From Alex Ferguson to DJ Spoony, the heavyweights who inspired Ryder Cup team rooms

10 of the men who have talked the talk in Ryder Cup week

Vice Captain of Team Europe Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain (L) poses for a picture with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson during Sunday's Singles matches on the final day of the Ryder Cup golf tournament at the Gleneagles Hotel in Gleneagles,

There are still the uninitiated out there who think the Ryder Cup is won on the golf course. Not so, of course. All the heavy lifting is done in the ‘team room’. You cannot leave anything to chance with the feckless modern golfer, in case he isn’t bursting with continental pride while standing over a five-footer.

As José María Olazábal reminded us, there will be times, this week, when warriors representing competing civilisations must reach into “the depths of their souls” to get down in two.