Justin Leonard lined up for one of the most historic putts of his career, for all the wrong reasons. While the shot itself was a thing of beauty, what followed broke the spirit of the gentleman’s game. What seemed like a celebration to some, felt like total disrespect to others. Particularly to Leonard’s rival on the day, Jose Maria Olazabal of Team Europe.
Having just witnessed the unbelievable shot from their teammate, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the rest of Team USA ran across the greens in joy. They believed they had already won the 1999 Ryder Cup and were soon going to be honored with the trophy. But they were oblivious to the fact that Jose Maria Olazabal still had a stroke in his hand to equal the score and take it to the 18th.
Moreover, it was not the only ongoing match of the day. Colin Montgomerie of Team Europe was also playing Payne Stewart at the same time. Had all of the remaining results gone in Team Europe’s favor then they would be the ones to win, or rather retain the 1999 Ryder Cup, also known as the ‘Battle of the Brookline’. 25 years after the battle, Kevin Van Valkenburg along with Soly from the ‘No Laying Up Podcast’ had something to say about the incident on their YouTube channel.
A modern-day review of a classic battle
What made the celebration controversial was its location. Apparently, as Team USA ran across the green, most of them stepped in the line of Olazabal’s putt. A putt that would have allowed him to match Leonard’s score. To the utter disdain of the European fans, Team USA had no reason to celebrate for no reason right where Olazabal was about to play. They blamed Tiger Woods and co. for hampering the progress of the Spaniard and the eventual loss of Team Europe. There were also reports by the Golf Digest that stated that a fan spit on a European player’s wife.
While there is no evidence of the latter, the case of obstruction of play was revisited by the host of the podcast, Kevin. Famously known as KVV, the golf presenter debunked any claims of the incident being true. Speaking to his co-host Soly, Kevin said that he wants to, “Tear down a myth that has persisted for many many years.” Soly caught what Kevin was leading towards by saying, “That somebody went in Jose Maria Olazabal’s line.” Kevin confirmed that is exactly what he was talking about and went on to call it “bull***t“. KVV continued: “They make it seem like the Americans grinded their feet all over Jose Maria Olzabal’s line. Like stomping on his sign”, he clarified, “It did not happen!”
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KVV noted it was one of his favorite pictures of all time as they went on to display a photograph from the 1999 Ryder Cup. The photo shows Tiger Woods and his Team USA mates running across the pitch. After complimenting Woods’ incredible celebratory leap, he pointed out how Olazabal can be seen in the background looking over his line of putt. KVV stated that the picture clearly illustrates Team USA’s celebration, saying, “All of the Americans run to the right of this thing (away from the line of Olazabal’s putt). They’re all sort of jumping on top off…” KVV also claimed Phil Mickelson as well as he was shouting, “We won! We won!”
Kevin then explained how Team Europe still had a chance to grab a victory and retain the Ryder Cup. The podcast host clarified that by looking at the image and saying, “Let’s just make it clear for history’s sake, they do not run across Jose Maria Olazabal’s line. There is no evidence at all that exists that that happened.” Elaborating on the research he put into this issue, Kevin added, “There’s no pictures. I went through al of Getty’s photography for it. I watched all the old videos. They did not run across this line.” He also mentioned how Team USA’s behavior was definitely “sh**ty” as the Europeans still had a chance to win.
It can argued that Kevin’s source of information is quite limited as compared to those who actually witnessed the incident. Do you agree with the claims made with the new evidence or do you still believe that Team USA caused an obstruction? Let us know in the comments section.
