Ryder Cup Post Script

  For the third time in four years, Schenley Park holds the coveted Ryder Cup.   The event, as predicted, was never in question.   The overall score was lopsided, thanks to the fine play of a group of seasoned players who brought their experience to the matches for the first time representing the Schenley Park team.   While outgunned, the PAC Tour did maintain integrity by taking home the side bet cash, winning 4 of 5 greenies and almost all of the skin money.  

            For four consecutive years, two teams from different persuasions met to battle on the short grass for the glory of the Ryder Cup.   The Schenley team was well-crafted, engineered to win on their home track.   They had some fine players, players of accomplishment and skill who spanked the ball with repetitive authority.   They deserved to win.   For some of Schenley's players, winning comes natural.   They've won not just the Ryder Cup, but city and country championships galore.   It's not the first time they've held a trophy high and it won't be the last.   They have game and it was a pleasure to play with these gentlemen golfers despite being on the tail end of the leader board.

            When a trophy is held high in the sun as it was yesterday, it sometimes casts a shadow.   In this shadow often hides other stories whose sum and substance comprise tales both fascinating and enlightening.   To allow these stories to remain untold would not do justice to the game of golf, because golf is much more than the aggregate total of birdies and bogeys.   It's more about the people who play it than the scores they shoot.  

            An example is the PAC Tour member who   reported in by cell phone Saturday morning from Atlanta, Georgia to announce that he would be ready to play Sunday.   Forget about the fact he called from the driver's cab of a tractor-trailer hauling a full load of paper up the interstate.   He arrived in Pittsburgh at 5:30am on Ryder Cup day, giving him enough time to change clothes and drive to the course to take his spot on the team.   Forget about sleep.   Sleep could wait till after the matches.   He was a member of the team and nothing - not southern commando cops nor traffic safety inspectors - would stop him from making his appointed tee time.   He had no chance of winning, but winning was not why he drove all night long to play.   He wanted to play for all the right reasons and that he did.  

            There were other stories hiding in the Cup's shadows.   You saw PAC Tour members bring their kids to the course for the first time on game day.   Here you had guys who knew beforehand they were probably going to lose and still they brought along their sons to witness the defeat firsthand.   Bad move?   Poor decision?   Hardly.   In fact, these are lucky kids.   These kids took home some wonderful memories.   They won't remember the final score, as score is just a statistic that evaporates in short time.   What they will remember, thankfully, is the thrill of being on their dad's team, watching their father's never quit against all odds, and the kinship of like-minded men who play the game the right way for the right reasons.   These fathers may have lost a golf match, but in the process, they won something much more satisfying - their children's respect.

The Ryder Cup matches were started to be a fun event for two different groups of guys who love to play golf.   With many PAC Tour members having their roots at Schenley Park, it's a natural for the two courses and groups to compete.   Competition is the key word.   There are different ways to level playing fields.   One builds interest in the game.   The other is just bad sportsmanship.   Let's choose wisely so the matches last until the kids who caddied this past Sunday get their turn at the Cup.   We owe it to them if not ourselves, so let's play the game and not each other.   See you next year.   Until then, fore.