Charlie’s Corner: Pressure Makes Ryder Cup Great

Welcome to Charlie's Corner, the blog home for Golf Channel analyst Charlie Rymer. A lifelong Myrtle Beach golfer, Rymer, with his characteristic wit and unique perspective, will be weighing in on all things golf for Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.

Here's what I like most about the Ryder Cup: it's an event that makes the guys with the deep pocketbooks nervous.

That's what I can relate to as a former player. And I'm not talking about the deep pocketbook part. 

I like seeing the Phil's and Tiger's of the world wide eyed and nervous. I mean really nervous.  Not the kind of nervous involved in trying to win an umpteenth major.  Miss winning by a shot and still win a million bucks.  Ha! That's not pressure.

I'm talking the real deal. The kind of pressure you feel when you have to par the last hole at Q-school to earn a job for the following year.  The kind of pressure you feel when you are coming off 6 consecutive missed cuts, the mortgage is due, the wife is pregnant, and you have to birdie 2 of the last 3 on Friday afternoon to make the cut. 

That's the world I knew as a player. That's why I like watching the Ryder Cup.

These guys genuinely feel the heat. They want it. They know the world is watching. It's golf's biggest stage. They know they only get so many opportunities in a career at Ryder Cup glory. 

The choke potential is there. And for me, that's when things are the most interesting. So if the veterans are feeling the heat you can only imagine what it will be like for the rookies.  And newcomers will play a large role in the 2010 Ryder Cup. Of the 24 players competing, 11 are rookies.

How those 11 golfers cope with the pressure will likely determine the outcome.  And watching all this drama unfold has the potential to make this the most exciting Ryder Cup in history.