July 17th, 2008
Peter Alliss 26 Ryder Cups and counting
From personal heartbreak at Wentworth in 1953, to a public outpouring of emotion at the K Club in 2006, Peter Alliss really has seen it all when it comes to the Ryder Cup.
When the 37th Ryder Cup matches get underway at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky, in the third week of September, the wait will finally be over and the talking will have to stop. But not for one man. A veteran of eight Ryder Cups as a player, and 18 more as a commentator, Alliss knows a thing or two about performing in the pressurised arena of the world’s most exciting golfing spectacle. Having watched Europe take the spoils five of the last six times, the last two by record margins, the veteran broadcaster is understandably wary of a backlash from a wounded American side.
“We’ve had the better players playing the better golf the last few years,” Alliss says. “But all the talk of Americans not being interested if they lose again; I’ve never heard so much bloody twoddle in all my life. Of course they will win the cup again. They have 10 times more golfers than us. We went through a period when we had some of the very best players in the world all playing well. Now we have had some new names coming in and helping us win. This time around, however, it is going to be a much more difficult task.”
According to Alliss, that might well be due to the positive influence of American captain Paul Azinger, who wasted little time in making the first foray into enemy territory, mischievously suggesting that players from their generation want nothing to do with the European captain. “Azinger probably said all those things with a smile and in a different tone of voice,” Alliss says. “But when it gets read out with a scowl you’ve gone from being Romeo to Jack the Ripper. Azinger is a bit spicy, a bit of a needler – just as he was as a player – and he likes the fun and games that goes with Ryder Cup.
“But this has been blown out of proportion really and we should just get on with it. Nick is dong a fine job and will be working every way he can to get the team to gel together. He has their respect after all he’s done, so there won’t be a problem there.”
But with four captain’s pick to Faldo’s two, the advantage of setting up the course to suit his side’s strengths, and having changed the playing format so that foursomes precedes fourballs, Alliss believes that the American already has an advantage over the man who pipped him to the Open at Muirfield in 1987. “Azinger is already 1-up because he is able to pick four players; that could be a crucial factor on both sides,” he says. “If the Ryder Cup was played now we’d have five or so guys in their twenties. It’s very nice to see, but you want experienced guys because playing over there in front of a partisan crowd could be a very difficult experience for the young guys.”
“All the talk of Americans not being interested in the Ryder Cup if they lose again; I’ve never heard so much bloody twoddle in all my life”
Carefully selection has, in recent times, seen some inspired decisions from European captains. Needing to add some old heads to a youthful line-up, Ian Woosnam went out on a limb for out-of-form duo Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood at the K Club in 2006. Likewise Bernhard Langer two years prior when he took a chance on an ailing Colin Montgomerie and the unproven Luke Donald. Both were crucial to the success at Oakland Hills, one of only three victories on American soil. “That’s why the picks could be so important,” Alliss says. “You might need a few of the Darren Clarkes or the Colin Montgomeries as a calming influence in the heat of battle. It will be a monumental effort for the Europeans to win this one but it all depends on how the teams pan out, how many rookies qualify, and who the picks are.”
While Faldo and Azinger nervously wait to see the hand they are dealt, the thorny issue of future captains is causing great concern for Alliss, particularly the snubbing of the former Open and Masters champion Sandy Lyle.
Having himself been overlooked for the captaincy after he retired, Alliss insists that Lyle deserves a shot at leading the side. “I think it’s disgraceful that Sandy hasn’t been considered. I can’t think there is anything to dislike about him. The equally ridiculous thing is that we’ve been to Ireland and we are going to Wales and Scotland and we won’t have a captain from those countries. Something like that helps you get a little bit extra out of the players and the fans and that is the five per cent that wins the match.
“I have no idea how they choose the captain or even who does it. They must sit around a big cauldron at midnight, throwing rats’ tails into a steaming brew in weird and wonderful ways!”
It will escape many younger golf fans that Alliss was once a fierce Ryder Cup competitor himself, playing eight times before hanging up his spikes in 1969. His first experience of the tournament came as a 22-year-old at Wentworth in 1953, where, infamously, he lost his singles match against Jim Turnesa despite leading with two to play. Not that he’s ever been allowed to forget it. “That was a long time ago and I only think about it three or four times a week now,” Alliss says with a rueful smile.
It might have all ended in disappointment, but far from being put off the event, Alliss revelled in it, proving one of Britain’s lynchpins in subsequent appearances and enjoying some wonderful successes, not least beating Arnold Palmer and halving with Tony Lema on the same day in 1963.
His Ryder Cup career also pitted him against the likes of Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and Ken Venturi; fittingly, his final appearance was at Royal Birkdale where the famous concession involving Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin brought down the curtain on a first-ever drawn match. “As a player it was so exciting. Once I had got over the initial shock I played some of my very best golf at the Ryder Cup.
“I just enjoyed it so much and as I was driving away I always used to wonder why I didn’t have that same feeling and the same level of performance in the Open Championship.
“Although golf is a very individual game there is a camaraderie that is very special when you have to rely on your team-mates. And when you win, it’s very emotional. It’s the ultimate feeling in golf and I hope we have it again in September.”