which shortened it from around three hundred yards to 275. Every player on either side had the length to carry the lake and fly over trees to reach the green -- if they cared to chance it. The sensible route was to knock a mid-iron short of some fairway bunkers and then turn half right to play a short pitch to the green. Trevino had told his men to play safe on this hole in the foursomes; Jacklin left it to the individuals' choice.

Ballesteros, with the tee shot, had a go, made the carry and finished right at the back of the green, something like 30 yards from the hole. Curtis Strange, obeying orders, just contented himself with a 7-iron up the fairway. Pinero, left with the huge putt, got it to about two yards and Ballesteros holed for the birdie and a 3-up lead. Though the Americans were playing much better by this time, they lost the 235-yard 12th to a par 3, but won another par 3, the 14th, with par. At the 16th, O'Meara's pitch came to rest a couple of feet from the hole to reduce the gap to two holes. But that was that for the Americans; the long 575-yard 17th was halved in 5s and the match went to Europe by 2 and 1.

The best foursomes golf from either side came in the next match from the American pairing of Calvin Peete and Tom Kite. They reached the turn in 33 to an approximate 37 from Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer. On the 10th, the German went for the green, but just failed to carry the water to be three down. At the next, he missed quite a short putt for a half and, at 4 down, that was very nearly that: United States 1 Europe 1.

Behind them came Sandy Lyle and Ken Brown against Lanny Wadkins and Ray Floyd, perhaps the most formidable U.S. pairing. They had relatively little to do; although they took 38 for the first nine holes, they were 3 up and when the Europeans found the water on the 10th, the match seemed over. Lyle and Brown won their only hole with a par on the 13th the match went to the United States by 4 and 3 soon afterwards.

At 1l.30 a.m. the U.S. led 2-1 and were 2 up with 4 to play in the only match still out, Clark and Torrance versus Craig Stadler and Hal Sutton. This had been a close match, with much scrambling play. The feature shot had come from Clark when he sent his team's second shot to about a foot for an eagle on the 579-yard 4th. A little later, the Europeans were able to win the 396-yard 6th with a 5 when Stadler put the U.S. ball in the lake. One up at the turn, the U.S. was brought back to square when Torrance faded his tee shot onto the 10th green and a birdie resulted. The U.S. won the next but a vast Clark putt for a 2 on the 12th again leveled the match. On the 13th, Clark drove into the rough and Torrance's attempted recovery went out of bounds and a succession of poor British shots lost the 14th to a par. The U.S. then won the 15th to be dormie, and a half then saw them home by 3 and 2.

Predictions of a European victory and a shift in the balance of world golfing power were looking rather silly at the lunch break. What was Jacklin to do? With the exception of Pinero, brought in because Rivero had played poorly late on in practice, he had chosen his best eight men, those he had counted on to bear the burden in the pairs play. Should he drop his Open champion and Masters champion? And who to bring in? Way, weakened by tonsillitis after the good early season form which had earned him his place? Rivero, who had the least impressive record? Canizares, whose nerves were shaky? At this point, Jacklin may well have been wishing he had chosen Gordon Brand Jr., who was highly experienced in match play golf from his days as a top amateur. In the end, Jacklin dropped Lyle, Brown and Faldo and started off his fourball line-up with Paul Way and Ian Woosnam. He brought in Canizares to replace Faldo as Langer's partner, thus breaking up his very successful pairing from the 1983 match.

Trevino, with no real problems, kept two of his successful pairs -- Stadler/Sutton and Floyd/Wadkins -- and then ensured that everyone played on the first day by bringing in Fuzzy Zoeller, Hubert Green, Andy North and Peter Jacobsen.

The first match out was Way and Woosnam against Zoeller and Green. Woosnam began with a birdie from about three yards on the 2nd to win the hole and further birdies from him on the 4th and 6th put the U.S. 2 down. That remained the position after nine holes and at the 10th Woosnam went for the green and failed; Way didn't, but pitched and putted for a winning birdie. At 3 up, this match looked fairly safe for Europe but Green then had a birdie 2 on the 12th and Zoeller a birdie 3 on the 13th to get back to only 1 down. Another Zoeller birdie on the 16th squared the match, which was to have a brilliant finish. A Woosnam birdie on the long 17th was matched by Green.

