Tunnel vision: Players must walk the walk to conquer nerves

The walk from the Gleneagles practice area to the packed arena of the first tee of the PGA Centenary Course is a long one for the players, and not just in terms of distance.

A first tee shot in this biennial dust-up between Europe and the United States is, by common consent, the most nerve-wracking in golf as players put aside their weekly campaigns for individual success and prize money to focus on collective glory. The pressure has been rising continually over the past few matches as organisers have cottoned on to the drama that unfolds at the first tee and have added grandstands to the point where the scene at Gleneagles’ opening hole looks more like the 18th green at a Major championship.

And what adds to the effect of gladiators entering the coliseum is that the players’ walk takes them through a tunnel, its walls lined with 10 Ryder Cup heroes from each side, under a road and then up a slope into the arena. If that, and the images of Nicklaus and Jacklin, Watson and Ballesteros et al, does not force a golfer to contemplate his fate then nothing will.

Europe captain Paul McGinley is delighted with the entrance.

“The tunnel, it’s unique when you’ve got to cross the road to get to the first tee,” he said.

“It was a grey, miserable tunnel that you often have for carts to go under. We obviously wanted to bring that to life.

“I’m very keen on the players walking to the first tee rather than being there in a buggy, although some may choose to be so. I think it’s important to walk to the tee and we want to bring it to life. The other side of the tunnel, where the crowd are looking down to, we’ve got flowers on either side. And to be fair to America, half of it is red and half of it is blue.”

McGinley said it was adding “an extra little dimension of getting to the first tee”.

“A bit like gladiators walking into the arena as you walk up that hill coming out of the tunnel, and the crowd will get a glimpse of them from the huge stands that are there, it should be an electric atmosphere.”

Justin Rose, for one, can’t wait to make the walk and was yesterday considering a practice march having taken a cart through the tunnel previously this week. For the Major champion, it is yet another aspect to relish about the Ryder Cup.

“That tunnel has got some iconic images through it, and you’ll hear the crowd, you’ll hear the noise. No doubt there will be the customary singing, or I hope there will be, on the first tee,” Rose said.

“You really begin to sense that even on the practice range. The crowd seems to arrive there an hour before first tee time and the atmosphere really amps up and you can sense it while you’re hitting balls. I can only imagine that by the time you walk to the tee, you’re fully ready to go, there’s absolutely no doubt.”