Six weeks after the infamous putt led to the infamous
celebration in the 1999 Ryder Cup, Justin Leonard and Jose Maria Olazabal unwittingly
wound up in the same pairing during the final round of the World Golf Championship
in Spain.
Not surprisingly, fireworks followed.
Leonard's bunker shot on the par-3 sixth hole
at Valderrama came up short of a ridge and trickled down the hill. The wild cheers
from the Spanish gallery camped behind the green only grew louder when Leonard
glared in their direction.
Ever the gentleman, Olazabal stepped in and lectured
the fans for such churlish behavior. Leonard answered by holing the putt —
a 45-footer, the same distance as his Cup-clinching birdie putt at Brookline.
History has a funny way of repeating itself.
Just don't look for it next month at The Belfry.
Leonard and Olazabal appear likely to sit this one out.
It seems odd that the two central characters from
one of the greatest Ryder Cup controversies would not even be around for the sequel.
While the Great American Comeback was marred by
a foul-mouthed Boston crowd, allegations of slow play and two captains who decided
to capitalize on their roles by writing books, the most memorable scene was played
out on the 17th green at The Country Club.
On the verge of getting closed out, Leonard rallied
to catch Olazabal in the second-to-last match on the course, in much the same
way the Americans put together a stunning revival to erase a four-point deficit.
Next came the shot heard 'round the world.
Leonard's putt rammed into the back of the cup
and dropped, setting off a celebration so great that even Tiger Woods was pictured
doing something close to a 40-inch vertical leap.
Some Europeans still claim American players, caddies
— and worst of all, wives — were in such a rush to swarm Leonard that
they stampeded across the line of Olazabal's 25-foot birdie putt that would have
halved the hole.
Replays don't bear that out, although it's irrelevant.
Olazabal missed the putt. U.S. captain Ben Crenshaw
kissed the green. Bitter feelings followed the Europeans home across the Atlantic.
``Leading into the Ryder Cup, a lot of people
will be talking about Brookline,'' Jeff Maggert said. ``But once the matches get
started over there, I think they'll forget about what happened in '99.''
Perhaps it will be easier to forget with Leonard
and Olazabal nowhere to be found.
Barring another great comeback, that's likely
to be the case.
Olazabal is 18th in the Ryder Cup standings, and
his chances of making his seventh team are running out.
His best hope is to finish in the top five at
the PGA Championship (unlikely given the premium on driving accuracy at Atlanta
Athletic Club), or to win the Scottish PGA or BMW International in Germany the
following two weeks.
A more likely scenario is for Sergio Garcia to
move from 19th to 10th in the standings and free up a captain's pick. Otherwise,
Sam Torrance probably will spend his two captain's picks on Garcia and Jesper
Parnevik, a formidable duo at Brookline.
Olazabal split time between the PGA Tour and the
European tour, and had moderate success on both sides of the pond, winning only
the French Open. He remained in America last week for the International, while
Colin Montgomerie sealed his spot on the team by winning the Scandinavian Masters
in Sweden.
Leonard, meanwhile, decided earlier this year
to revamp his swing and has rarely been in contention. Just when it appeared his
game was coming around for a Ryder Cup run, he missed the cut in the U.S. Open
and the British Open.
``He's playing better, but when you go through
swing changes, you get worse before you get better, and that's what happened to
him,'' U.S. captain Curtis Strange said in what could hardly be described as encouraging
words.
Leonard is 23rd in the Ryder Cup standings, and
needs something just short of a miracle the next two weeks to make his third straight
team.
Strange does not seem inclined to make him a wildcard
selection, not even for sentimental reasons.
Not lost on the U.S. captain is that Leonard has
never won a Ryder Cup match. Despite that unforgettable image of Leonard thrusting
both arms in the air when his 45-foot birdie putt fell, he wound up halving his
match with Olazabal.
His record in two Ryder Cups is 0-3-5. His record
in two President Cups is 1-6-1.
``The world thinks that Justin is automatically
on the next team, which obviously is not the case,'' Strange said. ``You have
to make this team every time. You've got to get the 12 best players for 2001,
and right now, Justin is not one of those 12 players.''