The 18th is a very long par 4 indeed at 474 yards. There is a lake to carry with the tee shot but the secret in playing the hole is a draw following the line of the fairway and shortening the shot to the green, also over water, which needs to find the correct level of the three tiers. Zoeller and Woosnam drove through the fairway into sand; Green and Way played very safe; all four, however, found the green with their second shots, Way the closest, about four yards past the flag. Green, from the top tier with the flag set on the second came very close to holing as did Woosnam from closer. Way then holed his putt for the match and received the accolade of a kiss from the captain. They were around in 64 -- one better than the Americans.

Behind them were Ballesteros and Pinero, facing North and Jacobsen. The U.S. Open champion was in relatively poor form throughout, troubled by a hook, but he started well enough, holing from seven feet on the 1st for a birdie and a win. Ballesteros squared on the 5th with a birdie and put his side ahead at the next with another. At the turn, however, the match was back to all square. And so to the 10th. Shortening the hole had been a huge spectator success. Again Ballesteros made the green, this time hitting a 3-wood to seven or eight yards. So did little Pinero. He putted up stone dead for a birdie while Ballesteros nearly holed for a 2. The 3 was good enough.

Pinero then birdied the 11th to put the Spanish pair 2 up until Jacobsen reduced the gap with a 2 on the 14th. The next two holes were halved with pars. Then, from the 17th tee, Ballesteros went full out with his driver, trying to cover the 575 yards in two blows. He was just in range, perhaps 280 yards away. Pinero and North were both forced to play short of the ditch which crosses the fairway with their seconds. Ballesteros went for the green with a long iron but was still left with a pitch of about 60 yards. His sand iron came to rest less than three yards away and, when he holed the putt, the Americans were beaten by 2 and 1.

The morning's deficit had now been wiped out, with two matches featuring the strongest U.S. pairings still out on course. Langer, with his new partner Canizares, reached the turn in level par 36. Only one hole had changed hands, the 4th, won by a Stadler birdie 4. On the 10th, everyone seemed to be either in trees or water but Langer pitched close both here and on the 11th to go 1 up. Stadler squared at the 13th with a putt of several yards and the remaining holes were all halved, leaving the two teams still level at 3 1/2 points each.

The day's last match saw Torrance and Clark given a second chance, this time against Floyd and Wadkins. After four holes, the British pair were two down, having lost one hole to a par, but Clark won the 6th with a birdie and Torrance the 9th to square the match. The next six holes were all halved and then Wadkins struck what proved the decisive putt from as far away as ten yards for a birdie. Both Clark and Torrance missed from closer to the hole. With the last two holes halved, the match went to the United States by 1 up.

At the end of play, both teams had cause for satisfaction. The Americans led by 4 1/2 to 3 1/2 but Europe, after a bad morning, were back in the match. Both teams knew they were in a fight. To lead off on the second day, in the fourballs, Jacklin decided to persist with his pairing of Clark and Torrance, even though their record was 0-2-0. They faced Andy North, in poor form, and the ever-reliable Tom Kite. With wins at the 3rd and 5th, the British pair quickly went 2 up but lost the 8th when neither could par the hole. A Clark birdie on the 10th, a hole where the European team shone throughout, restored their lead. Successive birdies from first Kite and then North on the 12th and 13th leveled the match. The long 550-yard 15th was a turning point. All four players were on the green in 3 with Kite the nearest but still with one tier to putt up. It was Torrance to putt first and he got his ball close but by no means dead. From not far short of 20 yards away Clark proceeded to hole out for a fifth and vital birdie. On the next he chipped the ball into the hole from off the green, though from about half the distance. If the Americans were deflated, it would hardly have been surprising as they were dormie 2 down. Although Kite birdied the long 17th, so did Torrance and the match was over.

