Tension builds

The 37th Ryder Cup is now just a week away and excitement is building fast.

Fergus Bisset
By Fergus Bisset
published

In just under five days Neil and I set off for Kentucky and the 37th Ryder Cup. The last time I was this excited was back in 1986 when I was given a BMX for Christmas – a Raleigh Burner with red flames all over the black frame… a real beauty.

For me, the Ryder Cup eclipses all other golfing events in terms of getting my competitive juices flowing. In individual strokeplay tournaments I don’t have a favourite golfer who I want to win each week. (Obviously, I like to see the Brits doing well, but beyond that I’m not fussed.) But, come the Ryder Cup, I support the Europeans as vociferously as I would Scotland in the rugby or Andy Murray in the tennis. It’s actually quite a strange sensation to have when watching golf and I only get to experience it once every two years. I look forward to it keenly.

Normally I watch the Ryder Cup standing up in, or pacing around my sitting room. This time, however, I’m actually going to be there. I can’t wait to hear the roar of the crowds when the first group stands on the tee; to see if there are boo’s for the Europeans; to see what god-awful strip the Americans are wearing; to see if Faldo picks any controversial pairings; to see if Hunter Mahan can cope with being a “slave” for the week. In short, I can’t wait.

I’m actually hoping for a really partisan crowd like at Brookline so I can feel even more pumped up when a European holes a crucial putt or sticks an approach shot close. I also hope it goes right down to the wire unlike the last two contests. I’d love to see Sergio Garcia hole the putt that wins the Cup for Europe by half a point – just imagine his reaction if that happened…

Time is going to pass unbearably slowly between now and our departure next Wednesday. I wonder how many times I can watch my DVD of the K Club '06 between now and then?

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly. 

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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