What’s it like to putt a testy 3-footer with everything on the line? We found three people who know exactly what those nerves feel like.
To get ready for this week’s Ryder Cup, we chatted with three golf legends at the Berenberg Invitational held earlier this month at GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, N.Y., to better understand the art of conceding — or not conceding — putts in a Ryder Cup.
To help us out, we called on 1987 Masters winner Larry Mize, three-time U.S. Open winner Hale Irwin and two-time major winner Mark O’Meara. Mize played in one Ryder Cup, while Irwin and O’Meara each played in five.
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So, for starters, at what point can and should putts in match-play events be conceded?
“It’s difficult in Ryder Cups,” O’Meara said. “It’s so competitive and so close and narrow, it’s hard to give a putt outside of 2 1/2 feet.”
“But none of us have ever given putts probably from [one to three feet] to lose a match,” Irwin said. “I think you are going to make your opponent putt because we all miss putts. So I think anything from a foot-and-a-half out becomes fair game for anyone on any team.”
Added Mize: “You need to earn the win.”
As for the potential strategy of giving putts early to make players putt them for the first time later in matches, when the pressure is amped up, this group disagreed with that idea.
“We all have missed these putts,” Irwin said. “More than likely you are going to make it nearly all the time, but when it comes down to something as prestigious and full of pride and honor as the Ryder Cup is, let’s see it. Let’s see what you got.”
You can watch the full video above, and click here to view this week’s Ryder Cup schedule.
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