Behind them there was a repeat four-ball with Way and Woosnam again facing Green and Zoeller, whom they had beaten by 1 up on the first day. This time the match went very differently. Woosnam began by holing a long putt for a birdie on the 1st and the British pair went quickly on to win the 3rd, 4th and 5th. The match was to all intents over when neither American could par the 8th and they went 5 down. However, the British dropped the 9th to a par and Green nearly succeeded in dragging the Americans back into the match with a long winning birdie putt on the 11th. Zoeller followed on the 12th, a 235-yard par 3, with an excellent tee shot to a couple of yards or so. Green was bunkered and Way not close. Woosnam then played the decisive shot, his tee shot came to a halt almost dead, about two-and a-half feet away. When Zoeller missed his birdie putt, the British pair were 4 up again with 6 to play. The next three holes were halved in pars and the match went to Europe by 4 and 3.

Next out for Europe was the unbeaten pairing of Ballesteros and Pinero. They reached the turn in a very respectable 36, with no shots dropped to par but it was nowhere near good enough. Wadkins had begun with a long putt to birdie the 1st and later he and O'Meara began to race away with the match as they birdied three of the four holes before the turn. They were 4 up. It was becoming a matter of routine for Ballesteros to drive the 10th green. He did so again but caused a flutter of apprehension when his first putt stopped a good six feet from the hole. Then, though he holed it, he was matched by Wadkins, who had played the hole for safety but pitched close and holed for his 3 also. It was Wadkins again on the 13th. He holed from about three yards. The Americans were dormy 5 up and birdies from the Spanish pair on both the 14th and 15th only narrowed the margin of defeat. The Europeans lost by 3 and 2.

The competition was now square at 5 1/2 points each. Still out on the course was the match between Langer and Lyle and Craig Stadler and Curtis Strange. Lyle had been angry and disappointed at being dropped from the fourballs on the previous afternoon. However, he is understood to have been angry with his standard of play rather than his captain. Perhaps he was embarrassed too: he had reigned as Open champion for just a couple of months.

Although Lyle played very well throughout this match, it was Langer who shone first, his birdie putting the European pair ahead after the 1st for what was to prove the only time in the match. On the 2nd, after Lyle had missed for a birdie from less than a couple of yards, Strange holed out from close range to square the match. Thereafter, the match swung to and fro, the Americans going into a one-hole lead and then being brought back to square. On the 13th, however, after both Strange and Lyle had almost birdied, Stadler holed from about three yards to put the United States 2 up. That this lead was hardly immutable was shown when Lyle was the only player to par the 14th. Not long after this came what seemed to be the decisive shot. On the 16th, a par 4 of 410 yards, Curtis Strange's long approach finished stone dead: United States 2 up and dormie 2 at that.

On the long 17th, Sandy Lyle kept his partnership in the match. First he took a bold line over the angle of the dogleg but some of the resultant length was lost when his ball caught a spectator's umbrella. Even so, his second shot found the green. He was pin high but a long way from the hole -- about eight yards. Stadler also hit a fine second through the back of the green. His chip for an eagle was just a touch short but it looked as if a birdie would be good enough but it wasn't. Lyle holed his eagle putt and he and Langer played the last 1 down. Lyle drove safely, Langer particularly well. Stadler also drove safely but Strange went across the fairway into a bunker. He had no hope of reaching the green at this 474-yard par 4. He played out and Lyle then hit a long iron to the bottom level of the three-tier green with the flag in the middle. Langer followed with a 3-wood to half a dozen yards. The Europeans were now certain of at least a par between them. The pressure was on Stadler and he responded with a moderate shot, to the right of the bottom level. However, his putt of nearly 20 yards up a big slope was very good and it finished about 18 inches away. Strange had a try at chipping in for his 4 and neither Lyle nor Langer could hole for a winning birdie. There remained the formality of Craig Stadler's tap-in to give the Americans the match. Incredibly, he pulled it wide of the hole and the match was halved; Europe had caught up and the score stood at United States 6, Europe 6.

