Sport XIV - Scotland's Ryder Cup


Sport XIV - Scotland's Ryder Cup

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Transcript


LineFromTo

coming from a small provincial club

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In five days' time, this is the place to be -

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the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles -

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for something pretty special -

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the 40th Ryder Cup - Europe versus the United States -

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is about to begin.

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# And the story goes on

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# On...

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# On...

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# This is the story

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# Fate is coming, that I know This is the story

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# Time is running, got to go This is the story

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# Fate is coming, that I know This is the story

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# Let it go

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# Fate is coming, that I know... #

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'Oh, that is unbelievable.'

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Coming up in the next 30 minutes,

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we'll look ahead to one of the biggest sporting events

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ever to take place in Scotland.

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We'll hear from the Bathgate rookie representing Team Europe

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as well as from both captains,

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I go behind the scenes at Gleneagles to see how the course is shaping up,

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Scotland's top golf writers discuss the key players,

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and two golfing greats reminisce

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about their own Ryder Cup experiences.

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But first - it's been a hectic few weeks for Stephen Gallacher.

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The best season of his career brought him

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to the brink of Ryder cup qualification,

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only to fall one birdie short in the last qualifying event.

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But that was enough to impress Paul McGinley,

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who selected him as one of his three wildcards.

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It's been a rollercoaster year, really,

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to come so close and then to wait

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on the end of the phone

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for Captain McGinley phoning me

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was just something that fulfilled my lifelong dream.

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I've known Paul all my days.

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We've worked with Bob Torrance, you know,

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and I know him personally,

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and just to hear his words say that was just fantastic, really.

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We all knew Stevie could play well.

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It was playing well when he really needed to.

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He'd shown that in Dubai

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when he won against a very strong field,

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but to do it in the last counting event for the Ryder Cup

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that probably will be the only...could be the only Ryder Cup

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that will ever be in his country during his career,

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to know what was at stake

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and to perform when he really needed to,

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psychologically, he has the mental fortitude

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to rise to a new level when it was really required.

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As a member of Bathgate Golf Club,

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Stephen Gallacher's affinity with the Ryder Cup goes back a long way.

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My uncle, obviously, he played in vice captain two and captain three,

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and Eric Brown, he played in it and captained it as well,

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coming from Bathgate,

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so it's an honour, really, for me to be in amongst those two guys,

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coming from a small provincial club

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and to get the Ryder Cup in the family, with my uncle as well,

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has made it even more special.

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I think he feels that, you know,

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he belongs playing in these fields.

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That's what it showed at the Open this year at Hoylake.

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He wasn't intimidated by the rest of the play,

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he feels he's got as good a game as anybody,

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he hits it as far as anybody, he hits it as straight as anybody.

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What does it mean to you to be in this Ryder Cup team?

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Well, it's been my lifetime goal all my days

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so 39, turning 40 next month,

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and, you know, to do it in Scotland,

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especially when the last time it was here was 40 years ago,

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has made it even more special,

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so I made a conscious effort two years ago

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to try and get in it and to finally get in it has just been overwhelming.

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It's something he'll remember the rest of his life.

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I was lucky to play the Ryder Cup in the K Club in 2006

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in my home country

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and, wow, what an experience that is, as an Irishman,

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getting welcomed onto the first tee as an Irishman,

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very emotional experience, and it'll be the same for Stevie.

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You're one of the guys that knows this course

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in Gleneagles as well as anyone.

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What kind of venue do you think it'll be next week?

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I think the venue will be brilliant.

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It's a stadium course

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so the fans are going to be right down each hole.

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The course is in immaculate condition.

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We've had perfect weather. It's in great nick.

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You know, there are few run-offs roundabout the greens.

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It's going to be a great week.

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Do you have any advantage, knowing the course so well?

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People always say that you know it better than anyone.

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I don't think so.

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I think these guys, you know, they turn up for a new course

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on a Tuesday, play their round and they're ready,

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but the good thing for me is I've got a lot of good memories

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round it and have hit a lot of good shots

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that I can try and pull on through the week.

