{"id":418,"date":"2014-09-26T18:55:58","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T18:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.golfballs.com\/?p=418"},"modified":"2025-02-17T11:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:23:09","slug":"what-tom-watson-learned-from-the-1993-ryder-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/what-tom-watson-learned-from-the-1993-ryder-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"What Tom Watson Learned from the 1993 Ryder Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been 21 years since the U.S. Ryder Cup team won the coveted tournament on European soil.\u00a0 It was also 21 years ago that U.S. team captain Tom Watson led the Americans to victory during the 30th<\/sup> Ryder Cup matches at The Belfry\u2019s Brabazon Course in England.<\/p>\n

A lot has changed in the world over the last two decades, but the rivalry between the European and U.S. teams that have gone toe-to-toe with one another every two years since has stayed the same.<\/p>\n

With Tom Watson returning to the birthplace of golf – leading the U.S. team at the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, Scotland \u2013 one can\u2019t help but wonder if he\u2019s been reminiscing over his experience some two decades ago in preparation for the series that is teeing off September 26th.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at the last time Watson led the U.S. team into victory across the pond to see what he can learn from his success back in \u201993, when advanced driver<\/a> technology was just coming into the world.<\/p>\n

Watson\u2019s Tough Call At Belfry<\/strong><\/p>\n

If Watson can take any one memory into this weekend\u2019s Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, perhaps it should be that of Lanny Wadkins\u2019 sacrificial sit-out during the last round of the 1993 Ryder Cup.<\/p>\n

Wadkins was no stranger to the tournament, having appeared in seven Ryder Cups prior to being chosen by Watson as a captain\u2019s pick for the \u201993 matches.\u00a0 Lanny\u2019s talent as a professional golfer was a given, but his sportsmanship going into the third round of the \u201993 Ryder Cup would solidify his place as a pro golfer that could put his teammates \u2013 and the country they were playing for \u2013 before personal gain and achievement.<\/p>\n

The night before the singles matches \u2013 the final day of the Ryder Cup Series \u2013 European team player Sam Torrance had to have an infected toenail removed, thus forcing him to pull out of the tournament.\u00a0 If you\u2019re wondering what that has to do with the U.S. team, then read on.<\/p>\n

According to Ryder Cup rules, if a player for one team finds that they cannot compete for the remainder of the competition, then the other team is forced to pick a player to sit out the rest of the matches to even the score.\u00a0 That meant that Tom Watson would have to pick a Team USA Ryder Cup member to sit out Sunday\u2019s matches.<\/p>\n

Amazingly, Watson wasn\u2019t forced to make the tough call on his own after Team USA\u2019s Lanny Wadkins, who now plays on the Nike<\/a> golf team, volunteered to sit out Sunday\u2019s play, freeing up the rest of the players to give it their best.\u00a0 Watson used Lanny\u2019s sacrifice to the team\u2019s advantage, reminding each player on Sunday what their teammate had done for them:<\/p>\n

\u201cPlay this one for Lanny. And if you get down, just think what a fighter Lanny is, and that will help you get through a tough spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reminding each U.S. player what true sportsmanship and sacrifice for one\u2019s fellow team members was all about may have very well been the driving force behind the U.S. team\u2019s 15-13 victory overseas in \u201993.<\/p>\n

Moving Forward At Gleneagles<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that majority favoritism is going toward the European team at Gleneagles this weekend.\u00a0 After all, Team Europe garners four of the six highest ranked professional golfers in the world, making them a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n

However, one cannot discount the effect that being labeled an underdog can potentially have on Team USA\u2019s demeanor, especially for a team representing a nation that began as underdogs in a war with the most powerful country in the world.<\/p>\n

If Tom Watson can take anything from his experience at Belfrys in 1993, it\u2019s that sacrifice, sportsmanship, and commitment to one\u2019s fellow players are key elements of any team\u2019s tournament success.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to hoping that Tom Watson and the underdogs pull off an upset this weekend at Gleneagles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been 21 years since the U.S. Ryder Cup team won the coveted tournament on European soil.\u00a0 It was also 21 years ago that U.S. team captain Tom Watson led the Americans to victory...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,4],"tags":[97,77,79],"class_list":["post-418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-news","tag-1993-ryder-cup","tag-ryder-cup","tag-tom-watson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4524,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418\/revisions\/4524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}