Golf: Sword Rider in Valderrama 97, “The Power of the Beast” | Sports

“The power of the beast,” Miguel Angel Jimenez calls out without hesitation as he travels through time. Campo de Valderrama, in San Roque (Cádiz), September 26-28, 1997, 25 years ago this Wednesday. The “beast” is Severiano Ballesteros, a Cantabrian genius who achieved what seemed impossible, that the Ryder Cup left the United States and the British Isles for the first time and landed a place in continental Europe. And not only that, but Europe ousted the US team in which Tiger Woods debuted, and last April, at the age of 21, won the Augusta Masters, his first major and the start of the revolution.

“Sifriano’s courage was impressive,” repeats Jimenez, who was then deputy captain under the orders of the best Spanish golfer in history. “Seeing his motivations helped me a lot to develop as a player. He did everything until Ryder arrived in Spain. Since the European continent started playing Ryder [en 1979], Europe changed, and one of the drivers was the European players, especially Severiano, the soul of the European circuit and rider. You have to keep Saif on the pedestal forever,” commented El Pisha. Documentary Rider sword Premieres Thursday at 10:00 PM at Movistar’s #Vamos.

Seif allied himself with Emma Villacieros, president of the Spanish Federation, until Ryder arrived in Spain as a reward for the importance of the national players in the competition. He got the appointment, but wanted the tournament to take place at the Sancti Petri stadium, in Chiclana de la Frontera, and not in Valderrama, owned by Jaime Ortiz Patiño, as it finally happened. Museum for a unique competition. Under Seif’s command, Europe recruited Jose Maria Olzabal, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomery, Darren Clarke, Bernard Langer, Ian Wausnam, Jesper Barnivik, Per Ulric Johansson, Lee Westwood, Thomas Bjorn, Constantino Rocca and Ignacio Garrido. Miguel Angel Martin crashed in the last minute, shrugging Seif considering he had not recovered from the injury despite being ranked. A fire before the great battle in the field. Directed by Tom Kate Tiger Woods, Fred Kipples, Justin Leonard, Tom Lehman, David Love III, Jim Forek, Phil Mickelson, Jeff Magert, Mark O’Meara, Scott Hoch, Brad Faxon and Lee Janzen in the United States.

Ballesteros doubled on the field, raising to a level Buggy, at the head of each of his children. I was in everything. From renting out Los Del Rio for a dinner party to outrage because American golfers ordered pizza and hamburgers instead of hotel food. Miguel Ángel Jiménez also recalls a very special anecdote that reflected Siv’s competition fever: “At three thirty in the morning on Thursday, they called my room at the Sotogrande. It’s Siv: ‘Miguel, come on, we have to organize the pairs!” It’s four in the morning…” We had a whole day ahead. “Things are done. Bring the tobacco,’ he replied. So I put on my bathrobe and went. We were in separate homes. I imagined that his wife, Carmen Putin, would be asleep, I took sweetie off the ground and threw it at her window. The guards looked at me strangely, and pointed at me with their flashlights… I don’t know what they imagined. Saif was so excited that he couldn’t sleep. I needed to talk to someone.”

She arrived in the United States with Tiger, a huge hitter. “But we had an ace up our sleeve,” Olzabal recalls, “we prepare the playing field as we wanted. harsh In the middle of the street until everyone hits the second shot from the same area. You had to do nothing. Ryder is like the Olympics.” “I lived as if it was the last moment of my life,” Garrido recalls. Fans include Michael Jordan, George W. Bush, and 1,300 journalists and television employees who witnessed a European victory of 14.5 to 13.5.

This victory launched an era of apparent European dominance over the United States. Continental players have lifted the trophy in eight of the last 12 editions, and have not lost on home soil in this period: all four defeats have been on North American soil. Instead, they triumphed at the unforgettable event in Medina in 2012, with Shema Olzabal as leader and memorializing my sword. In 2018, Europe swept its competition 17.5-10.5 in Paris, and in 2023 the tournament will be held in Rome. That seed from Valderrama was also the one that blossomed years later into a boy from Barrika named Jon Rahm. A friend of his father’s went to the Ryder 97 and on the way back persuaded the gang to try golf. This is how the sport entered the Ram family. From Sif to John, an umbilical cord.

Seve’s Ryder airs this Thursday at 10:00 PM on Movistar’s #Vamos.

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