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The record books show that the USA lost the last two Ryder Cups,

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but that doesn't tell the full story.

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Losing by the smallest possible margin on both occasions,

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it took all of Graeme McDowell's resilience

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to deny them at Celtic Manor.

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And after two days of American brilliance at Medinah,

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it took one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time

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to thwart them.

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Captain Tom Watson wants his team to draw on those experiences.

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I always felt in my career that after a setback

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I always rebounded and played better golf after a setback.

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It made me charge myself

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with getting back to square one or getting even

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or getting even better results,

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and I'm going to charge the team with the same thing.

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I said, "You remember Medinah,

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"you remember the feelings you had after Medinah - use that."

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Watson has captained before - at the Belfry in 1993 -

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the last time the Americans won on foreign soil.

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For that to happen again, he needs leaders out on the course.

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Somebody took charge at the '93 Ryder Cup in the name of Payne Stewart.

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He was the go-to guy.

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He was the guy that kept everybody pumped up

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and in the right spirit,

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and I'm there to do a couple of things,

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and the first thing I must do is pick the three players

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and the second thing I must do is create the teams

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in the order in which the teams play.

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'The champion!'

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CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

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European golfers have certainly

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played great in the major championships,

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you look at what they've done, and it's been impressive,

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Rory certainly coming back after a real bad spell in his game.

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That shows me some character right there.

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Justin Rose, maybe winning his match at the Ryder Cup

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has inspired him.

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Sometimes that's what happens.

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All you need is that little boost in your career

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and it pushes you over the hump and gives you the confidence

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that, yeah, I can do it,

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I can get this done when the chips are down.

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With four of his five Open wins coming in Scotland,

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Watson is loved by Scottish golf fans...

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but that's something he feels will count for little

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in the white heat of the Ryder Cup.

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There's nothing that will convince me that...

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when the gun goes off on Friday

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that the Scottish fans, the English, the European fans will be

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pulling for their team, as it should be.

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It's a very partisan event

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and it's a wonderful event from that standpoint.

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We're playing as a team,

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the two teams facing each other, as it always has been.

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'Watson from the rough on the right-hand side

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'of the 15th green.

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'It's good, it's good. It's very good!'

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I've had a series of wonderful experiences in Scotland,

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meeting some of the most wonderful people.

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There are people who love the game of golf

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and it gets back to the fabric of golf in Scotland.

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I don't think any country in the world

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has it deeply sewn in their fabric as Scotland does.

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Watson's opposite number is European Captain Paul McGinley.

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For the Irishman, who played in it three times,

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the Ryder Cup provided the greatest moment of his career.

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Playing as a rookie at the Belfry in 2002,

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he sank the winning putt.

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I think it's about playing for your people,

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playing for the country you're from, representing your people,

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representing Europe - in the American case, representing America.

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This is not about money. The players don't get paid next week.

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It's about engaging with the players, engaging with the crowd,

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engaging with each other, bonding with each other,

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all of the good things in life that we all enjoy.

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CROWD CHANTS

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Are you expecting Gleneagles to be a noisy, passionate environment?

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Yeah, of course we are. I think it's a very passionate event.

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You see people there getting so excited,

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the crowd getting so excited.

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Just like a soccer team playing at home,

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there's a big advantage,

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and the noise can certainly elevate you to a new level

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so I know it'll have an influence on the players,

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but we all know there's a line. The Scottish crowd know that very well

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and they're very respectful of the Americans.

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Just about everybody I meet tells me Europe are the favourites

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for this Ryder Cup. Ought we be?

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The bookies are giving us slight favourites.

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But not huge favourites. Slight favourites.

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What's an interesting statistic behind the scenes

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is if you take our 12 players and their 12 players,

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line them up, take all of the world ranking positions

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and get a mean average on each of them,

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their mean average is 16 and ours is 18,

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so this shows this is not a weak American team,

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this is not an American team that we will underestimate.

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We know we're going to have to play very well.

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It's a very strong American team.

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I know what a Ryder Cup captain CAN do,

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what CAN'T a Ryder Cup captain do?

