Severiano Ballesteros only missed one Ryder Cup during his playing career and that was in his homeland back in 1997 when he was European Captain – although still trying to play competitively. Having put golf in Spain on the map from the moment he first burst on to the scene after winning The Masters in 1980 - becoming the Tournament's then youngest champion at twenty three.
The momentum of Ballesteros victories through those years brought others to the Tour with Antonio Garrido, Jose Maria Canizares, Jose Rivero and Manuel Piňero also playing a part in Ryder Cup campaigns over the years. Indeed, their successes brought forward another generation of players, Jose Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez, with the next prodigy due sometime later - Sergio Garcia.
When the Ryder Cup moved to the European continent for the first time in 1997 it was Spain and Valderrama that were the chosen venue for the 32nd showdown between the USA and Europe - with the Europeans defending the title they won courtesy of Philip Walton’s now legendary putt at Oak Hill in 1995.
Meanwhile on the Mediterranean coast near Castellon the 1997 event caught the interest of the seventeen year old son of the local professional golfer, Victor Garcia, who had started his son playing golf at three years of age. Within nine years that young man, Sergio Garcia, had won his club championship and at 15 had set a record at the time as the youngest player to make the cut at a European Tour event - the 1995 Turespaña Open Mediterranea.
In 1995, García became the youngest player to win the European Amateur Championship – which was then followed by the 1998 Amateur Championship. By the time he was sixteen Sergio had played in his first major, The Open in 1996 at Lytham and St Anne’s, which was won by Tom Lehman.
So by the time the Ryder Cup came to Spain Sergio Garcia could only be captivated and the manner of the victory - given that United States were armed with all golfing horse power along with the newest star of the USPGA Tour – Tiger Woods. But despite their dominance of the tournament for the preceding decade Seve Ballestero’s team squeezed a vital one point win against his old adversary, Tom Kite, captain of the USA Team to keep the trophy in Europe.
Although the legendary Ryder Cup pairing of Seve and Jose Maria Olazabal, ended in 1993 due to Chema’s – as he is affectionately known – battle with a toe injury the Hondarribia native returned in 1997 to play the Ryder Cup with Garrido for his captain and former playing partner, Seve Ballesteros.
By the time Olazabal’s next Ryder Cup came around in 1999 the Spanish membership was joined by Sergio Garcia, who had just turned professional, and was to become an important part of the match at Brookline Country Club in Boston. The Rookie signalled his intent by winning his foursomes and four ball matches ahead of the Sunday singles.
In the rescheduled event of 2002 at The Belfry Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood formed a fruitful partnership winning two foursomes and a four ball - losing one of the four ball matches to Tiger Woods and Davis Love III.
In the singles Garcia was drawn in the second match of the day behind Colin Montgomerie and lost his battle by one shot to David Thom. As the event was ultimately won by Europe courtesy of Paul McGinley on the eighteenth green, Garcia tasted Ryder Cup victory in only his second outing.
At Oakland Hills near Detroit in 2004 Garcia was probably at his most inspiring when he secured a total of four and half points with a foursome pairing with Luke Donald capturing two points in their matches and the combination with Lee Westwood, revived for the four ball, earning with 1 ½ points from a possible two.
But it was in the singles that El Niño really came of age after he was drawn against Phil Mickelson and started out dropping shots to go two down early on. But a run of three birdies from the ninth through the eleventh turned the numbers red setting the tone for the European Team following behind and the ideal platform for an inspired victory by Bernhard Langer’s men against the US hosts in a huge margin of 18 1/2 points to 9 1/2.
At the K Club in 2006 Garcia was one of Ian Woosnam’s Talisman on Irish soil with Darren Clarke the popular wild card choice during that now infamous weekend in September in Kildare. Garcia again bagged four points although failed to win his singles match against Stewart Cink – with the American wild card playing the match of his life that day.
Indeed from the off at the first hole Cink’s putt dropped for a birdie leaving Garcia battling from behind from the outset – failing in the end – losing four and three.
Amidst the margin of Europe’s victory of 18 ½ points to 9½ once again the result of Garcia’s singles match was lost as he proved a key component of the European team effort - despite his young 26 years. Clearly it was an environment in which he seemed to thrive.
The trip to Valhalla in 2008 however was a wake-up call for Europe as the USA rookies took to the Ryder Cup with relative ease leaving the European team experiencing a five point defeat in Louisville, Kentucky. For Garcia the burden of expectation may have become more noticeable and despite rotating his playing partners in the foursomes and four balls with his old sparring partner Lee Westwood, fellow country man Miguel Angel Jimenez and Paul Casey, Garcia only earned one point in Valhalla.
That point was the result of two halved matches in foursomes with Casey and another halved match with Lee Westwood in the four ball. In the singles on the Sunday, pitched against the latest Asian American USPGA star, Anthony Kim, Garcia went one down after the second hole and never really recovered losing five and four.
Once again Garcia experienced defeat on the other side of the Atlantic which came fast on the loss a month earlier at the 90th PGA Championship in Oakland Hills to Padraig Harrington - where on that final Sunday Garcia ended up in another head-to-head after dropping a lead on the 15th and 16th holes.
Playing against the same player in the PGA Championship, who had beaten him in playoff at Carnoustie in The Open Championship the previous summer, El Niño gave Harrington an opening after hitting his approach at the 16th into the water, allowing the Dubliner then repeat what he had done in Scotland the previous summer - roll in clutch putts on the final three holes, two for pars and one for birdie to seal the win – leaving Garcia naturally aghast.
In the wake of the 92nd PGA Championship at Whistling Straits decided to take a break from the game – for the first time in his career – with no one sure when he would return.
At one point before the Gleneagles announcement there was the possibility that the European Ryder Cup team would - for the first time in three decades - take on the USA without any player from Spain on the team - taking the event back to a time when the team was known as Great Britain and Ireland.
But when Miguel Angel Jimenez, El Mecanico, forfeited a family commitment to play in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles it ensured that the Ryder Cup spirit - so embodied by Seve Ballesteros over the decades - and who still holds the best percentage win record remained very much alive.
Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie then nominated Sergio Garcia as his fourth Vice-Captain, adding Jose Maria Olazabal as the fifth two days into the tournament thus ensuring an unbroken sequence of Spanish Ryder Cup since 1977.
Garcia and Olazabal return to playing action at the Castelló Masters Costa on October 21st - 24th next to the very place where Victor Garcia started out teaching his son, Sergio, many years ago.
Hopefully the Ryder Cup has restored El Niño's love for the game!
