Crenshaw Called The Win

September 26, 1999 / 11:29 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Drenched with champagne and flush with victory, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Ben Crenshaw crossed the veranda outside the men's locker room until he was virtually hanging over the throngs cheering his name.

He pumped his fist. He blew a kiss to the crowd. And then he shared with them the message that had been so effective in rallying the Americans from a 4-point deficit to a 14 1/2-13 1/2 victory.

"Don't stop believing," Crenshaw told the fans. And then, pumping his fist one more time, he yelled, "Yes!"

After two years of gushing about the history of the Ryder Cup and The Country Club course, Crenshaw went out and made some this weekend, guiding the Americans to victory in eight of 12 singles matches Sunday one other was tied to wrest the cup back from Europe.

No team had ever come back from more than 2 points down on the final day, but Crenshaw was stunningly optimistic on Saturday night when sent the media home with this farewell:

"I'm going to leave y'all with this thought," he said, wagging his finger at the reporters who had watched his heavily favored side fall behind 10-6 after two days. "I'm a big believer in fate. I have a good feeling about this. That's all I'm going to tell you."

The Country Club has been the site of several memorable events, none more historic than the 1913 U.S. Open, when unknown American amateur Francis Ouimet beat English professionals Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a playoff. The victory is considered the founding moment of American golf, and Ouimet is considered its father.

And it was right on No. 17 that Ouimet a caddie who lived right across Clyde Street from the hole made par to beat Vardon's double bogey and go two strokes up; Ray had already fallen back. Crenshaw called the coincidence "a little bit spooky."

"Francis Ouimet's dream. Francis Ouimet's dream, right here!" Crenshaw yelled as he hugged tournament chairman John Cornish after Justin Leonard's 45-foot putt all but clinched the cup. "We made the greatest putt I've ever seen, right here on Francis Ouimet's green, It's almost mystical."

Two U.S. Opens have been played at The Country Club since Ouimet's victory, as well as the 1968 Junior Open that was the coming-out party for a 16-year-old Crenshaw. After becoming Ryder Cup captain two years ago, he came to walk the course and the memories nearly overwhelmed him.

But Crenshaw learned last month that some of his players didn't share his enthusiasm.

Four golfers Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara, David Duval and Phil Micelson were said to be upset during the PGA Championship that they did not have a say in how the $20 million in Ryder Cup profits would be distributed. Duval, for one, called the event a "big corporate outing."

Crenshaw fumed that his players didn't see the tournament the way he did, and he criticized them publicly. And when the U.S. team fell behind 10-6 after the first two days, fans and reporters guessed that selfishness might be a reason why the favorites were falling.

And Crenshaw wasn't done.

He invited longtime friend George W. Bush to a team meeting Saturday night, and the Texas governor read a quote from a veteran of the Alamo. Finally, something seemed to strike a chord with the American team.

"It didn't look like he was going to make it, but he was going to fight until the end," Mickelson recalled. "It shows what a number of Americans have done for this country. We might not be soldiers who fight in wars, but this is something of its own and we need to fight as if we are."

Then Crenshaw sent his team out for the final day in shirts decorated with pictures of U.S. cup-winning teams from the past. Where will the picture of Crenshaw's team be if the next Ryder Cup captain chooses to follow suit?

How about the heart?

"I told y'all last night when I left that I'm a big believer in fate because I know how well these guys can play, and I know how determined they were, and I know how confident they felt under seemingly insurmountable odds," Crenshaw, who played in the event four times, told reporters.

"I couldn't describe it last night. But when I left here I said, `We're in good shape.' I did feel good about it. I felt confident. Darned if we didn't pull it off. Unbelievable."

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