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Hit the shots.

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You'll find that once the gun goes off and that first round

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takes off on the Friday morning, that I'll be standing in the background.

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My job then is to go...

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Not to be running around the fairways telling the players

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how to hit their shots, what to do, what not to do.

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At that stage, I trust them and I trust their caddies

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to go ahead and do the job that they're obviously very good at

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in order to qualify for the team.

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Before big football fixtures,

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we sometimes see this public game of psychology between rival managers.

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We're used to this.

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Do you and Tom Watson have any use for this

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kind of thing in the build-up to the Ryder Cup?

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I'm so concerned with getting our ducks in a row and preparing our team

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well for what's going to be a very difficult task that

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I don't have time for mind games.

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And I'm not clever enough to be able to think this way and also

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think over there, what on could do to maybe upset the Americans.

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No, I'm playing this a very straight bat.

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I know Tom Watson will do that too.

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He's known for his integrity in the game. I've enjoyed his company.

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I've learned a lot from being around him -

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watching him and observing him and what he does.

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He's a man of great integrity.

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He's a man who's got a great affinity with the people of Scotland.

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I know they will treat him with great respect when he comes over.

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But, ultimately, they're on our side.

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We are playing against the might of America in this Ryder Cup.

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We're going to have to pull out all the stops

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if we're going to win this Ryder Cup.

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The circus is about to unfold at Gleneagles.

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How much of this is fun for you?

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How much of it is draining and exhausting?

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None of it's exhausting, to be honest. It's a real honour.

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When your peers put you in as Ryder Cup captain, the player's committee

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and European Tour, it's a very humbling and honoured place to be in.

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The players were very vociferous in their support of me

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to be the captain. I feel duty bound.

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I feel a gravity and a bonding towards them to repay that

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and do the best job that I can do off the course in order for them

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to do a good job on the course.

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It's a stunning venue here at Gleneagles for a golf tournament

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that rarely fails to deliver, none more so than two years at Medina.

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MUSIC: Anything Can Happen by Ellie Goulding

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It was pretty frustrating for the European team, the first two days.

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Again, I think you've got to hold your hands up.

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The American boys played better than we did.

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They certainly holed more putts than we did.

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At the end of the day, that's what you've got to do.

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You've got to get the ball in the hole.

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The crowd were on their side, as you'd expect.

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I think it was pretty frustrating for everyone.

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On a personal level, I'd played OK the first two days and got no points.

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I putted particularly poorly.

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Nicolas Colsaerts were inside the American boys pretty much all day,

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and lost 1-down.

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Peter Hanson and I came up against a partnership that

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were -12 for 14 holes.

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COMMENTATOR: What a putt from Poulter!

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COMMENTATOR: Poulter is a prince for Europe.

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Poulter and Rory turned it round and they won a point.

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So did two other guys.

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To be fair, the team room on the Saturday night,

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you'd think that we were ahead.

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A lot of the players I've read have talked about that.

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Poulter talks about it a lot. We were pretty upbeat.

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We were pretty happy, to be fair,

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to only be 10-6.

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It could have been 12-4. 12-4, you're dead.

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There's no way you're coming back from 12-4.

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Jose made that point. He felt... He's a very emotional guy.

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I've never cried so much as an adult as I did that week.

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He has you in tears all the time.

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But you want that. You want someone who really, really wants to win.

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The players wanted him to be a winning captain.

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No player wanted him to be a losing Ryder Cup Captain,

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with what it's meant to him.

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I hit a beautiful chip.

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It just came out the way I wanted it to,

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and it rolled down the hill and went right in the middle.

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Then I eagled the next.

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I hit a nice 5-iron at the next to about 15 feet and holed it.

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I played lovely. I was -6 for 15 holes.

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I played beautiful golf. Best golf I played all year, to be fair.

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Sol when you have to produce that and you do,

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that's one of the most satisfying 15 holes of my career.

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Justin Rose, I mean, how he won that game...

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I've watched it so many times

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and there's no way he should beat Mickelson on that day, but he did.

