Taymouth's Time Arrives As Kenmore Lose Their Grip On The Rider Cup
The sun started to rise on Friday 19th September in the Lincolnshire town of Grantham. Just 3 miles north, the calm and tranquillity around the Belton Woods resort was about to be shattered. The Kenmore and Taymouth teams were in town, and a rivalry ready to reignite over the fairways, greens, trees and water of the Lakes and Woods courses. The 4th edition of The Rider Cup was just hours away from getting started.
Taymouth Captain, Craig Roberts was one of the first to arrive; making endless runs back and forward with a seemingly never-ending sea of merchandise and trinkets for his team. There were hats, gilets, flags, posters and banners; leaving no one in any doubt that his team were ready to make a statement. Kenmore's opposite number, Gary Cornelius, also had some gifts to present to his team whilst handing over a commemorative pennant, bottle of Kenmore whisky and bucket hat to his fellow skipper.
Everyone was poised and ready to go. Anticipation had reached new levels. Roberts, taking a different approach to others before him, hadn't informed his side of what order they were going out in; just who their playing partner would be for the opening Friday Foursomes. The players gathered for the opening ceremony and were shown a video to get things underway:
The Captains then addressed the room, ready to announce who would be playing who, but in a slight twist from previous Rider Cups; it was announced that another video had been produced to show the pairings:
It had been agreed that, due to the odd numbers in 2025, the opening match in both the Foursomes and Fourballs would be singles ties. The pairings for the opening session were as follows:
Match 1 - Jason Kerr vs. Paul Matuszczyk
Match 2 - Adam Duncan & Miles Shaw vs. Alex Keir & Baz Ramsay
Match 3 - Blair Reid & James Cornelius vs. Ian Baird & Anton Mowatt
Match 4 - Gary Cornelius & Steven Rodgers vs. John McLuckie & Craig Roberts
Match 5 - John Bruce & Dave Cook vs. Steven Roberts & Chris Taylor
Unbelievably, the draw meant that the two opposing Captains had been drawn to play each other in the opening session across every Rider Cup to date. It also pitted some now famous rivalries together; Baz Ramsay once again facing up to Adam Duncan, John Bruce and Steven Roberts playing against each other, with Craig Roberts and Steven Rodgers renewing battle too.
Roberts had chosen to send out one of his Rider Cup rookies, Ian Baird, with the returning Anton Mowatt. Whilst the other debutant, Chris Taylor, had a strong looking pairing with Steven Roberts.
It felt like the opening match was going to be crucial to the overall outcome of day 1. Kenmore's Kerr won the 1st hole to put blue on the board early but his joy was short-lived. Matuszczyk won the next 4 in a row to go 3up through 5. In the second game, Duncan and Shaw got off to a flyer by racing into a 3up lead through 3. Keir and Ramsay offered some resistance by halving the 4th but lost the 5th to a par 3 to find themselves 4down through just 5 holes. Keir was now in danger of suffering his first ever defeat in The Rider Cup.
Match 3 was swinging both ways. After halving the 1st hole in bogey 6s, the next 6 holes would be traded as Baird and Mowatt went 2up through 5, before losing the 6th and 7th to be all square through 7. It looked like it would be a tight game. The draw for the bottom two matches favoured Taymouth, on paper, with their two strongest pairings looking to deliver points. Captain Roberts, reprising his successful partnership with John McLuckie from the previous year, started strongly by going 2up through 2. However, Captain Cornelius and Steven Rodgers started to fight back. The Kenmore pair won the 3rd and 4th to get back level but, incredibly, there were to be no halved holes on the whole front 9 in this match. McLuckie and Roberts won the next two with a par and a birdie, before Cornelius and Rodgers took advantage of a dip in form from the Taymouth pair by taking the 7th, 8th and 9th and finding themselves 1up at the turn.
If that match looked like potentially providing a shock, the bottom game was much more on script. Roberts and Taylor won the 1st hole after a fine bunker shot from Taylor but surrendered that advantage at the 3rd. After halving the 4th, the Taymouth pair won the next 3 in a row to go 3up through 7 before some resistance was offered by Bruce and Cook by taking the 9th to be 2down at the halfway point of the match.
Back in the top game, Matuszczyk had reached the turn 4up after losing the 6th but winning the 7th and 8th. It looked like the man who had missed out at Forest Pines was going to get Taymouth off to a flying start. Kerr needed to start winning holes and that he did, taking the 10th, 11th and 13th in between surrendering the 12th. Having pegged his opponent back to just 2, Matuszczyk then played a lovely chip into the par 4, 14th to restore a 3up advantage with just 4 holes to play.