That tiny putt of Stadler's, which failed even to touch the hole, has remained fixed on many a retina. Alas for Stadler that he didn't get it over with at, say, around 10 a.m. on the 4th. All would soon have been forgiven and forgotten. As it was, anyone with a tongue who could find an ear to listen declared it to be a decisive moment in Ryder Cup history.

Although Stadler's failure would have been quickly forgotten had the United States prospered in the afternoon foursomes, the near landslide against them inevitably suggested they had been shaken and European morale lifted. It began with the play of Jose Maria Canizares paired with Jose Rivero. Jacklin must have felt that he had to bring in the latter, with only the singles of the final day remaining, and he also wanted to rest Torrance and Clark. He probably sent out this Spanish pair first with some confidence that his next three pairs would be able to stage a recovery when and if they lost. But Canizares and Rivero found the strong Kite/Peete pairing no trouble at all. After three holes the match was square but the Spaniards then produced a run of 4, 3, 4, 2, 3. To put it another way, they had four birdies in five holes and played them in 16 strokes. In the same run, the Americans had no birdies and used 23 strokes. They were also 4 down, went on to lose the 10th to a par, and the 12th and 13th. The match was over, the Spaniards winning 7 and 5.

All in all, it was rather a Spanish afternoon. Next out were a pair of whom more was expected -- Ballesteros and Pinero -- against the Stadler and Hal Sutton. Although they dropped a shot on the 9th and lost the hole they did little else wrong. The rest were pars plus three birdies and after eight holes they were 6 up. On the 10th, Sutton managed to find the green to win the hole with a 2. Stadler drove out of bounds on the 13th to give the hole to the Spaniards and Ballesteros then almost holed his tee shot on the 14th. It was all over. The official result was 5 and 4, but 6 and 4 was the unofficial score.

Europe now held a 2-point lead at 8-6. Were the United States about to collapse as on that far-off day at Lindrick, 28 years before? It was up to Curtis Strange and Peter Jacobsen to hold Way and Woosnam. The early exchanges favored the British players, but the Americans went ahead with a birdie on the 9th and then quickly pulled away with wins on both the 10th and 11th. (The 10th didn't favor Europe this time. Woosnam put their tee shot in water and Way then thinned his chip up the bank at the rear of the green.) No holes changed hands thereafter until Curtis Strange pitched dead for his 3 and the match, by 4 and 2 on the 16th.

The Langer/Brown versus Floyd/Wadkins match was close for much of the way though the Europeans were never behind. In fact, they were quickly 2 up after three holes but could not get away from the American pair, who squared the match at the 10th. Here Wadkins hit the American tee shot 'safely' miles to the left into the crowd, but Floyd sent the long pitch to about three yards. Meanwhile, Langer had cut his tee shot and Brown put the European ball in the water. The European pair regained the lead with a par 3 on the 12th. The match ended rather suddenly. After two holes halved in par, Langer holed a very long putt to win the 15th and on the next hole Ken Brown hit an 8-iron to four inches. When Wadkins couldn't hole from several yards the match was Europe's by 3 and 2. Surprisingly, it was Langer's first win and Wadkins' first defeat in his fourth match.

From their disastrous first morning, when the European team were 3-1 down, they would go into the final day with a 2-point lead. Anything could happen with 12 matches still to play, but Europe seemed on the rise and the crushing defeats suffered by two of Trevino's pairings in the afternoon foursomes were bad omens for the captain.