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Martin's pretty good under pressure. He's pretty cool, pretty calm.

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Doesn't get excited very often.

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We were reasonably confident that he would knock it in.

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But it was nerve-racking, obviously.

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What a comeback from Europe!

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When Kaymer's putt went in,

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the relief you could see on Oli's face when it went in.

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The relief was just incredible.

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I could do with a beer.

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I'm not a big drinker, but obviously the party was good fun.

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It went on a rather long time. I don't think anyone went to bed.

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A lot of the boys were obviously...

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Seve was in our thoughts a lot for the week.

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He was on the shirt the final day, he was on the golf bag all week.

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Him and Oli were obviously very close, had a great partnership.

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So I'm sure Seve was looking down and quite enjoying

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what was happening on the Sunday.

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This will be the just the second time the Ryder Cup

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has been played on Scottish soil.

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In 1973, Muirfield played host to a strong American team

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featuring Nicklaus, Palmer and Trevino.

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The British and Irish side contained two Scots -

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Brian Barnes and Bernard Gallacher,

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as well as two-time major winner Tony Jacklin.

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In a close contest the home side built up an early lead,

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but couldn't hold on

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and the USA eventually won by 19 points to 13.

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But Scotland's ties to the tournament go back

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a lot further than that.

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This is a fascinating freeze here inside Gleneagles Hotel

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depicting the story of golf played at this resort.

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What is really interesting is an international match

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played in 1921

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between British professionals and American professionals.

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It's regarded as the precursor to the Ryder Cup as we know it today.

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It was an informal friendly match that planted

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a seed for transatlantic combat.

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The British team won 9-3.

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Gleneagles Hotel hadn't been completed yet,

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so they had a few drinks down in Auchterarder that night.

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As many of us do when we have great golfing days,

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they talked about doing it against some day.

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On the British team, you had James Braid, the course designer,

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you had Harry Vardon, JH Taylor.

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I think between the British team who played in 1921, there was

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20 major championships between them.

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I think the origins of professional golf

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between America and Great Britain started here.

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The Gleneagles Hotel was opened in 1924.

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This is their 90th anniversary year.

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But things were a little bit different in 1921.

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The Americans were given a fine, hospitable welcome of five

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Watlass railway carriages on a siding at Auchtermuchty.

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So a little bit different to the Ryder Cup of today, shall we say?

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They certainly didn't have the most glamorous accommodation,

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but when they came to the King's and saw the course before them,

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they swiftly forgot about their accommodation.

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Do you know what? You don't need to worry about the players

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during arduous Ryder Cup week.

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Many of them will be billeted here at the luxurious,

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sumptuous five-star Gleneagles Hotel.

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One of the greatest hotels in the world.

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But it's not just the fact of the hotel that makes Gleneagles

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an important Ryder Cup venue.

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A whole infrastructure has had to be put in place to make sure

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these 2014 matches are a success.

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I mean, it's a huge project.

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By the time the Ryder Cup comes,

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there'll be over 7,000 working staff working on the project.

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Over 250,000 people are expected during the week of the Ryder Cup.

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We're almost creating a little mini village here.

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It's taken the best part of three months to create

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and it will take two months to take down.

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What makes it so special, the Ryder Cup, is the atmosphere here on site.

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When that first ball is struck on the first day on the first tee,

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everyone wants to be there. It is a special place to be.

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We've created a wonderful amphitheatre

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for the spectators to enjoy.

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So in order find the key to making birdies on the PGA Centenary,

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I headed out on to the course for some much needed tips

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in the company of Gleneagles head professional Andrew Jowett.

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I think the main key is accuracy off the tee.

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A lot of the time if you can be playing from the short grass,

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that's going to give you a big advantage in feeling comfortable

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with those approach shots.

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Some of the rough can be quite penal,

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so, yeah, you really want to be making sure

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that you're finding the short grass off the tee.

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That gives you the opportunity to capitalise with those approach shots.

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Right, Andrew, we're on the 18th tee.

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It seems to me a great, closing theatrical hole for the spectators.

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It's a really exciting, reachable par-5.

