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no
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20
OCtOBeR 2009
there is a rumour going around that a guy seen in hyde Park wearing a sandwich board reading, hannibal Lecter was framed, was actually AustrAliAn Golf DiGest s senior writer. if it turns out to be true, no one will be surprised. For him, defending the indefensible has become an obsession. But even allowing for this masochistic tendency, it is hard to believe that he doesnt have a less problematic cause noir to champion at present. if he were in the room, id ask him just a single question. Off the top of his head, is there one memorable moment that he can immediately recall from a decade-and-a-half of Presidents Cup battles? struggling with that one? dont rush, take your time. Maybe it will come to you. then again, maybe it wont. then id ask him the same question in relation to the Ryder Cup. if hes truthful, hell admit that its hard to know where to start when confronted with a kaleidoscopic montage of some of golfs greatest moments. Perhaps hed recall Jack Nicklaus conceding tony Jacklin that putt in 1969? Or Bernhard Langers missed five-footer to lose the Cup in 91? Orpossiblyhismindwillflashbacktothefoursomeandfourballheroics of the symbiotic spaniards, Jose Maria Olazabal and seve Ballesteros, over more than a decade of competition? shall i go on? What about the cacophonous, spine-tingling, emotionallychargedroarthatreverberatedthroughthegroundsofthe K Club in 2006 as local lad darren Clarke was introduced to the tee, only five weeks after losing his wife to cancer? the outpouring of emotion was part empathy, part distorted chauvinism, but the evolving sense of tribalism that now defines the modern era of the Ryder Cup was also an important contributor. significantly, this has become the influential factor that separates it from the Presidents Cup. Both continents involved have embraced the Ryder Cup. europe has united against a common enemy. the Us has responded in kind, its bellicose home crowds rising to the challenge. For both teams, the pain and fear of losing is tangible. thisself-evidentpassionlendstheirbiennialevent its legitimacy. On the other hand, the Presidents Cup has the feel and energy of an exhibition. it is a concept still trying to find its raison dtre, which it almost certainly will in time. At the moment, though, its an event rather than a true spectacle. grant dodd grant dodd attended the 2006 Ryder Cup in ireland.
yes