2006 Ryder Cup At The K Club
"What would you think about a trip to play some golf and watch the Ryder Cup at The K Club?" It was Kelly Tighe from West Bend Mutual Insurance Company early in 2006. For 35 years our insurance agency has represented West Bend Mutual. "It will be an incentive trip." What more incentive did I need than an opportunity to go to Ireland, play golf and watch the Ryder Cup?
"I'm already making calls," I replied. "Great idea!"
"I'll get John Gibson to put together a trip," said Kelly. John Gibson was a golf travel planner, raised in York, England. Playing crosshanded, he was an accomplished junior player, turning professional at 18. Knowledgeable about courses and accommodations throughout Great Brittian and Ireland, John would construct the perfect tour.
The 2004 Ryder Cup found the US Team suffering the worst defeat since the competition began in 1927. Articles about the assent of Europe and the demise of great golf in the US were common. However, the fever pitch interest continued as the bi-annual event neared in 2006.
The 2006 version was to be held at the K Club, a high-end resort complex 45 minutes west of Dublin, Ireland. It was developed by billionaire Michael Smurfit and attracting this event was a smart marketing play for the K Club and Ireland. It was the first time the Ryder Cup had gone to Ireland. An added bonus was the naming of Tom Lehman as the US Captain, assuring that my good friend, his brother Jim, would be in attendance.
We came into Dublin Wednesday morning of Ryder Cup week and headed to Portmarnock Golf Club for an afternoon round. Portmarnock is a storied course, ten miles north of Dublin on a tongue of land against the Irish Sea. Host of 18 Irish Open tournaments, a Walker Cup, and a British Amateur, Portmarnock is a wonderful course, except when the wind blows over 40 MPH, which it did for our round.
In a word, the weather was terrible. The wind roared across the small peninsula with nothing to break it. The 16 guests of West Bend were shredded. "I'll be glad when we can find some down wind holes," I said to Kevin Steiner, President of West Bend Mutual. "I'm not strong enough to walk into the wind much longer!"
The weather station on top of the clubhouse registered sustained winds at 35 MPH with gusts at 40 or more, as we staggered into the bar following the round. "Locals would not think about playing in this wind," said the bartender in his Irish brogue. "Ya deserve a wee pint!"
At the K Club things were no better. Nobody wanted to play. There was no way to learn anything with the conditions," team captain Tom Lehman told me. "The PGA put pressure on us to play, as there were many fans that came out to see our team. I finally convinced our guys to head out. We played a twelvesome for a few holes and retired."
Thursday we headed to Druid's Glen. Built in 1995 it's a challenging resort course south of Dublin. Unlike the high profile Irish courses such as Ballybunion and Royal County Down, it's an inland, parkland course, looking more like something found in America. Tree lined fairways, water hazards and strategically placed bunkering make it a good stop on a golf trip through Ireland. Playing in a light but steady rain, we were soaking wet as play finished.
Having been to Ryder Cup Matches at Valderamma in 1997 and The Belfry in 2001, I was aware the event would be overrun with spectators. The Walker Cup I attended in 1991 in Dublin registered enormous crowds. The Irish are huge supporters of golf. With only four groups on the course for all sessions on Friday and Saturday and crowds estimated at 50,000, I chose not to attend until Sunday when there would be 12 singles matches.
By the time Sunday arrived the US Team found themselves down 10-6. It would take a huge turnaround to win the Ryder Cup.
It was a gray day in the high 50's when I met up with my son Tyler, who was on a separate trip with a group of friends, and we headed for the K Club. The 530-acre resort is near Straffan in County Kildare, just west of Dublin on the River Liffey. Looking like a large French Chateau, the lengthy, three-story building overlooks 36 holes of golf with streams, ponds and the River Liffey awaiting stray shots.
Arriving shortly after play started, we chatted briefly with Jim Lehman and headed out to secure a viewing site. As expected, the galleries were large, meaning we would only be able to watch play on one hole, as galleries would collapse forward with the completion of play on each hole.
