Europe's emerald isle

Seamus Buckley says the Irish have had a large influence over destiny of the Ryder Cup.

Seamus Buckley says the Irish have had a large influence over destiny of the Ryder Cup.

There was a time when the Irish sent many a Viking on the wings of the valkyries and onward for a rendezvous with Odin in Valhalla. In intervening years Scottish shepherds passed the time of day by laying into pebbles with their crooks around the Firth of Forth and the game of golf was born. Now the Irish and the Vikings are on the same side and heading for a new verdant Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky to take on the Americans in the 37th playing of the Ryder Cup.

Scandanavians are a relatively new addition to the Ryder Cup. The Americans biennially beat the GB and Ireland side before the continental Europeans came on board in 1979. Then things began to change, Europe began to win. The chief architect of the turnaround was the imperious Severiano Ballesteros, ably abetted by the taciturn Bernhard Langer. Other stalwarts stepped up to the plate, Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie chief among them.

Ballesteros came to the contest with fire in the blood. He had a grudge and when Ballesteros had a grudge he didn't just hold it close to his chest he wore it emblazoned across it. Even towards the end of his Ryder Cup career, when he was driving the ball with all the consistency of an 11-handicapper, he was still dangerous because when he got the wedge in his hand, he would put it in your pocket.

He inspired unsung players on the European tour to become giants in the Ryder Cup, not surprisingly he got a particularly good response from the Irish. The first to make an impact was Eamonn Darcy. The Wicklowman was a feel player with a self-taught swing. The Darcy swing got an unfavourable reaction from American commentators at the 1987 Ryder Cup at Muirfield Village in Ohio. Darcy was up against Ben Crenshaw in the singles. Crenshaw, one of the games gentlemen lost the run of himself and smashed his putting blade coming off the sixth green after Darcy had taken an early lead. A club broken in anger cannot be replaced, so Crenshaw had to improvise. He proceeded to putt like a demon with a one-iron and levelled the match, only for Darcy to sink a tricky downhill six-footer on the last and claim the point that brought Europe across the finishing line for their first win on American soil.

Christy O'Connor made his name at the 1989 Ryder Cup at the Belfry. The Galwayman was all square coming down the last when he rifled an unlikely two-iron to four feet. Couples was wide of the mark with a nine-iron and eventually conceded the hole and the match. O'Connor's point ensured that Europe retained the cup as the overall outcome ended in a draw. At the 1995 Ryder Cup Philip Walton got the decisive winning point by defeating Jay Haas. In 2002 Paul McGinley sank the putt that won the Ryder Cup in halving his match with Jim Fuyrk. Four Ryder Cups where the decisive action revolved around an Irishman. And Captain Nick Faldo has two Irishmen, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell, in his team for Valhalla.

Harrington is the form player going into the Ryder Cup after winning back-to-back majors and could be the inspirational force behind a European victory. And the Scandanavians Soren Hansen, Robert Karlsson and the Dubai-based Henrik Stenson, well they should feel right at home. [e-mail]