Forty years on, how Jacklin resurrected Ryder Cup

2025 Ryder Cup

Venue: Bethpage Black, New York Dates: 26-28 September

Coverage: Daily live text commentary and in-play clips on BBC Sport website from 11:30 BST. Radio commentary on 5 Live and BBC Sounds from 12:00 BST. Daily TV highlights on iPlayer from 00:00 BST.

In 1983 the Ryder Cup was in danger of dying.

Decades of American dominance had sucked the jeopardy and therefore the interest out of the biennial contest between the United States and Great Britain.

The addition of Irish players in 1973 had made minimal impact. Emphatic defeats continued.

At the request of American great Jack Nicklaus, GB&I had morphed into Europe by 1979. But still the US were romping home. By six points in '79. By nine in '81.

"It wouldn't have lasted another two matches," said Tony Jacklin, the most important captain in Ryder Cup history.

The now 81-year-old will be at Bethpage for this week's latest instalment as he marks a "scarcely believable" 40 years since being Europe's defibrillator, at The Belfry in 1985.

Jacklin backed up that first win by masterminding a first away triumph by any team from this side of the Atlantic in 1987. It was an incredible reversal in fortunes. From one win in 40 years, to two in two.

That the two-time major winner was even involved was remarkable in itself.

The Englishman, who blazed a trail as the best player from these shores throughout the 1960s and '70s, played in seven Ryder Cups during that period before eventually declaring himself "done" after being left out of the 1981 side.

He knew something had to change but was "frustrated and angry" with the approach of some of his peers. From being a central figure, suddenly "the Ryder Cup meant nothing" to him.

Then, in early 1983, six months out from what was expected to be another shellacking in the US, Jacklin was asked to captain the side.

"I was in shock," Jacklin told BBC Sport. "I was so in shock that I said I needed to sleep on it."

From vanquished to visionary, player to pioneer, this is how Jacklin resurrected the Ryder Cup.

Jacklin considered himself a winner, always striving for improvements. In 1969 he became first Englishman in 18 years to win The Open. He followed that in 1970 by clinching the US Open. The only other Englishman to win both is Jim Barnes, in the 1920s.

But six of his seven Ryder Cup appearances ended in heavy losses.

The outlier was the 16-16 draw at Royal Birkdale in 1969, which was secured when Nicklaus conceded Jacklin's three-foot putt on the last hole in what has gone down as one of sport's great moments.

The margin of defeat was 15 points on his debut in 1967, and throughout the 1970s the gap was never fewer than five.

In 1977, the final match as GB&I, the number of matches was reduced.

Sir Nick Faldo, who won all three of his rubbers on his debut in that edition at Royal Lytham and St Anne's, told BBC Sport: "We played only one session per day because they didn't want the thought that America would be so far ahead that the singles would be obsolete."

The US still won 12½-7½.

In came the European blood for 1979. Newly crowned Open champion Severiano Ballesteros and his fellow Spaniard Antonio Garrido bolstered the dozen heading to West Virginia. But little changed.

"We went to The Greenbrier and they didn't know who we were or what to call it," recalled Faldo. "I've got a little plate which has the International Ryder Cup on it."

A sense of frustration was palpable in Jacklin as he recalled what turned out to be his final appearance as a player.

"It was all done on a shoestring budget," he said. "It was all too similar to what I'd experienced before, when you couldn't take your own caddie, the players wore anything they were given and thought their only job was to turn up.

"But the Americans were treated like kings. First-class travel, nice clothes."

Jacklin also still rails against the "disruptive" behaviour of Mark James and Ken Brown at that Ryder Cup.

"They did every bloody thing they could to jeopardise our chances," he said. "They were like spoilt children. They didn't turn up to meetings at the right time, they wore the wrong clothes.

"They were a total disgrace, and I would have sent them home if I'd have been the captain."

European skipper John Jacobs was also unimpressed, saying they turned up "dressed as though they were going on a camping holiday".

James, who would go on to captain Europe to a narrow defeat at Brookline in 1999, received a £1,500 fine for "unprofessional conduct".

Brown, who has forged a career as a successful TV commentator, later admitted "it wasn't the greatest moment of my career". He was fined £1,000 and given a one-year ban from international duty.

A US team that featured eight rookies and was without leading players Nicklaus, who failed to qualify, and Tom Watson - absent for the birth of his first child - still pulled away in the singles to win 17-11.

The 1981 edition was even more lopsided. Generally regarded as the best dozen ever assembled, with 11 players having won major titles, the US rampaged to an 18½-9½ victory at Walton Heath in Surrey.

Jacklin was left out of the side, with Jacobs preferring the "disgraced" James. Also on the sidelines, incredibly, was Ballesteros.

The mercurial Spaniard had become the first European to win the Masters in 1980, adding to his 1979 Open triumph, but was at loggerheads with the tour over appearance fees.

It was the final straw for Jacklin. "After that happened, I was done with the Ryder Cup," he said.

"Seve was at his absolute zenith. He was Tiger Woods before Tiger Woods existed.

"I didn't think they were interested in winning. I thought they were only interested in having a team that could get beaten up."

Six months before the 1983 contest, Europe had no captain for the matches at PGA National in Florida.

They turned to Jacklin. Having got over the shock of being asked to step in, he went to the European Tour's hierarchy with a list of demands.

