The Captain's Challenge: Winning the Ryder Cup

Description

2008 is Ryder Cup year. This golf match, contested every two years by Europe and the USA, will take place at Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville, this September. Approximately a billion people will tune in to watch the drama unfold and if history dictates, each captain will have to cope with not only the tactical machinations of a golf match, but also a number of scenarios that they might not necessarily have signed up for. Recent matches have seen behaviour often step outside the confines of that usually reserved for the game of golf - accusations of cheating, and some terrible displays of misguided patriotism from both players and spectators - sometimes spilling over into outright abuse, including one match when a captain s wife was spat at. Bruce Critchley has been commentating on the matches, first for the BBC and now for Sky, for the last 25 years, and in this book he analyses the strategic performance of each captain, how they have dealt with the pressures and often bizarre scenarios that accompany the event, and what it takes to control the passion of their side and steer it to an often unlikely victory.

BRUCE CRITCHLEY played for Great Britain and Ireland against the USA in the Walker Cup and has commentated on top golf tournaments for the last 25 years, first on the BBC and recently as the leading golf commentator on Sky, for whom he will be covering the 2008 Ryder Cup.COLIN MONTGOMERIE has been Europe's undisputed leading golfer over the last 15 years, winning the Order of Merit an unprecedented seven consecutive times.