Ben Crenshaw has created many golf memories on the course. He hopes his team does the same this week.

The U.S. captain cherished each of his four times in the competition as a player, and relishes the opportunity to bring the Cup back to American soil. He loves the patriotic nature of the competition, so much so that it can move him to tears.

And the fact that it is being played at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., makes it all the more special.

"My viewpoints and philosophies are directly tied into the site at The Country Club," said Crenshaw, whose U.S. squad will try to win back the Cup beginning on Friday. "In my incubation as a golfer, when I went to Boston and played The Country Club for the first time when I was 16 years old, it opened my eyes on the world of golf.

"It was the first time I enjoyed national competition, at a fabulous historic golf course in the East. It's just such an important club in the nurturing of the game in this country. It's ironic that I would have such an honor at a place that I dearly love."

Crenshaw came to The Country Club to compete in the U.S. Junior Amateur championship 31 years ago, a trip he still remembers fondly.

"There was lots of history," he said of that 1968 event. "I felt very lucky in taking the trip to such a beautiful place. I remember thinking, 'My gosh, I'm going to this place where the 1913 U.S. Open was played and where (American) golf got its start.'

"I just had a fabulous week. It started my love of history, architecture and old golf clubs."

Crenshaw, 47, is the first to admit he is a hopeless romantic. For nearly two years, Gentle Ben has prepared for this week, taking several trips to The Country Club, studying possible lineups and players, allowing his own game to deteriorate. Crenshaw, a two-time Masters champion, has not made a cut all year.

"Ben is such an emotional person, and he and (wife) Julie have put so much into this, wanting us as players to have a great week, to be ready to play and just to enjoy every moment that we spend together," said U.S. team member Justin Leonard. "The amount of time that goes into it is overlooked sometimes by people. It's just amazing the amount of work. I remember talking to him a year and a half ago. He had already made a couple of trips to Boston.

"The amount of time that goes in and that he and his family put in ... it makes it so important. I'm sure he hopes to get our emotions going. And I don't think he'll have any trouble with that."

Crenshaw would love nothing more than for his players to appreciate the history of the place where they will be competing. It is where Ouimet's upset win at the 1913 Open occurred, where Julius Boros defeated Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit in a U.S Open playoff in 1963, where Curtis Strange defeated Nick Faldo in a playoff to win the first of consecutive Opens in 1988.

The Country Club was also one of five founding members of the United States Golf Association.

Since 1968, Crenshaw has collected miniature clubs, golf paintings and sculptures, and other golf memorabilia. He owns hundreds of golf books, some dating back to the 19th century, some rare British editions.

Crenshaw's enthusiasm for golf lore bubbles when he explains the importance of Ouimet's U.S. Open victory in 1913. Great Britain had two of the world's best golfers in Ted Ray and Harry Vardon, who had won the U.S. Open in his only other visit to the United States 13 years earlier.

Ouimet, only 20 years old, lived across the street from The Country Club and had caddied there for several years. He played with an unmatched set of clubs and his caddie, Eddie Lowery, was only 10 years old.

With Ray and Vardon already in the clubhouse after four rounds tied at 304, Ouimet needed to play the last six holes in 2-under par to force a playoff. He did, then in the playoff shot a 72, to Ray's 77 and Vardon's 78, becoming the first amateur to win the U.S. Open.

"Its outcome reverberated for many, many years," Crenshaw said. "It was such an incredible performance by an ex-caddie who lived across the street from the club. Here he was, fighting for his life in the U.S. Open against two of the finest players of the day. It was youth. He played incredible golf all week and did not seem affected by it all. Also, a very staid, Eastern club went completely bonkers.

"What the victory represented was youth and America winning. It was a great victory for the commoner. Up until that time, golf was played by well-to-do people. It was thought to be a game played by the idle rich in America. It brought the victory to the masses and created huge popularity in golf."

Crenshaw's first thoughts about turning professional were born during that week at Brookline. Today, he is one of the most respected players, a winner of two major championships and 19 PGA Tour titles.

The Ryder Cup would fit in beautifully.

"It's a great, great honor," he said. "I have enjoyed every bit of the pieces of the puzzle of trying to make the players enjoy the week but trying to achieve a goal."

Bob Harig, who covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a column every Tuesday for ESPN Golf Online.