"I saw it as an opportunity to make a difference," he said. "So I started reeling off six or seven things that I wanted. First-class tickets on Concorde, the best clothes, a team room, our caddies to travel with us. They said yes to everything.

"And then I said 'what about Seve'? I knew he was as mad as I was.

"I was told 'well you've accepted the job so he's your problem now'."

The new skipper summoned Ballesteros to the Prince of Wales hotel in Southport - a coastal town steeped in Ryder Cup history having hosted three editions of the contest - and over breakfast sold him the dream.

Jacklin needed the fiery Spaniard on board if he was to breathe new life into the competition.

Ballesteros, who won the third of his five majors at that year's Masters, "was venting about everything" but he also listened.

"I told him the things that I had insisted upon. And I told him I couldn't do it without him. He said 'OK, I'll help you'."

Jacklin then went to Palm Beach Gardens and met with US skipper Nicklaus to discuss accommodation options and the all-important team room. Time was short though. And the qualification criteria had been set.

The top 12 would qualify, Jacklin would have no say in the team.

But he had an incredible crop of talent breaking through, with future major champions Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam joining Ballesteros in providing a spine that would dominate the rest of the decade.

The match was level at 8-8 after the opening two days. It was the first time there had been parity going into the singles.

Faldo and Langer were paired together four times and won three of their matches. Ballesteros, who had made an inauspicious debut in 1979, winning one and losing four of his matches, secured 2½ points from four outings with 20-year-old rookie Paul Way.

Ballesteros, who was himself only 26, initially complained about how much he had to help the Englishman. But it had been an inspired move by the skipper.

"He said, 'I feel like his father'," recalled Jacklin. "I said, 'Seve, you are his father in here, with your experience, that's why you're playing with him'. And then the penny dropped.

"It might sound silly but Seve was difficult to partner, because he had such an incredible presence. But Paul had his own self confidence and didn't fear him."

Jacklin stacked the top of his singles with his strongest players. Nicklaus put his strongest players out last.

Ballesteros went three holes up on Fuzzy Zoeller but was pegged back and needed a miraculous 245-yard 3-wood out of a bunker to pick up a half point in the top match. Langer and Faldo delivered wins. Way and Brown also secured full points and it was 13-13 with two matches on the course.

A sensational Lanny Wadkins chip on the 18th rescued what would turn out to be a crucial half point for the home side before Watson beat Bernard Gallacher on the 17th to clinch a narrow 14½-13½ triumph.

"We did everything but win," was Jacklin's verdict. "But there was a different vibe to the whole thing. All of a sudden, this is what it's about.

"It went right down to the wire and we were all gutted.

"But Seve was saying this is something to be happy about. This is the best we've ever done in America. We should not be so sad."

Given the strides made on and off the course, Jacklin was the natural choice to continue as captain. He returned home and spent time looking back on the defeat, "wondering if there was anything I had overlooked".

"Nothing jumped out at me," he said. "There were no complaints from the players, so we went with the same strategy for 1985."

Expectation levels had been raised in Europe, but as close as they had got in Florida, the competition was in dire need of a different winner.

Reports suggest about 16,000 fans watched the walloping at Walton Heath. Four years later around 90,000 were at The Belfry, just outside Birmingham.

But Europe got off to a slow start. They trailed 3-1 after Friday's opening foursomes. Faldo, who had been one of Jacklin's three captain's picks, asked to be rested after barely contributing as he and Langer were beaten.

"It's the worst feeling in the world trying to play for a team and you can't do it," said Faldo, who was going through a swing change at the time.

"I said to Tony 'don't play me for the rest of the week'. I had a rotten week and I didn't feel part of it. It's why I stayed in my room for the celebrations."

Jacklin was not surprised by Faldo's call and left him out until Sunday's singles.

"He wanted the best for the team," he said. "We all did. The team came first. This is the most selfless thing we do, whether as a captain or player.

"Your own individual achievements and ego, leave them outside, they don't go into that team room."

But there was no panic from Jacklin. "You don't start jumping around, changing," he said.

"It's patience, self-belief, and knowing that you've prepared."

Europe edged the afternoon fourballs to trail 3½-4½ overnight and then the momentum flipped on an 18-inch putt on the Saturday morning.

Craig Stadler inexplicably stabbed the ball wide of the hole to allow Open champion Lyle and Langer to snatch a half point from a match in which they had been two down with two to play.

It left the overall score 6-6 with two sessions remaining. It was only a half point, but it felt much bigger than that.

Was it the miss that saved the Ryder Cup?

As Stadler pointed out, there was still a lot of golf to play. But the statistics show that of the 16 matches played after that putt, Europe claimed 10½ points to the US' 5½. They have since won 11 of 17 editions.

Europe won the afternoon session 3-1 to take a 9-7 lead into the 12 singles, which historically had been dominated by the US.

But European blue flooded the top of the scoreboard. Manuel Pinero, Way, Lyle and Langer all won, while Ballesteros added a half point. In the top eight matches, only Woosnam was beaten.

It left a platform for Sam Torrance to clinch victory with a famous putt and an iconic celebration against Andy North.

It took Europe over the winning line, and the hosts were eventually comfortable 16½-11½ winners as they ended a 28-year unbeaten run by the US.

"I can't believe it's 40 years since we stood on that roof celebrating," smiled Jacklin, who would lead the side to two wins, one tie and one defeat as captain.

"It was fantastic, but it was just really the beginning. We didn't know it at the time but the ramifications of that victory were going to rumble on for years to come."