MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / September 29, 1999

“You have got to believe!” That was the motto of the 1973 New York Mets as they advanced to the World Series.

It could also be the motto for the U.S. Ryder Cup team after this weekend.Going into the Sunday individual matches with the Europeans up 10-6 and needing to win just four of the eight matches, there were few who believed that the Americans could regain the Cup. Not the American press,not many of American golf fans. Perhaps only the players themselvesbelieved that they could pull off the improbable.

American captain Ben Crenshaw fanned that faith. He told the story ofFrancis Ouimet, the American amateur who in 1913 U.S. Open shocked thegolf world by defeating Harry Vardon in a playoff. Ironically, he did it atThe Country Club in Brookline, Mass., right where the Ryder Cup was playedthis week. Ouimet made key putts on the 17th hole both in regulation andin the playoff on is way to the victory. Eighty-six years later, that greenwould again be the scene of history.

Justin Leonard’s Ryder Cup experience was a microcosm of the American team. Leonard struggled through the first two days, dropping one andhalving two other matches. Like many of his teammates, it was the putterthat did him in. Friday and Saturday, the Americans could not sink a puttwhile the Europeans were draining them from all over the green.

Sunday, that would change for both the American team and Leonard. TheU.S. won the first six matches of the day, most in convincing fashion. Buteven with Steve Pate winning to assure a tie, it appeared the U.S. wouldwin the battle but lose the war. A tie under the rules would allow theEuropeans to retain the Cup. When Mark O’Meara struggled over the finaltwo rounds and fell to Padraig Harrington, it look like the U.S. would comeup a half-point short.

But there was Leonard, a player who had rallied from a five-stroke deficit on the final day to make the playoff at the British Open this year, bouncing back from a four-hole deficit with seven to play against Jose Marie Olazabal. First it was bogeys by Olazabal on 12 and 13 to open thegate. Then a 10-putt birdie putt by Leonard on 15 to pull to within one.Finally, Leonard holed a 30-foot birdie putt to square the match at 15.

That would set up the historical 17th hole. From 50 feet, Leonard hit puttthat rivaled Ouimet’s, setting off a frenzy of American excitement. WhenOlazabal missed his 25-footer moments later, the Americans had the Cup back.

The Americans had been criticized before the matches for not taking the event seriously. But watching the faces of the U.S. team as theywatched their teammates on the final holes, seeing the unbridled enthusiasm they displayed when Leonard sank his putt, watching Crenshaw trying to keep his composure when discussing the win, you knew this was indeed a team that cared.

The U.S. team was called many things before and during the tournament.Chokers. Crybabies. Greedy. Spoiled brats.But after watching this team continuing to believe no matter the deficit, coming together to accomplish the improbable, there is only word that can be used to describe them – champions.

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