The contribution of the Spanish players had been remarkable. Success had been expected, even demanded, of Ballesteros but Pinero, Canizares and Rivero had all raised their games. In all, the four Spanish players had been in six matches on the first two days. Only one of those matches had been lost and four Spanish players had been involved in winning 4 1/2 of Europe's 9 points. A half of the successes from a third of the team was respectable indeed. It was a Spaniard who led off in the final singles, Manuel Pinero. Jacklin guessed that Trevino would lead off with his strong players to try to draw level and then put more strength at the bottom of his list, which is what Trevino actually did. In response, Jacklin put his main strength in the middle of the order. Pinero was the sacrificial lamb who had to face the American with the sharpest teeth: Lanny Wadkins. The match was close over the first nine holes though Wadkins twice managed to get to 1 up before Pinero squared at the 8th, when Wadkins 3-putted. There was a dramatic shift of fortunes on the 10th. Here, while Wadkins seemed to have a holeable putt for a birdie, Pinero, not on in 2, suddenly holed his chip of a dozen yards for his birdie 3. Wadkins missed and then followed by hitting into both sand and a bush on the next while Pinero struck a long iron safely to the heart of the green. The next three holes were halved but a birdie 4 from Pinero on the 15th put Wadkins 3 down with three to play and almost out. The American managed to birdie the 16th for a win. Then he made rather a mess of the long 17th and Pinero's par 5 was enough to win both hole and match. Europe was 3 points clear at 10-7.

Next out were Woosnam and Stadler in a match of mixed quality. Woosnam began 4, 5, 5, 6 yet was only 1 down and went on to be 1 up after the 7th. The pair finished the first nine all square with Woosnam out in 39 to Stadler's 37. Woosnam went 1 down at the 10th and seemed to have lost another hole when he hooked his 1-iron tee shot out of bounds on the 13th but a birdie with his second ball enabled him to halve the hole with Stadler's bogey 5. It looked like Stadler was about to pay dearly for his error when the Welshman birdied the 14th to again draw level, but the unlikely is always happening in golf. Stadler won the next two holes with birdies and when Woosnam failed with a birdie attempt on the 17th the match was over, 2 and 1 to Stadler.

In Ray Floyd, Paul Way faced another of Trevino's top men, yet Floyd was to play as badly as anyone on either team. With five 5s, he reached the turn in 41 and was lucky to be only 4 down. When Floyd won both 11th and 12th, however, the pressure was back on Way but his position looked impregnable when the next three holes were halved. The situation looked even better for Way on the 16th. Floyd drove into thick rough along the left while Way was lucky when his ball came out of the deep rough into semi-rough and a good lie. Floyd thought long and hard before deciding on his choice of club and the kind of shot he would attempt; it was a hack out which finished well short of the green. With dreams of glory dazzling him, Way then thinned his approach right through the green and from there, he fluffed his next shot and Floyd ran his ball up dead. Instead of shaking hands, winner by 3 and 2, Way was back to 1 up with two to go. On the next, both bunkered their tee shots but in the end holed short putts for a half in par 5s.

At the last hole, though it is a par 4 of maximum length, the main problem is not the shot to the green but the tee shot, where a well placed draw or a bold straight shot down the left edge of the fairway shortens the next one to the green. But the better that tee shot, the nearer it comes to the lake which lies along the left-hand side. Although a straighter shot can seem safer, with no water problem, it is easy to run across the fairway into one of two bunkers. This is exactly what Floyd did.

Paul Way hit a perfect draw shot. Floyd, at 1 down, could only go for the green with a wood. Not surprisingly he topped it and found the arm of the lake which swings around the front of the green. Way now simply had to avoid putting his second shot in the same place, so he overclubbed a little with a 3-iron and his ball came to rest at the back of the green. Three putts would surely mean a halved hole and victory in the match itself. In the event, he didn't have to putt at all. Though Floyd played a precise fourth shot it spun back down the slope and he walked forward to concede the hole.

One can probably put far too much stress on the magic of captaincy. In golf, one's players either perform or they don't. Let's just say that Jacklin's tactics had worked out very well; his players had taken 2 points out of 3 from America's finest and Way's victory brought his team to the brink of victory at 13-8 with 14 1/2 needed to win the Ryder Cup. However, at this point other matches had already finished, the first of these being the Langer/Sutton encounter 20 minutes earlier. This was the sixth game whereas Way and Floyd had gone out third.