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Very much risk and reward.

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If you don't find the fairway, that rough is pretty penal out there,

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so you're not going to have the opportunity

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to reach the green in two. Then, from there, for those top players,

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they're going to have anything from maybe a hybrid

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to a long iron into the green.

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The green is an exceptionally small target. Very narrow.

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Very long front-to-back,

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so it can make a big difference in what club you're choosing to hit.

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Depending on how difficult they want to make the pin position,

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there's plenty of options for them there.

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Get in. Get in! Get in! Ahhh, too good for me.

0:19:340:19:37

Have you had any of the top guys coming to you for tips?

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Obviously, Paul McGinley's well renowned for being

0:19:400:19:43

very comprehensive in his planning. Have you chatted to him?

0:19:430:19:47

I've been fortunate enough to be in a couple of meetings with him.

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I'm sure he'll keep his cards relatively close to his chest

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until the teams are finalised, but I would have thought that

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the golf course, from a set-up point of view, will be very similar

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to how it is in the Johnnie Walker Championships.

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Having played the course, I can testify

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just how good the condition is, but the great unknown in Scotland,

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as always, is the weather.

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The staff at Gleneagles have done all they can to prepare.

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We've installed an awful lot of drainage.

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We've been doing a lot of work with the upper profiles

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and with a lot of sand top dressings, the fairways.

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We've installed 41km of land drainage

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underneath the golf course since its original construction.

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We've installed a sub-air system into the greens,

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so we're pretty comfortable with the golf course's ability to cope

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with sensible amounts of rainfall.

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Is the climate and the weather conditions in the days

0:20:410:20:44

building up to the competition itself a concern for you,

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in terms of what it might do to the surface?

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To a degree. I mean, the weather here in central Scotland,

0:20:510:20:53

we could play the Ryder Cup here in July

0:20:530:20:56

and have issues with the weather, potentially.

0:20:560:20:59

So I try not to think about it too much.

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I can't alter what the weather does.

0:21:020:21:03

I can only make sure that we've done everything we can

0:21:030:21:06

in preparing the golf course to make sure that, if we do get rain,

0:21:060:21:10

the golf course is able to react and cope well with it,

0:21:100:21:13

and still perform to its optimum level.

0:21:130:21:16

The first tee of the PGA Centenary Course here at Gleneagles,

0:21:190:21:22

come Friday morning, the crowd will be gathered behind me

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for the opening shots. You ask any player -

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that opening Ryder Cup shot is

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an experience for them never to be forgotten.

0:21:290:21:33

The challenge of the Ryder Cup, then,

0:21:350:21:37

the ultimate test for any golfer.

0:21:370:21:39

To help assess the two sides lining up at Gleneagles,

0:21:390:21:42

I sat down with three of Scotland's top golf writers.

0:21:420:21:46

Europe are the favourites.

0:21:460:21:47

We've won seven of the last nine matches, won the last two.

0:21:470:21:51

However, the American team is not as weak as some people

0:21:510:21:54

are making it out to be.

0:21:540:21:56

They've got major champions in their team.

0:21:560:21:58

I mean, two of their wildcards, Keegan Bradley's a major champion.

0:21:580:22:01

Webb Simpson's a major champion. So they're useful players.

0:22:010:22:04

Don't make any mistake about that.

0:22:040:22:06

If you look at the three players they have picked, Webb Simpson

0:22:060:22:10

and Keegan Bradley, Keegan Bradley in particular, actually.

0:22:100:22:13

They played a big role at Medinah.

0:22:130:22:15

For that reason, they'll both be smarting.

0:22:150:22:17

They'll both have a point to prove when they get over here.

0:22:170:22:20

If there's one thing Americans like more than winning,

0:22:200:22:23

it's proving a point.

0:22:230:22:24

Stevie's had the best season of his career, by far, this year,

0:22:250:22:29

and I think he's developed into a great player.

0:22:290:22:32

There's the maturity, he's got the confidence

0:22:320:22:34

and the competitive instinct.

