One of the reasons Europe has traditionally been able to compete with the superstars of the American team in the Ryder Cup down the years has been the remarkable team spirit which has driven the side in blue and gold.
Since 1979 – when Great Britain and Ireland became Europe – the Europeans have won 12 of the 22 stagings of the Ryder Cup, with USA currently on nine. And for many, the player who played such an important role in Europe becoming a force is Seve Ballesteros.
Ballesteros was the leading scorer at both the 1987 and 1991 events. And it was perhaps that latter Ryder Cup, as well as his time as captain in 1997, which highlighted just how competitive the five-time major champion was when representing his continent.
Even in 1995, when Ballesteros’ game was nowhere near the level it had been, he was still able to give Tom Lehman all sorts of problems in their singles match. While Lehman would win, Ballesteros’ inability to give up is what is remembered more than anything. It is no surprise that the Spaniard’s image remains so important to European teams 13 years after his untimely death.
The European who may be more passionate about the Ryder Cup than Seve Ballesteros
So it says something that Thomas Bjorn believes that there is one European who may care even more about the Ryder Cup than Ballesteros did. Speaking on the No Laying Up Podcast, Bjorn noted how important his partnership with Jose Maria Olazabal has been in influencing Europe to this day.
“When we talk about passing it on, Seve did that in the first Ryder Cups on his own, but in ’87, Olazabal arrives and the two of them together, the senior player and the young player, do so much for the Ryder Cup and for the spirit of the senior players having that responsibility we talked about before, but also pass it on to young players that can become so passionate, because I’d argue today that Ollie is more passionate about the Ryder Cup than Seve was,” he said.
“That’s something that I’ve seen because he’s obviously been a lot more part of Ryder Cups in my era than Seve was. I was fortunate to play in ’97 under him, but after that, I’ve seen Ollie in action in many Ryder Cups and the passion he shows for it and the importance he puts on the event, not just from the playing side from it but what it brings to you as a golfer, as a person, is something that’s pretty special and that culminates in Medinah where his passion was the thing that brought that team to play the way they did on Sunday.”
The players looking to continue Jose Maria Olazabal’s legacy
It was hard to not think that there was something meant to be about the way Europe fought back at Medinah in 2012. Not only was Olazabal the captain, but it was also the first Ryder Cup to take place after Ballesteros’ death. Unsurprisingly, the players had his silhouette on their arm for the Sunday singles, where they fought from 10-6 down to win.
It almost appeared as if the players felt the weight of expectation over the first two days. Letting Olazabal down was not an option, and the Americans were simply blowing the team away – with Davis Love III’s men taking a 10-4 lead at one stage.
Olazabal was a vice-captain in Rome last year. But there are also figures such as Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm who clearly know just how much the Ryder Cup means and will look to continue that legacy for years to come.
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