Sutton began with some poor golf so Langer found himself 2 up after opening with four straight pars and then won the 6th with a birdie to go further ahead. Sutton made his only real fight on the 7th and 8th, winning both holes with a couple of pars. He then lost four holes in a row to go 4 down with seven to play. On the last of these holes, the par-3 12th, Sutton's game had reached its nadir when he took 6 after a penalty drop. Sutton did win the 13th with a par and then struck his tee shot to the 14th to the rear edge. With a 5-iron for the 194 yards, Langer came close to holing in 1, his ball stopping a little over a foot away. He had won by 5 and 4 and, at just after 3 p.m., Europe had moved 3 points clear with the score 11-8.

The next match to finish was between Sandy Lyle and Peter Jacobsen, who were out fifth. It was a close battle all the way, until the sudden ending, and the scoring was good. Lyle was out in 34 to be 2 up and then won the 11th with a par. After holing a good putt on the 12th to remain 2 up he then drove out of bounds on the 13th and eventually conceded the hole. It was the only shot he dropped to par in the match. On the long 15th, Lyle bunkered his tee shot but recovered well, put his third shot about three yards from the hole and wasn't asked to putt when Jacobsen took 3 putts from the front fringe. The end came with one of those freak shots that seemed always to come from the European team. Lyle sent his approach at the 16th to the back of the green, perhaps a dozen yards past the hole. His putt from there hung on the edge before falling in. The time was about 3:10 p.m. and Lyle's 3 and 2 win brought the points score to 12-8.

The second phase of Jacklin's master plan was also going well for him. The apparent strength of his middle order was proving no illusion.

Meanwhile, where was his superstar, the man he had introduced at the flag-raising ceremony as 'the greatest golfer in the world'? Seve Ballesteros was in fact heading the middle order at number four and was in trouble against Tom Kite in a match of charisma versus faceless competence. Ballesteros began with a couple of pars to go 1 down and then failed to match Kite's par 5 on the 4th. The 7th went to the Spaniard with a birdie but Kite hit back with one of his own on the 9th to end the first half 2 up. The next three holes were halved, the 11th in birdies. Then came disaster for Ballesteros on the 13th when he managed to hit his wedge second shot into a greenside bunker. Although he recovered to three or four yards he didn't get the putt and went 3 down with five to play in a mean mood.

At the 14th, Ballesteros played the better tee shot. With Kite just off the green, Ballesteros finished at the rear. When Kite then came up to a full five feet it looked as if Ballesteros might get one hole back if he could get down in 2 from perhaps as far as 15 yards. Instead he holed it one of the longest putts of the 1985 Ryder Cup. Again, it was a European who did it.

At the par-5 15th, Ballesteros was pin high in 2 but only managed to get his third shot to about six yards. Nevermind, he holed it to claw back to only 1 behind. Kite looked like a man who was wondering what was going to hit him next -- a holed long iron perhaps? There were no dramatics on the 16th, however. The hole was halved in 4s.

The tee shot at the 17th gives a great advantage to the man who shortens this par 5 by cutting across the angle of the dogleg. Ballesteros launched a big one and finished some 60 yards ahead of Kite. He could reach the green, Kite was out of range. Ballesteros then hit a 3-wood just through the green. With Kite eight yards short of the hole with his third shot, the chances were that all Ballesteros had to do was chip and putt for a win, which is what he did. He added to the interest of the occasion, however, by fluffing his chip shot but then holed his putt from about four yards. He was 3 under par for the last four holes and the match was all-square.

Tom Kite, who had done hardly anything wrong with his four pars in a row, ought to have been shaken to the tips of his toes but he played the last hole beautifully with a long drive that flirted with the lake along the left but rewarded him with a 9-iron shot to the green. Both players found the correct tier of the green, with Kite much nearer the hole. He had a realistic chance of winning as Ballesteros was perhaps 18 yards away. Seve then coasted his ball close to the hole and Kite had a putt for the hole and the match. His attempt was certainly a bold one which ran about five feet past. Kite to play again. His next putt was missing all the way but, like Ballesteros's last putt in the 1984 Open Championship, it contrived to fall in. Hole and match halved. Europe 13 1/2 United States 8 1/2. (Since taking that 3-1 lead on the first morning, the Americans had added just 5 1/2 points against 12 1/2 for Europe. One more point was needed for Europe to win the Cup back.) At times it looked as if that point might be hard to find. All the remaining six matches were close except the last between Trevino's strong man Curtis Strange and Ken Brown. Strange played splendidly from the start, while Brown had a very poor spell in the middle holes of the first nine to go 4 down and then lost the 10th to a par to go 5 behind. His comeback was matched by Strange, who eventually won by 4 and 2. By then, the outcome of the competition was decided.