0:22:340:22:36

I think this will be the making of him in many ways,

0:22:360:22:38

and I'm sure he'll relish the challenge.

0:22:380:22:40

I think the fact that he's comfortable on the PGA Centenary

0:22:400:22:44

Course with the good record he has, that's going to help.

0:22:440:22:47

Coming off the season he's had as well,

0:22:470:22:49

there's no reason that he can't

0:22:490:22:51

go into this Ryder Cup feeling confident, but, yeah,

0:22:510:22:54

the pressure is going to be enormous.

0:22:540:22:55

'Don't go in, don't go in...

0:22:550:22:57

'O-ho! What a shot!

0:22:570:23:00

'What a shot from McIlroy.'

0:23:000:23:02

There is some natural pairings, basically, isn't there?

0:23:030:23:06

And I think the McIlroy/McDowell, and probably a Poulter/Rose,

0:23:060:23:09

they've done pretty well at Medinah, in a good alliance there.

0:23:090:23:12

Stevie could probably, to be honest, play with anybody.

0:23:120:23:16

I don't think anybody's going to turn down the fact that...

0:23:160:23:18

I actually heard rumours that Stevie might be getting looked at.

0:23:180:23:22

I don't know if the guys are the same, but he might be looked at

0:23:220:23:25

as a possible partner for Jamie Donaldson, a fellow rookie.

0:23:250:23:28

They're known to get on very well together, and I don't think

0:23:280:23:31

there would be anything wrong in putting out rookies together.

0:23:310:23:34

It's hardly unprecedented.

0:23:340:23:36

When it comes to the Ryder Cup,

0:23:380:23:40

there's no weakness with Ian Poulter at all.

0:23:400:23:42

He is inspired on that stage.

0:23:420:23:45

I watched him at Medinah, and the man was just incredible.

0:23:450:23:47

Watching him out on the golf course, there's just something

0:23:470:23:50

about that stage that he comes alive,

0:23:500:23:52

and he becomes like a major champion. He's not a major champion.

0:23:520:23:55

Wow, you sound utterly convinced about that. Yeah, honestly, I mean,

0:23:550:23:58

it's just incredible that there's just something about that stage

0:23:580:24:01

that he loves and it brings out the best in him.

0:24:010:24:04

What happens if we get this typical Scottish microclimate,

0:24:040:24:09

where it's spitting with rain,

0:24:090:24:10

it's a bit windy, it's dour, it's dreich?

0:24:100:24:14

Does that help us or help them, or is it an equaliser?

0:24:140:24:17

I had an interesting chat with Sam Torrance about this

0:24:170:24:20

earlier in the year, and he told me that if the fans

0:24:200:24:23

are the 13th man for Europe, the weather is absolutely the 14th.

0:24:230:24:26

I can't tell you what else he said. It's not broadcastable!

0:24:260:24:30

But he does want it to be bad, shall we say. Right.

0:24:300:24:34

The worse, the better, because the conditions you're used to

0:24:340:24:38

are the conditions you're used to.

0:24:380:24:39

If it's bad, I think it'll play to our advantage.

0:24:390:24:41

And, as Celtic Manor proved, this'll be the litmus test

0:24:410:24:44

of the new supplier of America's waterproofs, probably,

0:24:440:24:47

if it comes hosing it down!

0:24:470:24:49

But no, I think if it's rainy

0:24:490:24:51

and wind and whatever, let's hope it isn't,

0:24:510:24:55

there's no doubt that Europe can get a wee...

0:24:550:24:58

just sneak a little advantage there, certainly.

0:24:580:25:00

A lot's been made of the weather, the weather potentially being bad.

0:25:000:25:05

A lot's been made of the golf course not being

0:25:050:25:07

everyone's favourite golf course,

0:25:070:25:09

but Medinah wasn't a great golf course,

0:25:090:25:12

not the best golf course in America, by far,

0:25:120:25:14

but it was one of the great Ryder Cups, because of the events,

0:25:140:25:17

because of the golf. So, these factors, I think,

0:25:170:25:20

we don't need to pay as much attention

0:25:200:25:22

to these factors as some people are making out.

