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Walker Cup
Walker Cup memories: 1981 at Cypress Point
29 Aug 25
6 mins
Considering the source, it is quite a tribute. Writing in the programme for the 1981 Walker Cup, legendary journalist Herbert Warren Wind (who first coined the iconic phrase, “Amen Corner,” in reference to holes 11 through 13 at Augusta National) claimed that “Cypress Point may well be the best golf course in the world.”
Throw in the always-exceptional quality of the biennial encounter between the best ten male amateurs from Great Britain and Ireland and their counterparts from the United States of America and those ’81 matches certainly had a lot going for them. Combine the pinnacle of ambition within amateur golf in both the Old and New Worlds and one of the most spectacular golfing venues on the planet and the end result is more than likely to be a bit special. Not surprisingly, those who took part – win or lose – are unanimous in their enduring affection for those now far-off days on the Monterey Peninsula. No matter how much they went on to achieve as amateurs or professionals, players on both sides have never forgotten the 1981 Walker Cup at Cypress Point.Pavin reflects
“I have great memories of ’81,” says Corey Pavin, the 1995 US Open Champion. “It was my first time playing in an international team event. I grew up in California so it was pretty special for me to play at Cypress Point. “I loved the course. It was all about working the ball both ways and high and low. Positioning was everything, especially on the greens. The course is not long but the greens are really tricky. It will be interesting to see how the guys play it this year. I’m thinking they can probably drive the short par-4s, eight and nine. It will be fun to watch them trying to do that in match play.”
Corey Pavin has been reflecting on special memories at Cypress Point.
Indeed, not much has changed at Cypress in the last 44 years, although the course will this time measure 6,620 yards as opposed to 6,506 in 1981. What is the same is the stern challenge offered by the highly-contoured Alister Mackenzie-designed putting surfaces.
Fast greens
“I had played a fair bit of golf in the States, but I was still taken aback by the pace of the greens there,” says Colin Dalgleish, who arrived in California as the newly-crowned Scottish Amateur Champion. “Like the other GB&I players I was used to putting on much slower surfaces. Cypress is really extreme on and around the greens. “So we struggled with that a bit. It was just so difficult to be comfortable on greens that fast. It was hard to get the ball running at the hole with some level of intent. A lot of putts ended up ‘dribbling’ to the hole.” The exceptional quality of the American squad that would eventually triumph by a score of 15 points to 9 was another problem for the visitors.Rafferty looks back
“The first thing that comes to mind is that we were up against a formidable team,” says Ronan Rafferty, whose 17-year old self in 1981 made him at that time the youngest-ever GB&I Walker Cup player. “They had Hal Sutton, Jay Sigel, Jim Holtgrieve, Corey Pavin and Jodie Mudd. In those days, we didn’t have the same information about the American players, only what we read in magazines. They seemed to be a bunch of youngsters and our team, with some exceptions, was older. And of course we were travelling to the other side of America to play a course we didn’t know. It was quite a challenge.” Still, it was one the visitors for long enough met with some gusto. It wasn’t until the second-day singles that the American side’s greater depth proved decisive. “We were beaten fair and square, although we were close going into the second session of singles,” says GB&I Captain, Rodney Foster. Foster, now 83, is correct. Before those eight afternoon matches, only two points separated the sides. So things were tight. And in places exciting. As ever, there were some epic encounters to be found within the 24 matches. And some brilliant golf. Dalgleish was level par for the 14 holes he played against Mudd on day one – and lost 7&5 to the American’s seven-birdie barrage. When he shook hands with Peter McEvoy on the 16th green, Sigel too was well under par. And, in foursomes Rafferty and his fellow Irishman, Philip Walton, won both their games.
Peter McEvoy, pictured at The Open in 1977, was part of the GB&I team at Cypress Point.
Famous tie
One game stood out, though. Then US Amateur Champion, future PGA Championship winner, Hal Sutton, made five birdies and an eagle in his match against Roger Chapman – and lost on the last green. The Englishman responded to the challenge offered by the best player on the American side with, Sutton thinks, “seven or eight birdies.” But even the loser enjoyed the occasion. “It is easy to get caught up with everything around you at Cypress,” says Sutton. “The scenery changes all the time and is so beautiful you can be looking around instead of focusing on the golf. So you have to make your ‘world’ as small as possible and play the shot at hand. “That said, Cypress is my favourite course in the world because you go into the Monterey forest, then into the dunes, then back into the forest, then out to the Pacific. I’ve played harder courses. But none have even been more fun. When I’m asked where I would play the last round of my life, I say I’d want the first tee-time at Pebble Beach. Then I’d go over to Cypress Point.” “Golf at its best is mostly art with a hint of science,” Sutton continues. “Too often I see guys trying to make the game a whole lot of science with only hint of imagination or artistry thrown in. That’s not golf. Passion and love for the game comes from the artistry, not from a number. And that’s why people love Cypress Point. Who wins this time will be the team that plays best inside 100 yards. It won’t necessarily be the side longest off the tee.”Epic match
As things transpired, Chapman’s victory was the only one recorded by a GB&I player on that decisive second afternoon. “We did have something of an epic match,” agrees Chapman, a past winner of both the US Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championship. “Beating Hal twice in one day is something I will never forget. And what a golf course. At Cypress you can walk down a fairway and see all of the bunkers. Then when you get to the green and walk back, you can’t see even one. Mackenzie did an amazing job with a great piece of land. My favourite hole is the short 15th. The 16th gets all the attention but the 15th is just magnificent. “I was so proud to be selected to play in the top single on the second day. It was so much fun. I remember making four birdies in succession on holes 3-6. Then I finished 2-3-4-3 over the last four holes to win on the 18th. It was a brilliant match, one that remains vivid in my memory.”
Hal Sutton played at Cypress Point in 1981.