Trevino had placed his weakest players (those off form) in his middle order while Jacklin gambled on the match being over as a team contest before Faldo, Rivero, Canizares and Brown were needed to bring in points. This meant that the two men who might bring in the decisive points once Ballesteros had finished were Sam Torrance and Howard Clark, playing Andy North and Mark O'Meara respectively.

The first of these matches saw some poor golf from both Torrance and North. Torrance, after topping his drive into the lake and conceding the 9th, was out in an approximate 40, with North a couple of shots better. The Scotsman then made a mess of the little 275-yard 10th hole. Taking 6, he went 3 down but immediately got 1 back when North missed the green on the 11th. The next three holes were halved in par and Torrance was then able to win the 15th with a par when the American missed a put of less than three feet. At the 16th, Torrance almost squared when his birdie putt shaved the hole. At the 17th, North was in a plantation while Torrance hooked his second to the par 5 into thick rough. From there, he repeated his 1983 effort with a pitch to six feet. In both of these Ryder Cup singles he had no chance of finishing near the hole but the shot happened to work. Of such hit-and-hope shots are legends made, and Torrance was about to go into legend. He holed for a birdie and had caught North.

Behind Torrance, Clark looked in command against O'Meara from the early holes, with the American playing the first five in 4 over par to be, not surprisingly, 3 down. He then won the 9th and 12th to be right back in the match. Hole after hole was then halved with O'Meara having a chance to square when he pitched close on the 16th but missed the putt. A little after 4 p.m. Howard Clark had a putt to win the Ryder Cup. He bunkered his second shot to the 575-yard 17th but splashed out to four feet, perhaps a little more. His putt for the hole, his match and the Ryder Cup hit the hole and spun away. Dormie 1 up, he would have to play the 18th.

At that moment, Torrance was on the 18th green waiting to make sure of the golden chalice. First, let's briefly retrace the play of North and Torrance on this last hole.

After the honor of winning the 17th, Torrance pushed aside memories of his top from the 9th tee and produced the ideal drive, very, very long with draw. It was well over three hundred yards. As North stepped up to play, he knew Torrance had just a pitch with, say, a 9-iron to the green. Should he go for a big draw or a safe line which would leave him a more testing long iron to the green? In the event, he produced neither shot; appearing to collapse in the hitting area, North ballooned his shot. Ripples spread. The crowd cheered. Torrance burst into tears; he had won the match and with it the 1985 Ryder Cup.

There were some formalities to complete. Playing 3, North cleared the water and then pitched to the right tier of the green. People were clustering around Torrance, congratulating him, telling him the match was won and much else. But Sam still had to get the ball on to the green. Clearing his eyes, he did so. His ball lay half-a-dozen yards from the hole. North didn't get his 5 so as Torrance stood over his putt he actually needed four putts for a 6, a halved hole and match and a Europe points total of 14 1/2 (Clark was already assured of a half at dormie 1). Instead he holed his first putt and Torrance had joined the immortals.

Perhaps he deserved to but for the majestic tee shot rather than the putt.

Now the other matches didn't matter any more -- except to the individuals involved, who had all thought that their result might be vital throughout the competition. Clark halved the last hole to win his match. Faldo, playing uneven golf against Hubert Green, led early on but lost by 3 and 1 when he bogeyed both 16th and 17th. Jose Rivero looked in charge of Calvin Peete at 2 up after 14 but Peete then birdied the next three holes and won by 1 up. The Canizares/Zoeller match was square after nine holes and the next seven holes were all halved. Canizares then won the 17th with a par and, eventually, won his match 2 up. With 2 1/2 points from his three matches, he was the only undefeated player on either side, expunging memories of his singles failure in 1983. His fellow Spaniard Manuel Pinero had the best record, however, with three wins out of four in pairs play followed by that unlikely win over Lanny Wadkins.

