Although he is small enough at 5ft 4in to clamber up on the snooker table of his Jersey palace to practice his putting, Ian Woosnam is a golfing giant. He won the US Masters and became the world No 1 by virtue of a preposterously simple philosophy: whack it, go find it, whack it again, go find it again.
Then came what Woosie described as "the ultimate recognition", captaincy of the European team who won the Ryder Cup for the third successive time against the United States at the K Club, Straffen, Co Kildare in Sept 2006. It was Martina Navratilova's belief that you are either committed to your sport, or merely involved. "Think of ham and eggs," she explained. "The chicken is involved, the pig is committed." In the nicest possible way, when it comes to the Ryder Cup, Woosie remains a committed little swine who will follow every stroke via the mammoth plasma screen in his games room.
"Nothing compares with standing on the first tee on the opening day. You feel like throwing up. I always had a swift look around to spot the nearest bush. Well, you don't want to be sick all over your opponents' shoes, do you? Playing in the Masters is easy by comparison because the only person you can let down is yourself. Screw it up in the Ryder Cup and you let down yourself, 11 teammates, the nation and the whole flippin' continent as well."
Such is the devastation that this biennial trans-Atlantic skirmish wreaked on his nerve-ends, Woosnam can remember every contest, every match, every shot with startling clarity. Let us rewind to his debut in 1983 at the PGA National Club, Palm Beach Gardens, where he was partnered by Sam Torrance against Ben Crenshaw and Calvin Peete. "I was only 23, my stomach was churning, my legs were wobbling and I was shivering with nerves. Sam came over and said 'don't worry, I'll look after you. I'll take care of the first few holes 'till you settle down'. So what happens? Crenshaw and Peete drive off safely down the middle and Sam shanks it straight out of bounds.
"I'm in an even worse state now, so I get out my trusty old No 1 iron, manage to get ball on fairway, hit an eight iron to about seven feet and by some miracle hole the putt for a half. At the second, Sam drives straight into the water. After that he had seven birdies and we halved our match. Sam's a smashing bloke to be around so it's a lovely memory of my first Ryder Cup. We lost the trophy by a single point at the end - 14½-13 ½ - but that was enough to convince us we could actually win the thing."
At the Belfry two years later, the Americans were finally conquered for the first time since 1957, with Woosnam and his new sidekick, Paul Way, to the fore in the fourballs, twice beating Fuzzy Zoeller and Hubert Green. To Torrance went the honour of holing the climactic putt, sparking the party of parties; Woosie and chums danced on the clubhouse balcony and sprayed the skies with champagne whilst Concorde flew past, dipping its wings in salute. "Just to be part of the team and experience that atmosphere. There were quite a few party animals among us - myself, Sam, Jesse [Mark James], Howard Clark - and maybe another half-dozen who wanted to go to bed. No chance; we had the music on full all night, the one song played over and over - Simply The Best."
Simply better yet was to come in '87 when Europe triumphed at Muirfield Village to record their first ever victory on American turf, aided by Woosie playing "the best golf of my career - really fantastic". On this occasion he joined forces with Nick Faldo to devastating effect, winning 3½ points out of four. "Not that we started well. After nine holes of the first morning's foursomes we were four down to Lanny Wadkins and Larry Mize."
Faldo and Woosnam recovered to win on the last green before returning to the course to defeat the top American pairing, Curtis Strange and Tom Kite, in what Jack Nicklaus still describes as the most remarkable exhibition of golf in Ryder Cup history. "We beat them 5 & 4 with Nick and me at 10-under-par after 14 holes. "I reckon '87 was the best feeling of all. To stuff them in America under their conditions, on one of the toughest championship courses in the world, was fantastic. I'll never forget the tension. No matter how often you play in the Ryder Cup, at the end of the three days you are absolutely drained. No kidding, it takes a month out of your life."
A third successive conquest - albeit by virtue of a 14-14 tie which allowed Europe to retain possession of the trophy - followed at the Belfry in '89 when, with Europe leading 9-7 going into the final day's singles, Woosnam was named as anchorman in the 12th and final match against Strange. "I'd never won a singles - and never did as it happens - but I'm one up on the 15th when [Jose Maria] Canizares knocks in the putt which means we can't be beaten.
"Strange goes to shake my hand and concede but I persuade him to complete the round. So what happens? He birdies 16 and we're level, he birdies 17 and I'm one down, and then he birdies 18 so I've lost by two holes." Europe relinquished their hold on the cup at Kiawah Island, South Carlolina, in '91, the year Corey Pavin wore a "Desert Storm" army cap and American captain Dave Stockton "declared war". Bernhard Langer missed a short putt on the 18th green which would have given him victory over Hale Irwin in the last singles, allowing the US to squeeze home by a single point. "I think Stockton was completely out of order. He went out to win and he didn't care how he did it. When the British lost in the 40s, 50s and 60s they did it with grace; when the Americans began losing they didn't like it and Stockton got the crowds too aggressively wound up. It almost turned into a riot. It wasn't golf and it wasn't a fair match. When the Americans hit it into the trees or deep rough their balls would mysteriously reappear on the fairway. I didn't enjoy that week at all."
As you would expect, Woosie reacted to the defeat the only way he knows how. "We were all down, some of the lads were in tears. So I grabbed a few of the team - I remember Sam and Jesse came with me - and we walked over to the big beer tent where all the European fans had gathered and sank a few beers and sang a few songs with them." Europe failed again in '93 but the Ryder Cup recovered its dignity, due in no small part to the influence of the new captains, Bernard Gallacher and Tom Watson. "I hadn't been playing particularly well going into it but I ended up with 4½ points. Europe lost, but because of the spirit in which every match was played, golf was the real winner."
And so to Oak Hill, New York, in 1995 when Europe appeared doomed to defeat after Pavin chipped in on the Saturday afternoon against Faldo and Colin Montgomerie, a stroke one American TV commentator called "the shot heard round the world", to leave the US 9-7 in front and needing a mere five points from the forthcoming 12 singles to avoid defeat. "The atmosphere at the start of that Saturday night was all doom and gloom. Then Bernie [Gallacher] went to work on us. By the time we'd finished dinner, we were certain we could come from behind and win."
Amid scenes of heart-stopping tension and tumultuous celebrations on the 18th green, Woosnam (who, just as he had done in '91, gained a half with Fred Couples), Faldo, Dave Gilford and Philip Walton all performed heroics in quick succession to convert seemingly-inevitable defeat into implausible triumph. Woosie's last appearance as a player was at Valderrama in 1997 where, just as at Oak Hill two years earlier, Europe edged home 14 ½-13½ on another final afternoon of roller-coaster emotions. Thumped 8 & 7 by his old rival Freddie Couples in the singles, the Welshman recalls: "That might seem like a low-key exit but the overall result was what mattered. And, oh boy, did we have some fun that night."
Let the fun begin at Valhalla. rphilip@thenational.ae