Watching a reply of the 1991 Ryder Cup last night

[deronsizemore]

So, I'm watching a reply of the 1991 Ryder Cup last night before bed. It's Hale Irwin vs Bernhard Langer in the final match to decide the Ryder Cup. I noticed something that seemed odd, so I replayed it over a couple times and it still seems odd. Here's the breakdown and video that I took:

The video starts with Hale Irwin hitting a tee shot on the par 3 17th. You can clearly see his ball land and come to rest on the right side of the green/fringe. They then cut to a reply of Langer's ball coming to rest on the left side of the green where it's into the crowd and just rolls out between a couple spectators. Then we see Langer hit is second shot from the left side of the green and finally we see Hale Irwin hit his second shot from the same side of the green as Langer. Wait... what? I just saw Irwin's ball come to rest on the RIGHT side of the green, not the left. I've watched it a few times and I just cannot see what I'm missing.

[RayG]

If you look carefully, there are TWO ballmarkers on the green. Obviously, one is Langer's So something is odd about that match. maybe it wasn't the final of the singles but an earlier 4 ball or something. The tee shot not being Irwin's but a partner wearing similar clothes, which is more likely to happen in the RC with the uniform shirt and all. I originally thought maybe it was just a trick of camera angles,etc... but once I looked closer at the putt you can see the extra ballmarker to the right of the hole just as Irwins ball goes past the flagstick at 2:06.

[uttexas]

It's weird editing. Irwin's tee shot the final day on 17 did end up long on the right (just reread the GD article on "The Rowdy Ryder Cup at Kiawah") That final match was thoroughly dissected in that article. The main controversy of the final match was Irwin's tee shot on 18--where the ball appeared to be going (sand dunes left of fairway) and where it ended up (just in the rough off the left fairway) To see Irwin's tee shot go to 2:48:05 on this video For another view of the 17th hole see 2:37:07 on this video [VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtC-7_d9xvc[/VIDEO]

[RoyHotPower]

Golf Digest did a piece a few months back on the 91 Ryder Cup and there was some mention about Hale's tee shot hitting a spectator on the 17th the final day.  I wish I could recall what it said exactly, but this was the hole and day in question.

[deronsizemore]

Originally Posted by uttexas

It's weird editing. Irwin's tee shot the final day on 17 did end up long on the right (just reread the GD article on "The Rowdy Ryder Cup at Kiawah") That final match was thoroughly dissected in that article. The main controversy of the final match was Irwin's tee shot on 18--where the ball appeared to be going (sand dunes left of fairway) and where it ended up (just in the rough off the left fairway)

To see Irwin's tee shot go to 2:48:05 on this video

For another view of the 17th hole see 2:37:07 on this video

Unless I'm missing something, the video you posted shows exactly what I recorded from The Golf Channel the other day. Jump ahead to 2:42 to see what I mean. Langer and Irwin have already teed off. Irwin's tee ball ends up on the right side of the flag and yet at 2:42 when Irwin is playing his second, he's chipping from the left hand side of the green where Langer's ball ended up. What am I missing here?

[malincanada]

I seem to remember that on the 17th there was something about a fan throwing a ball across the green just as Irwin's shot landed. Not throwing back Irwin's ball, but simply throwing a completely separate ball for some reason.

[drumitup]

I've been wondering what happened to Irwin's tee shot on 17 since '91.  Had forgotten about it until I saw the replay a few nights ago.  Commentators never said anything about it.  Hope someone knows the answer.

[deronsizemore]

Originally Posted by malincanada

I seem to remember that on the 17th there was something about a fan throwing a ball across the green just as Irwin's shot landed. Not throwing back Irwin's ball, but simply throwing a completely separate ball for some reason.

Never heard that, but this seems like the most logical answer. I'll have to Google and see if I can find anything. This has bugged me since I watched it the other night.

[WWBDD]

The second ball came from the grassy knoll.