Some thought the villains of the piece were the vast crowds, who cheered such American errors as Stadler's missed putt and North's ballooned drive. Torrance had once to remind one section that they weren't at a football match. Ray Floyd remarked on the second day as a Langer shot headed for trees, 'Somebody will probably kick it back into play'. Ray hadn't enjoyed himself at Walton Heath in 1981 either. For Peter Jacobsen the villain was his captain, Trevino of whom he said, 'Lee seemed to have nothing to say about anything at any time'. He thought Jacklin worthy of an invitation to captain the United States but he also condemned the partisan British crowd. There were no villains for the British spectators whose only complaint was that the PGA might have put up a few more scoreboards.

.

.

DAY ONE

Morning Foursomes
Seve Ballesteros/Manuel Pinero (E) d. Curtis Strange/Mark O'Meara (US), 2 and 1

Calvin Peete/Tom Kite (US) d. Bernhard Langer/Nick Faldo (E), 3 and 2

Lanny Wadkins/Ray Floyd (US) d. Sandy Lyle/Ken Brown (E), 4 and 3

Craig Stadler/Hal Sutton (US) d. Howard Clark/Sam Torrance (E), 3 and 2

Afternoon Four-Balls
Paul Way/Ian Woosnam (E) d. Fuzzy Zoeller/Hubert Green (US), 1 up

Seve Ballesteros/Manuel Pinero (E) d. Andy North/Peter Jacobsen (US), 2 and 1

Craig Stadler/Hal Sutton (US) vs. Bernhard Langer/Jose Maria Canizares (E), halved

Ray Floyd/Lanny Wadkins (US) d. Sam Torrance/Howard Clark (E), 1 up

United States 4.5, Europe 3.5

DAY TWO

Morning Foursomes
Sam Torrance/Howard Clark (E) d. Tom Kite/Andy North (US), 2 and 1

Paul Way/Ian Woosnam (E) d. Hubert Green/Fuzzy Zoeller (US), 4 and 3

Mark O'Meara/Lanny Wadkins (US) d. Seve Ballesteros/Manuel Pinero (E), 3 and 2

Craig Stadler/Curtis Strange (US) vs. Bernhard Langer/Sandy Lyle (E), halved

Afternoon Four-Balls
Jose Maria Canizares/Jose Rivero (E) d. Tom Kite/Calvin Peete (US), 7 and 5

Seve Ballesteros/Manuel Pinero (E) d. Craig Stadler/Hal Sutton (US), 5 and 4

Curtis Strange/Peter Jacobsen (US) d. Paul Way/Ian Woosnam (E), 4 and 2

Bernhard Langer/Ken Brown (E) d. Ray Floyd/Lanny Wadkins (US), 3 and 2

Europe 9, United States 7

DAY THREE

Singles
Manuel Pinero (E) d. Lanny Wadkins (US), 3 and 1

Craig Stadler (US) d. Ian Woosnam (E), 2 and 1

Paul Way (E) d. Ray Floyd (US), 2 up

Tom Kite (US) vs. Seve Ballesteros (US), halved

Sandy Lyle (E) d. Peter Jacobsen (US), 3 and 2

Bernhard Langer (E) d. Hal Sutton (US), 5 and 4

Sam Torrance (E) d. Andy North (US), 1 up

Howard Clark (E) d. Mark O'Meara (US), 1 up

Calvin Peete (US) d. Jose Rivero (E), 1 up

Hubert Green (US) d. Nick Faldo (E), 3 and 1

Jose Maria Canizares (E) d. Fuzzy Zoeller (US), 2 up

Curtis Strange (US) d. Ken Brown (E), 4 and 2

Europe 16.5, United States 11.5