Spirited Sergio was the heartbeat of the team
By Sandy Lyle, Europe vice-captain
Whenever I see Sergio Garcia playing for Europe, I am reminded of the words of Martina Navratilova, expressing the belief that you are either committed to your sport, or merely involved. "And therein lies a world of difference," she explained. "Think of ham and eggs. The chicken is involved, the pig is committed." In the nicest possible way, when it comes to the Ryder Cup, Sergio is a committed young swine.
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If Monty has become the 'Rock of Europe', then like Seve Ballesteros before him, it is Sergio who has emerged as the spiritual leader, all pumping-fist aggression. At 26, he may have been a baby at the K Club, but whenever there was a serious opinion to be expressed or, contrastingly, a light-hearted aside needed to ease the tension in the team room, guess whose voice was invariably heard above all others?
While Field Marshal Montgomerie was always going to be first out of the trenches in the singles, Sergio, having taken a maximum four points from the previous two days' action, left no one in any doubt that he wanted to be right behind the big fella at No 2. He was not to know that Stewart Cink was lying in wait to shoot him down.
Although he was naturally disappointed not to make it five out of five, Sergio was swiftly back to his bubbly best, popping up here, there and everywhere to encourage his buddies as we moved towards the magical 14½-point mark.
To Henrik Stenson went the honour of joining the 'Man Who Holed The Putt That Won The Ryder Cup' club, but no player did more to make our latest victory possible than Sergio, whose overall record in the contest now reads: played 20, won 14, halved two, lost four. And the wonderful thought for future captains to bask in is he could still be playing in 2020!
And what can I say about Monty? Leading from the front yet again in his eighth Ryder Cup, he maintained his unbeaten run in singles dating back to 1991, when he halved with Mark Calcavecchia on his debut, with a fighting one-hole victory over David Toms. I know that deep in his heart of hearts Monty still dreams of winning a major, but he can rest assured that his place among British golf's all-time greats – not to mention the nation's undying affections – is already assured.
Woosie and his team of advisers have been at pains to create a family atmosphere in the camp, which explains why Sergio, Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson, our only three losers on a wondrous final afternoon, were treated like the heroes they were when they returned to the bosom of their 'family'. Over three days, everyone played their parts and then some.
The manner of our victory was also a personal triumph for Woosie, who was captain fantastic (apart from one or two of his 'fashion' decisions, that is) from day one. Before the contest began, Woosie told me: "Nothing in golf compares with standing on the first tee on the opening day. You feel like throwing up – I always had a swift look around to check the whereabouts of the nearest bush. Playing in the Masters is easy by comparison because the only person you can let down is yourself."
Well, I think my wee pal has discovered something equally nerve-racking – being captain. If anyone watching or listening was disappointed that we didn't have the nail-biting finales of 1995 and 1997, say, then they should have been out on the course at the K Club, where the air of excitement was unremitting.
So what of my own ambitions to be Ryder Cup captain one day? Nick Faldo will lead the team at the Valhalla Club in Kentucky in two years' time but, having been so closely involved at the K Club, perhaps my turn will come at Celtic Manor in 2010. If we can have a Welshman in Ireland then why not a Scot in Wales? I would regard the honour as my third major.
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