0:25:220:25:25

Guys, do all your heads say "win for Europe"?

0:25:250:25:29

Yes, but only just.

0:25:290:25:31

It will be close again, I think.

0:25:310:25:33

I'll be honest, I think this'll be an American win.

0:25:330:25:36

THEY GASP Oh! Yeah. Afraid so.

0:25:360:25:38

I think they've been written off.

0:25:380:25:40

I think they're relishing the prospect of being underdogs,

0:25:400:25:43

and like Martin said, I think it'll be tight,

0:25:430:25:45

but I just get a sneaky suspicion that they're going to pip us.

0:25:450:25:49

Nick? It's going to be tight, I think.

0:25:490:25:52

I think there's definitely... it's going to be nip and tuck.

0:25:520:25:56

But I think Europe will edge it in the end.

0:25:560:25:58

Bernard Gallacher knows more than most

0:26:000:26:02

about the incredible highs and lows of Ryder Cup golf.

0:26:020:26:05

He played eight times, making his debut as a 20-year-old in 1969,

0:26:050:26:10

twice defeating Lee Trevino at Birkdale.

0:26:100:26:12

And he captained Europe three times in the 1990s,

0:26:120:26:16

finally tasting victory after two agonising defeats

0:26:160:26:20

at Oakhill in 1995.

0:26:200:26:23

The trick of the captaincy is to decide which player you think

0:26:230:26:27

you should have a quiet word with, and some players that you shouldn't.

0:26:270:26:30

But when you're a captain, you really do feel for the players.

0:26:300:26:33

You feel for the players, you're elated with the players

0:26:330:26:36

when they're doing well,

0:26:360:26:38

and you actually feel for them if they're struggling

0:26:380:26:41

or if they missed a putt, and so you're going through hell

0:26:410:26:44

out there if you're a captain, to be honest.

0:26:440:26:47

What really helped me in my third term of the Ryder Cup,

0:26:470:26:51

was having the press officer from the European tour

0:26:510:26:54

come with me all the time. Because I was...

0:26:540:26:57

I felt I was making mistakes when I was speaking to the press,

0:26:570:27:00

and it was really hurting our chances.

0:27:000:27:03

And you might not think that important,

0:27:030:27:06

but it's small things like that that help.

0:27:060:27:09

Gallacher was captain at the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island,

0:27:090:27:14

a rowdy experience which for many marked

0:27:140:27:17

a sea change in the atmosphere at the event.

0:27:170:27:20

The American crowd really wanted to get involved.

0:27:220:27:25

I think that was the big turning point,

0:27:250:27:29

and I think since then, they have got involved, to be honest.

0:27:290:27:31

Even at Medinah last year, there was a lot of rah-rah

0:27:310:27:35

going on in the first tee, and it's all the way round.

0:27:350:27:38

And that just seems to be what the Ryder Cup is these days,

0:27:380:27:41

and you just have to accept it and get on with it.

0:27:410:27:44

It's not over the top, it's not nasty,

0:27:440:27:47

it's just sort of not golf. HE LAUGHS

0:27:470:27:51

I think it's great that we're coming to Gleneagles,

0:27:520:27:56

because apart from the golf course, we want to showcase Scotland,

0:27:560:27:59

and what finer place to showcase it

0:27:590:28:02

than one of the best hotels in the world, far less Scotland?

0:28:020:28:06

I think all the spectators and people who come and watch

0:28:060:28:09

should just come with an open mind, and just enjoy it.

0:28:090:28:13

If we can have another contest like we had at Celtic Manor,

0:28:130:28:17

or we had at Medinah last time, then we're in for a treat.

0:28:170:28:21

So we're set to go.

0:28:220:28:24

This is the natural amphitheatre around the 18th green,

0:28:240:28:27

where next weekend, thousands of golf fans

0:28:270:28:29

will gather for the Ryder Cup.

0:28:290:28:31

If previous tournaments are anything to go by,

0:28:310:28:33

Scottish golf fans are in for three days they will never forget.

0:28:330:28:37

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