Ryder Cup 2016: Stroke of genius - The greatest shots in Ryder Cup history

5 - Casey’s Ace (Paul Casey, 2006)

If you are going to stroll to victory, you may as well do it in style. That’s exactly what Paul Casey did as Europe annihilated the US 18½-9½ in the 2006 Ryder Cup at The K Club in County Kildare. During a Saturday afternoon foursomes match, Casey and partner David Howell were 5 up over Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson as they stood at the 14th tee, a 213-yard par 3. Casey selected a 4-iron and launched a crisp drive towards the green. The ball dropped gently from the sky onto the playing surface before rolling slowly and almost apologetically into the hole. It secured a 5&4 win for the European pair and Casey became the only man in Ryder Cup history to win a foursomes match with a hole in one.

[YOUR GUIDE TO THE EUROPE TEAM FOR THE 2016 RYDER CUP]

4 – Christy’s Iron Will (Christy O’Connor Jnr, 1989)

Golf is just as much a battle of the mind as it is a race to clump the ball into the hole. Christy O’Connor Jnr lost both of his Ryder Cup matches in 1975 and on his second appearance at The Belfry in 1989 had lost again in the Saturday morning foursomes. During the Sunday singles he was one down to Fred Couples with three to play, but as both men stood on the 18th fairway the match was level. O’Connor had to fire first with the advice from captain Tony Jacklin that Couples would crack under pressure. Standing 229-yards from the hole, O’Connor selected a 2-iron and hit the approach shot of his life, leaving the ball just four feet from the hole in front of a euphoric gallery. Couples did indeed buckle, overshooting the green with his 9-iron approach then leaving a putt short before conceding the hole and the match.

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3 – Faldo’s Flyer (Nick Faldo, 1993)

Twenty years after Englishman Peter Butler sank the Ryder Cup’s first hole in one at Muirfield, Nick Faldo repeated the feat at The Belfry – then claimed he had planned it all along. Faldo was Europe’s Mr Cool but his quiet resolve was being tested to the limit in his Sunday singles match with US firebrand Paul Azinger in 1993. With the match level as they prepared to tee off at the 189-yard 14th hole, Faldo pulled out a 6-iron. His relaxed tee shot just cleared a bunker, bounced forward from the apron of the green and raced to the cup, swirling briefly round the lip before dropping in. Faldo said: “I told four players that I’m going to hole one this week. I said birdies are not good enough.” Neither was this ace, as Azinger birdied the 15th and the 18th to force a draw.

2 – Fire In The Hole (Justin Leonard, 1999)

Justin Leonard’s monster putt at the Battle Of Brookline in 1999 is remembered for the storm it created, rather than for its sheer brilliance. Leonard had trailed Europe’s Jose Maria Olazabal by four holes during their Sunday singles match, but by the time they reached the 17th green they were all square. More importantly, Leonard and the home crowd knew a half point from this game would be enough for the US to regain the Ryder Cup after two straight wins by Europe. The American’s ball sat slightly downhill, 45-feet away from the hole, while Olazabal’s was perched 20-feet closer to the cup. Leonard went for broke, smacking the ball firmly and it raced up the incline before slamming into the hole. As he circled with arms aloft, several team-mates, players’ wives and caddies invaded the green, jumping in celebration, ignoring the fact that Olazabal still had to take his shot. The Spaniard eventually rolled his putt slightly wide meaning Leonard was one up with one to play and the US had claimed the trophy back.

1 – Wood You Believe It (Seve Ballesteros, 1983)

Seve Ballesteros was one of golf’s great mavericks and at PGA National he pulled off something his fellow players thought was impossible from a small patch of Palm Beach sand. All square with US opponent Fuzzy Zoeller, the buccaneering Spaniard was in trouble at the par-5 last, having landed in a high-lipped fairway bunker some 245 yards shy of the hole. Watching team-mate Bernhard Langer expected to see Ballesteros reach for a 7-iron and take a couple of shots to negotiate the water hazards beyond and reach the green. Ballesteros pulled out a 3-wood. Langer described what happened next as “still the most miraculous shot I have ever seen”. Using immense strength and a magician’s touch, Ballesteros propelled the ball clear of the bunker’s lip, drew it over the lake and onto the green, eventually claiming a half point from Zoeller. Sadly the TV coverage on the day missed what Langer and US captain Jack Nicklaus regarded as the greatest shot they had ever witnessed. So we’ll just have to take their word for it.