Tony Jacklin, now based at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, has been recalling his early days at captain of the European Ryder Cup team. "We were on some sort of British Airways charter not knowing who was buying the drinks or who was paying the dry clearing. It was all sort of done on a shoestring." He went on: "I tried to put my players on the first tee not feeling they were two down before the match started. We were dressed in whatever anybody would give us whereas the Americans were always decked out in the finest. Until we got that straightened out, we were always in the back of the bus."

Jacklin, who captained Europe from 1983 to 1989, concluded: "I like to think that the players will all come out with their integrity intact, that the matches will be close and the event itself will continue to be successful."