Let's do it again
By Steve Pate
Special to ESPN Golf Online
Editor's Note: U.S. Ryder Cup team member Steve Pate will provide thoughts and insight during the 33rd biannual matches in an exclusive diary for ESPN Golf Online. Installments will run Tuesday through Sunday from The Country Club. For more on Pate, visit his website at tourgolfclub.com.Sunday, Sept. 26
BROOKLINE, Mass. -- What a Ryder Cup! I'm proud to be a part of history.
I seem to be involved in some of the strangest stuff, and I guess this was just another one. What a day. What a comeback. I'm proud to have been part of this team and this day.
Members of the U.S. team pose with the Ryder Cup trophy after their dramatic victory.
Ben's been a big believer in fate, and I might be in the minority, but I believe in fate, too. We couldn't believe were down by four poionts. We were baffled because we weren't playing that badly. So we had a great night last night -- Ben and Julie put together a video that was great and included a great scene from "Animal House." I couldn't help but thinking about the line when John Belushi talked about not giving up after the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. It was great motivation.
Ben set up our lineup so that we'd get the best teams off early and hopefully we'd get even at 10. And that's what happened.
I'm baffled as to why we play so well in singles, but I think it's more a case of the Europeans playing so well in teams. They just feed off each other, and even though we don't play badly, they just play better.
So we wanted to get off to a good start today and get them thinking. And that's what we did. And the rest of us just followed along and played solid golf.
Like I've said before, I'm not playing that well, but I can par this course to death. So I got out and tried to keep the pressure on Jimenez and wait for him to make mistakes. Finally he did and I was able to win the match. I'm lucky to have a life after the car accident; lucky to have a career, so there was no fear of failure. I just had to give myself a chance to win, and that's what happened today.
Hats off to the Europeans -- they played great and were great to compete against. I feel bad for Colin Montgomerie -- he doesn't deserve all of the abuse he takes out there. He's my new hero because he can deal with all of that and play the way he does. He's the man.
I'd love to be a part of another Ryder Cup team. I've been lucky to have another chance. And I'd love to play in one in Europe. Today on the 11th hole, somebody with a British accent yelled at me: "Don't choke like you did last time." I didn't know what he was talking about, but it inspired me.
I'd like to go over there and get booed. I'd like to be the guy the fans don't like. I'd love another chance to play in this.
I'm not the kind of player who plays to the crowd. But today, every time I walked off a green, I took my hat off and it was like I'd turned the volume up. The place just went crazy, so I kept taking off my hat.
The crowds were great. They supported us and made us play better. It was a great motivator. Let's do this again in two years.
