"How Christy O’Connor Jr became Europe's hero at the 1989 Ryder Cup"

The Guardian's Steve Pye used the unexpected and way-too-early passing of Christy O'Connor Jr to remember his fascinating life in golf through the 1989 Ryder Cup.

O'Connor was a captain's pick of Tony Jacklin after Sandy Lyle withdrew due to a floundering game. A Jose Rivero mention makes it way into the piece, but in the big scheme of things it's a pleasurable way to learn about the sudden passing of a real character and also to learn that wild Ryder Cup dynamics are not solely a product of the 21st century.

A sampler from Pye's piece:

Unfortunately for O’Connor, things were about to turn pear-shaped. A missed cut left him vulnerable to a late attack, and when José María Cañizares sneaked in at the last minute, O’Connor now had to rely on a captain’s pick from Tony Jacklin. Two of Jacklin’s choices were apparently set in stone – Ken Brown and Nick Faldo, despite the latter struggling for form after remodelling his swing – and it was seen as a straight fight between O’Connor, Mark James and Gordon Brand Jr for the final selection.

To the general amazement of everyone, Jacklin chose José Rivero instead. “I am disgusted and totally shattered,” said a furious O’Connor, understandably so after he missed out on his second Ryder Cup by just £115.89. O’Connor’s ire would run and run; according to Jacklin, the only time O’Connor spoke to him in the next four years was to offer his condolences when Jacklin’s wife Vivien passed away.


O’Connor was probably happy to see the back of 1985. At the end of the year his father died after suffering a heart attack, and over the next few seasons O’Connor seemed unable to reproduce the form that had taken him so near to joining Europe’s party. Having hovered around the top 20 during the next three years, few expected his 1989 campaign to be any different. But a fine run of displays saw O’Connor finish fifth at the Volvo Open, fourth at the Volvo PGA, third at the Dunhill British Masters, and seventh at the English Open (played at The Belfry). To top it all, O’Connor won the Jersey Open, his first individual win on the Tour since his Ryder Cup debut.