We walked forward to the point where we had front row viewing on a strong hole. With all of the water running throughout the course, maneuvering was difficult. We chose the seventh. A 440-yard par four, it featured a water hazard immediately in front of the green, with the River Liffey a short distance over the green. The straight away hole had a thirty-yard wide fairway, lined with tall aspen and oak trees. With the configuration of the hole and the proximity of the River Liffey, the gallery was restricted to the left side of the fairway where we stood.
Missing the fairway resulted in problems, as the rain and long rough grass made shots difficult. The hole location was three paces from the front of the green and only five paces from a brick wall surrounding the water.
The fun of a Ryder Cup is meeting and chatting with all the people as you wait for play to get to your position. For nearly an hour we enjoyed conversation with Irish and European fans knowledgeable about golf.
As the fourth group of the day reached our position, with Tiger Woods vs Robert Karlsson hitting second shots, things did not look good for the US team. The US could afford to lose only three and a half points in the singles matches or fall to defeat. The scoreboard had few red arrows, indicating a US lead in a match.
Tiger's ball found the six foot wide strip of grass between the red brick retaining wall and the green. Hitting the short chip eight feet by the hole, he turned in disgust, flipping his wedge back to caddie Stevie Williams. Unfortunately, Stevie failed to catch the club and it dropped into the water six feet below. The two stood looking down into the water. There was nothing to be done, he would have to play on without it.
Luke Donald and Chad Campbell were the next group through, as the scoreboard became more blue for Team Europe,
We watched as Paul McGinley and JJ Henry played through to the green. Suddenly a golf cart drove down the middle of the fairway and around the right side of the water and parked. Two men exited, one wearing a frogman's suit. The frogman walked around the brick wall and sat on the ledge of the wall, as he put fins on. He was seated on the edge of the brick wall looking down into the water.
On the green, Paul McGinley had hit a 25' putt four feet past the hole. It was now McGinley's turn to putt again. In an image that was never recorded by a camera, McGinley stood over a four-foot putt, with a frogman not four paces away sitting on the edge of the brick wall with his back to McGinley. A mask over his face, air tanks on his back and wearing a full body rubber suit, he was ready to jump in the water. It was one of the most incongruous scenes I have ever witnessed.
While the next group of Darren Clarke and Zach Johnson stood in the fairway, the frogman jumped in the water. Finding the submerged club and to a round of raucous applause, the frogman exited the pond. The club was then returned to Tiger two holes forward, who was able to secure a 3 & 2 victory over Karlsson.
It wasn't enough, however, as the US lost 18 1/2 to 9 1/2.
"The score was not indicative of how close the match really was," team captain Tom Lehman told me. "There were 13 matches that went to the 18th hole and the US did not win the 18th hole in even one match."
"In addition, there were a couple of the strangest shots I have ever seen. Paul Casey and Robert Karlsson were playing Stuart Cink and JJ Henry, best ball, on Saturday morning. On the seventh hole, both Cink and Henry were safely on the green. With Casey in the water, Karlsson hit a shot that flew the green and was going into the River Liffey when it hit on top of the camera platform over the green. It was a flat platform with no cover, just an elevated platform for the cameraman to stand on. The cameraman's backpack was laying next to the camera as he stood operating the TV camera. The ball flew over the green, hitting the platform and wedging underneath the backpack. It would have gone in the river! From there Karlsson got a favorable drop, chipped up and made par to tie Cink and Henry. The match ended in a tie."
"Then on Sunday David Toms played Colin Montgomery. Two down after nine holes, Toms won ten to go to one down. Monte then drove it into a fairway bunker at 11. From there Montgomery pull-hooked his eight iron into the stream to the left of the green. The ball went into the water. I watched as suddenly the ball came out of the water bouncing to eight feet from the hole, where he made the putt for birdie. Monte won the hole. The ball hit a submerged rock and bounced on the green! Toms lost the match one down!"
Tom was correct. The final tally makes it look like the US was badly defeated, but when the matches are examined, it was very competitive. They say the breaks even out over time. How do you suppose the breaks that Stuart Cink, JJ Henry and David Toms got could possibly even out? Luckily, it's just a game or, as my friend Mike Morley says, not fingers and toes.
It was a quick trip over the pond, but, as with all trips to Ireland and particularly those with my friends at West Bend Mutual, fantastic. Travel overseas to see the Ryder Cup and play golf has been a big thrill in A Life In Golf.
