View from the galleries

Geoffrey Dean at Valhalla

September 22 2008, 8:56am, The Times

“Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit” is a motif that this friendly southern state projects from buildings and billboards with an obvious play on its equine and bourbon fame. It could also have applied to the galleries from which I watched the 37th Ryder Cup for all three days, for although they were strongly partisan, they were enthusiastic and generous.

Even when excitement reached fever pitch on the final day, whipped up by a fist-pumping American captain Paul Azinger playing to the stands from his buggy, there was never the remotest chance of a repeat of the infamous scenes of 1999 at Brookline. Kentuckians, at once fair, polite and gracious, would not descend to those levels, even if there were some boos for Lee Westwood and Soren Hansen on Saturday afternoon when they did not concede a two-footer to Boo Weekley and J.B. Holmes on the 15th green.

While the arm-raising proclivities of Weekley and Anthony Kim were an over-the-top ploy to lift already high noise levels, there were plenty of signs that pumped-up players were still able to embrace the cup’s traditional ethos. After Paul Casey and Hunter Mahan had each hit stunning long iron shots to within a couple of feet on the 215-yard par-three 14th in their epic tussle, both conceded the other’s put and high-fived on the green. The crowd had already given them a standing ovation.

Relations between the two sets of supporters were cordial throughout. Europeans in fancy dress (an alien concept to the American sports follower) were asked to pose for photographs by the host fans, and a Kentuckian friend remarked how much he had enjoyed the rivalry on the two stands by the first tee on Sunday morning. About a hundred or so European fans waving blue flags had made almost as much noise as five times as many home supporters when players were introduced by the starter.

Humour, normally the preserve of European fans brought up on cheeky football chants, was touched by Americans alongside the 13th fairway shortly before Kim wrapped up victory over Sergio Garcia. The European fans’ favourite call of “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole” was replaced with a home version, to the same tune, of “No Way, No Way, No Way, No Way”. They sensed, quite rightly, that a European win was not going to happen.

*The victorious American team celebrate*

A more mischievous attempt at comedy had come from one spectator on Saturday after Westwood’s complaint the night before about Weekley’s behaviour. “Hey, Lee, do you want some cheese with your whine?” yelled the man, to some of the crowd’s amusement. At least, in the absence of Tiger Woods, I did not hear a single shout over the three days of “You’re the man.” Instead, there were numerous exclamations of “Holy Cow” after Holmes’s many monster drives.

Holmes’s approach to golf befits a resident of Louisville which, a couple of years ago, was coined as “Possibility City” by the mayor’s office and local chamber of commerce to attract talent and business. It is an epithet that neatly supports the great American dream: in this case, to reclaim the Ryder Cup.

Geoffrey Dean was a guest at the Ryder Cup of Kentucky Tourism. He travelled with Delta Air Lines, who fly daily from Gatwick direct to Northern Kentucky Aiport. www.kentuckytourism.com