Pair of Swedes trumps Americans
By PATRICK REUSSE
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
SOTOGRANDE, Spain -- Danny Johns came in from the Birmingham
Weather Center in England to provide the official weather information
for the Ryder Cup matches. Johns offered this review of what occurred
along the Costa del Sol before dawn on Friday:
"(Thursday), thunderstorms developed over North Africa,
whilst at the same time a trough moved in from the west. The root
cause of these thunderstorms and heavy rain bursts has been a
dig of colder air coming in from the west, whilst at the same
time the sun was still very hot over North Africa."
This dig of cool air caused huge bolts of lightning that flashed
along the Mediterranean Sea's shoreline for more than two hours.
This was accompanied by a driving rain that flooded all available
ditches in this area -- including the sand bunkers at Valderrama
Golf Club.
"That was a tormenta to remember," a local woman
said. "We have not had rain in a long time. Why today?"
Friday was the opening day of the 32nd Ryder Cup, and the matches
were being held at a site outside of the United States and Great
Britain for the first time. After the tormenta struck, owner Jimmy
Patino's panicked message to the grounds crew was to start pumping
water from the traps and other low spots.
"Poor Jimmy must be having a heart attack," a British
sportswriter said. "His baby received quite a bath."
Jimmy's baby survived. The matches were pushed back only one
hour, 45 minutes. By then, Valderrama was nearly in the same magnificent
condition as had been the case during this week's practice rounds.
The golfers wound up creating more of a time problem than the
rain. Constantino Rocca had asked Seve Ballesteros, Europe's captain,
to play in the first match because, Seve said, "He likes
to play fast."
Ballesteros put Rocca and Jose Maria Olazabal were in the opener
against Davis Love III and Phil Mickelson. This foursome had a
15-minute headstart on the gentlemen in match No. 2 -- Nick Faldo
and Lee Westwood for Europe, Fred Couples and Brad Faxon for the
United States. Eventually, with the agonizingly slow play of Faldo,
the gap was 40 minutes.
Since Tom Lehman and Jim Furyk were the U.S. pairing following
Faldo's foursome, they wound up in an 18-hole match with Sweden's
Jesper Parnevik and Per-Ulrick Johansson that lasted for 5 1/2
hours.
Lehman birdied two of the first three holes to put the Yanks
2-up. He birdied the par-3 third with a 25-foot downhill putt
that had to be stroked with preposterous delicacy.
Suddenly, in the middle of the fourth fairway, a golf cart
came charging through the rough. It was driven by Ballesteros.
He pulled up next to Parnevik's caddie, Alistair Mathieson, and
started talking and gesticulating.
"Seve gave our team a strategy for playing the fourth
that I will keep secret for now," Johansson said.
This strategy allowed Parnevik to make a birdie 4 to tie Lehman
on No. 4. Ballesteros stayed with this match and was rewarded
when Johansson made a long, winning putt on the par-3 sixth.
Johansson then evened it on No. 8 by hitting a 122-yard wedge
shot from behind the cork trees to within a foot of the cup. "Seve
was famous for his escapes," Johansson said. "I don't
even think Seve could have topped my escape there."
If that shot made the Yanks' queasy, what happened next was
worse. Lehman hit a drive that hooked into the gallery and the
ball struck a woman in the neck. She was down on the ground when
Lehman stopped and apologized.
Lehman followed his conversation with the injured woman by
hitting a fat iron shot and wound up making bogey. Again, Furyk
was no help, and the Swedes were 1-up.
The Swedes and the Yanks stayed that way for four more holes,
then Johansson's third birdie gave Europe a two-hole lead with
four to play. The Lehman-Furyk tandem seemed finished, and then
...
"In match play, it's a good idea to always expect your
opponents to make the putt, or to knock in a chip," Johansson
said. "That said, Jesper and I certainly did not expect Lehman
to do what he did at 15."
Lehman made a 40-yard pitch shot for his fifth birdie. Finally
inspired, Furyk followed with his first birdie at No. 16 and the
match was even.
The infamous 17th is a 511-yard par-5 with the green guarded
by a huge pond. Lehman and Parnevik both played it safely and
were within 20 feet of birdies. Parnevik made his putt. Lehman's
drifted off left.
Parnevik and Johansson now had a one-hole lead to protect on
No. 18. Parnevik split the fairway, then Johnansson hooked his
drive over the trees and into an adjoining fairway.
Ballesteros came flying through the rough, jumped from his
cart and raced over to find Johansson's ball. The one-time master
of escape talked about the shot with Johansson, then Per-Ulrick
cleared the trees and reached the green.
Lehman hit a last, brilliant shot in this match, drawing a
long iron from the rough, around a cork tree and onto the green.
The four players headed up the hill to close this drama.
"Come on, Swedes," a man hollered in a voice thick
with England.
Parnevik listened. He made another birdie putt. The Yanks were
closed out. The best-ball scores were 7-under for Europe (lowest
of the foursome matches), 6-under for Lehman-Furyk (mostly Lehman).
Imagine it. A pair of Swedes had teamed to win a Ryder Cup
match. "It was a dream come true for Jesper and me to be
a team for Europe," Johansson said. "And then to win
was fantastic."
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