magic moments - langer's big miss (1991)
Irwin and Langer head for the 18th green.
By Phil Casey, PA Sport
Bernhard Langer v Hale Irwin, Kiawah Island 1991 Following the 14-14 draw at The Belfry in 1989, another desperately close finish was always on the cards at Kiawah Island in European captain Bernard Gallacher's first match in charge. But the match also marked the start of a real deterioration in the spirit of the contest which was dubbed the 'War on the Shore' in reference to the Gulf War earlier in the year. A local radio DJ took it upon himself to wake up European team members with early morning phone calls to their hotel rooms, while Corey Pavin paraded around the course in a camouflage golf cap. Accusations of gamesmanship flew between Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger while Steve Pate withdrew through injury on the final day, forcing the unfortunate David Gilford to sit out the singles as each side were awarded half a point. "It soured the whole week for everyone involved," admitted Bernhard Langer. "I don't think we should go as far and use words like 'war'. This is a game, it's an honourable game played under fantastic rules and etiquette and we are all taught to be true sportsmen. I think it got a little bit out of hand." After all the controversy it came down to the final match between Langer and Hale Irwin with the home side leading 14-13. Langer trailed all the way but victory would level the scores and ensure Europe, as holders, would retain the trophy. "It was a tight match," Langer said. "I remember being out last and all the other matches had finished. I was two down with four holes to go and I won 15 and 17 so we came down the last hole even in the match, but we were one down as a team. "I knew it was going to be vital when we were on the 15th hole because the matches in front of us had been won 3&2 - Fred Couples beat Sam Torrance and Lanny Wadkins beat Mark James - so everyone else was finished and we had three-and-a-half holes to go. "I knew at that point and it didn't look good at two down with four to go. But I made some crucial putts coming in and even had a chance to win it. "He hit a horrible tee shot on the 18th and couldn't get there and made a five in the end. I hit a driver and three iron to the edge of the green and putted about six feet past. I missed it over the right edge." A typically succinct Langer explanation, but one which does not quite do the dramatic scenes justice. For a start, Irwin's wayward drive looked to be heading into real trouble until it received a friendly 'bounce' back into play. "It was pretty strange, from the tee it looked like he was 45, 50 yards left," Langer admitted. "When we got there it was on the edge of the fairway. I don't know what happened, I couldn't see because there were too many people." Then there was the unfortunate state of the 18th green. "I had two spike marks on my line," Langer recalled. "I wanted to hit the putt on the left edge but I decided go around the spike marks by hitting it straight and it broke to the right. I did the best I could but there are circumstances you can't change." But perhaps the most remarkable part of the story is what happened next. Just seven days after such a crushing disappointment, Langer won the Mercedes German Masters. "That doesn't happen too often after some disappointment like that. What helped me was just the knowledge that I actually hit a lot of good putts, made some good putts on 15, 16 and 17 and even on 18 it was a good putt. "I really felt like I was putting well and playing quite well."