Match 2 was still going Kenmore's way. Keir and Ramsay had stemmed the bleeding by winning the 6th hole but Duncan and Shaw won the 9th and 10th to go 5up. A superb birdie 2 from the Taymouth team on the 11th gave them some much needed confidence and they backed it up with a win on the 12th to apply some pressure. With Adam Duncan determined to get one over on Baz Ramsay again, the Kenmore pair re-found their form and won the 13th to go 4up with 5 to play. The match would be over on the par 4, 14th as Duncan and Shaw made a par to seal the point for Kenmore with a 5&4 victory.
The 3rd match was still close. Reid and Cornelius won the par 5, 9th to go 1up and kept that advantage until the 13th, where they added to it to go 2up with 5 to play. The second point of the day would soon be recorded though as Matuszczyk closed out an impressive win in the top match. Having halved the 15th, the Taymouth man was dormie 3 and closed it out at the very next hole, sealing a 4&2 victory over Jason Kerr.
It seemed the surprise of reaching the turn 1down had spurred McLuckie and Roberts into life. Pars were good enough to win the 10th and 11th, before a birdie at the par 5, 12th put them 2up. Another run of pars at the 13th and 14th was good enough to establish a 3up lead as they reached the par 4, 15th. Another birdie would close out the match in style with a 4&3 victory.
The result was tough on Cornelius and Rodgers who had battled hard but come up against a pair who played the back 9 in -2 with some superb golf. It left the match at 2-1 to Taymouth with 2 games out on the course.
The bottom match was showing no signs of turning for Kenmore. Bruce and Cook missed good opportunities at the 10th and 12th to win holes, whilst surrendering the 11th to go 3down again. Bruce sank a putt on the par 4, 13th to win the hole and get back to within 2 but that hope was quickly extinguished as Roberts and Taylor won the 14th and 15th to close out the game 4&2. It was a solid start for debutant Taylor, whilst Roberts had the bragging rights over Bruce by taking a 3-2 lead in their personal Rider Cup battle.
Much was now riding on the final game on course. Not since the opening session of The Rider Cup at Wokefield in 2022 had a team won a session 4-1. Reid and Cornelius had to hold off Baird and Mowatt to avoid that from happening. The Kenmore pair secured halves at the 14th, 15th and 16th to keep their 2up advantage with just 2 to play. Kenmore needed the full point and at the tricky par 3, 17th they got it. A bogey 4 was good enough to seal the match 3&1 and ensure it had been another tight session to start the weekend. It was a tough start for Ian Baird to Rider Cup life, whilst Anton Mowatt was left still searching for his first ever point in the competition. Blair Reid had no such issue, keeping up his 100% record with another win.
Taymouth had the advantage, just as they enjoyed at Forest Pines. The Captains now had to decide their order for the fourballs on the Saturday ahead of the announcement that evening. There were big decisions to be made. Would Captain Roberts stick with Matuszczyk as his single player after his successful win over Jason Kerr? Would he keep together the pairings who had performed well for him on the Friday?
For Captain Cornelius, there was the challenge of getting back into the match and ensuring there wasn't too much to do come Sunday. Having already chosen his pairings for the Saturday, would he alter the plan after the result of day 1?
The pairings were announced as follows:
Match 1 - Blair Reid vs. Paul Matuszczyk
Match 2 - Miles Shaw & Jason Kerr vs. Chris Taylor & Anton Mowatt
Match 3 - James Cornelius & Gary Cornelius vs. Alex Keir & Craig Roberts
Match 4 - John Bruce & Steven Rodgers vs. Ian Baird & John McLuckie
Match 5 - Adam Duncan & Dave Cook vs. Steven Roberts & Baz Ramsay
Kenmore looked to have gambled with their selection of the unbeaten Blair Reid as the single player, hoping that he would be strong enough to get a point against whoever he came up against. The draw once again pitted Baz Ramsay and Adam Duncan together, Ramsay consoling himself with the fact that his only previous win over Duncan had come with Steven Roberts in the Fourballs at Heron's Reach two years prior.
Taymouth would certainly fancy their chances in match 2, with the debutant Taylor performing well on the Friday. They also had a strong pairing out in match 4 with Baird and McLuckie, who would be tough to beat. For the second session in a row, the two Captains would also be facing off, as Gary Cornelius reprised his partnership with brother James after their successful comeback on the Saturday in the previous year.
