Sports

Europeans draw inspiration from Seve

MEDINAH, Ill. — Perhaps it’s fitting Jose Maria Olazabal will captain the European team in the first Ryder Cup following the death of Seve Ballesteros. The pairing of the two Spaniards became a fixture at this event beginning in 1987 at Muirfield Village when Olazabal was a Ryder Cup rookie trying not to succumb to the pressure of the competition.

“He took me under his wing,” Olazabal said. “He made clear to Tony Jacklin that he wanted to play with me. I will never forget that little walk from the putting green to the first tee. I was shaking like a leaf. It was huge crowds, very loud, similar to what we are going to see here this week. So I kept my head down and he approached me as we were walking on to the first tee. He looked at me, and said, ‘Jose Maria, you play your game. I’ll take care of the rest.’ And he did.”

Ballesteros, who died in May 2011 of brain cancer, played in eight Ryder Cups and was captain of the winning European team at Valderrama, Spain, in 1997. He won 22 1/2 career points in 37 matches, including 11 wins and two halves from 15 matches paired with Olazabal.

His passion for the event personifies the fiery spirit of a European team that has captured six of the last eight Ryder Cups, including 2010 at Celtic Manor, where Ballesteros, in the midst of his battle with cancer, called the team to deliver an inspirational 10-minute speech.

To ensure his presence at the 39th Ryder Cup matches set to begin Friday at Medinah, Europe’s official team golf bag will feature a silhouette depicting Ballesteros’ Open Championship win at St. Andrews in 1984.

“We felt this was one way that Seve could be with us every step of the way,” Olazabal said. “Every time somebody gets to grab a club or something from the bag [he] can see the silhouette. I thought it was important for us to have Seve’s memory and presence during the week.”

If Olazabal wants to do one thing this week, it’s to get his players to have the kind of passion for the Ryder Cup that Ballesteros displayed.

“You have to make your players believe that you’re playing for something really special. That it’s unique to the moment” said Olazabal, who played in seven Ryder Cups. “It only happens once every two years. And just let them realize that there are moments that are unique to this event that won’t happen anywhere else in any other tournament. That’s what I learned from Seve.”

It will not be a tough sell to a European team intent on successfully defending the Cup it won in Wales when Graeme McDowell clinched the winning putt on the 17th green in the final singles match against Hunter Mahan. McDowell said he was recognized more for clinching the Cup than winning the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

“There’s no doubt about that,” he said yesterday. “The Ryder Cup has become such a big deal I think people love it as a spectacle. It’s such an amazing golf event.”

Davis Love III, the U.S. captain, has no issues with the Euros honoring Ballesteros.

“It’s just a big part of Jose Maria’s life in golf,” he said.

But Love isn’t without his own sources of motivation.

Maria Floyd, the wife of Hall of Fame golfer and Ryder Cup staple Raymond Floyd, died recently in Southampton, L.I.Tucker Anderson, the 18-year-old son of the instructor to FexEx Cup champ Brandt Snedeker, remains in a coma recovering from neck and head injuries suffered in a one-car accident.

Love also has NBA Hall-of-Famer Michael Jordan hanging around the team.

“There’s a lot of emotion on both sides,” Love said. “That’s what the Ryder Cup is all about.”