US team unlikely to spring Ryder Cup-style leak as waterproofs pass Holtgrieve’s shower test

THE Americans may have been left both wet and red-faced when the team’s waterproof suits started to leak at last year’s Ryder Cup in Wales, but their Walker Cup captain has gone to extreme measures to ensure there will be no repeat if the heavens open in the north-east this weekend.

In the first of his pre-event press conferences in Aberdeen yesterday, Jim Holtgrieve revealed the problems Corey Pavin, the US captain, encountered at Celtic Manor, where replacement suits had to be bought from the merchandise tent, had led him to test the ones for his players by standing fully clothed in the shower.

“I did that because Corey Pavin is a good friend of mine and I was concerned about what happened at the Ryder Cup,” said Holtgrieve. “I wanted to make sure that was not going to happen [here]. So, when I got the suit from the manufacturer, I stood in the shower.”

He was happy to report the suit passed that test and also a heavy downpour during one of the team’s first practice rounds on the magnificent Balgownie Links earlier this week. “We were out there for about an hour in the rain and all ten players assured me that they were dry, so we’re in good shape,” added Holtgrieve.

Unlike Bob Lewis and George ‘Buddy’ Marucci, his two immediate predecessors, this year’s American captain comes across as a decent sort and, in addition to a minute’s silence being held at the closing ceremony, he also revealed how he plans to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11 during the event’s second and final day on Sunday.

“I’ve had a special hat designed that we’re only going to wear on that day,” said Holtgrieve, who produced “one of the best performances of my life” to beat Monifieth’s Ian Hutcheon in the 1979 encounter at Muirfield. “It’s a special day for the United States of America and the hat was designed along with a few of my golfing friends who lost two sons and several employees. We all picked the same one.”

On paper, Holtgrieve also looks to have brought a special team with him as the Americans aim to chalk up a fourth successive win in the biennial event. Take the two sitting beside him in the Media Centre at Royal Aberdeen yesterday, for instance.

Patrick Cantlay, the world’s top-ranked amateur, tied for 21st behind Rory McIlroy in this year’s US Open then shot 60 in a PGA Tour event, while Peter Uihlein, the 2010 US Amateur champion, won four out of four in the 16.5-9.5 win at Merion two years ago.

Cantlay’s only previous experience of playing links golf came seven years ago. “I was 12 and came over with my grandparents. I played St Andrews Old, St Andrews New and Kingsbarns,” he recalled. “On the Old Course, I was 45 on the front, 38 coming back and I was really pumped with my 83.”

Uihlien was here more recently as he prepared for both this event as well as his appearance in the Open Championship at Royal St George’s. He knows what to expect if the weather does indeed turn bad at the weekend. Recalling one of his rounds in Kent, the 21-year-old said: “The conditions were the hardest I’ve ever seen. I went through five towels, had to change my grips afterwards and my bag was ruined.”

James Byrne, flying the Saltire in the Great Britain & Ireland team along with Michael Stewart, acknowledged the Americans “have to be favourites” but insisted that “doesn’t mean we’ll be scared of them”. Team-mate Jack Senior is hoping his feat in reaching the semi-finals in the US Amateur a fortnight ago has laid down a marker. “That has shown these guys can be beat,” said the Englishman.