With all to play for, the top match started evenly. Matuszczyk was using his shots well to halve the opening 3 holes with Reid before losing the 4th to a par 3 from the Kenmore man, who would lead 1up through 5. In the 2nd match, Taylor and Mowatt won the 1st to get off to the perfect start. However, Shaw and Kerr showed that they weren't for rolling over by winning the 3rd and 4th holes; before surrendering their advantage at the par 5, 5th.
Match 3, involving the Captains, kept swinging one way then the next. The Cornelius brothers won the 1st for Kenmore with a 5 nett 4 from James before Craig Roberts made par at the 2nd to go level. Gary Cornelius then used one of his strokes at the 3rd to put Kenmore head again but Roberts responded at the par 3, 4th with a par to tie things up. The match then moved in Taymouth's favour as Roberts won the 5th and Keir won the 7th to put the pair 2up.
The most unexpected start of the day came in match 4 on the course. The strong pair of McLuckie and Baird found themselves losing the first to a nett birdie from Bruce and that was followed up by Rodgers using his strokes to win the 2nd. It got even better for the Kenmore pair as they won the 3rd to go 3up. Despite losing the 4th to a McLuckie par, Kenmore regained the 3up advantage at the par 4, 6th as Bruce made a par that wasn't matched.
In the bottom match, Roberts and Ramsay knew they needed a fast start against Duncan and Cook to put them on the back foot. After halving the 1st using Roberts' shot on Duncan, they won the 2nd by the same method, before Ramsay used his shots to win the 3rd with a nett birdie. 2up soon became 3up at the par 3, 4th as Ramsay made another nett birdie. Being 3up through 4 was a dream start for the Taymouth pair and the first sign of a response came from Dave Cook, who secured a nett birdie of his own at the 6th.
Back out in front, Paul Matuszczyk won the 6th hole to draw level with Blair Reid but got into trouble at the par 5, 7th and found himself 1down again. Both men traded the 8th and 9th with pars, which left Kenmore's Reid 1up at the turn but facing 5 holes in a row where he was giving away shots. It proved to be a crucial period of the game as Matuszczyk sensationally won the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th to go 4up with 4 to play and on the verge of a staggering result.
Match 2 was also turning the way of Taymouth. Anton Mowatt won the 6th with a nett birdie before both Taylor and Mowatt made pars at the 7th to go 2up. Miles Shaw reduced the deficit with a nett birdie at the 8th and both he and Kerr used their stroke to halve the 9th. The big Welshman was having a good day for Kenmore and his score at the 10th was enough to take the hole and bring the tie back to level. Taylor, however, was also playing well and his par at the 12th nudged Taymouth ahead again.
Coming up behind that tight match, Roberts and Keir had reached the turn 3up on team Cornelius. Alex Keir's bogey at the 9th was enough to take the hole but Gary Cornelius responded with an excellent nett par at the 10th to get back to within 2 holes. With James having an off day for Kenmore, Gary continued to battle on and was denied a win after a par at the 12th as Roberts responded with a par of his own. The two Captains halved the 13th before Keir took the par 5, 14th to move Taymouth back to 3up with just 4 holes to play.
Kenmore desperately needed something to go their way and their main hope rested with Bruce and Rodgers. The pair had been pegged back by an excellent John McLuckie birdie on the 7th but had immediately hit back with a win at the 8th, courtesy of Rodgers' stroke. Bruce and McLuckie halved the 9th in pars before Rodgers again used his strokes sensibly to win the 10th and put Kenmore 4up. The 11th, 12th and 13th holes were halved, leaving Bruce and Rodgers 4up with just 5 to play and on the verge of a fantastic win.
The team in navy blue were now looking at the back of the field and hoping that Duncan, so often their talisman, could pull off a comeback against Roberts and Ramsay. Three time Breadalbane winner Roberts had gone on a charge round the turn, securing a birdie at the par 5, 7th to win the hole and then birdying the par 4, 9th to put him and Ramsay 4up at the turn. That soon became 5up as Roberts won the 10th hole using a stroke to get a nett birdie over Duncan's par. Kenmore's best player wasn't for giving up through and he won the 12th with a par, before following up with another on the 13th to get back to just 3down.
Matuszczyk would be the first to confirm a point for his side on day 2. A bogey 4 at the par 3, 15th was good enough as Reid could only match his score; confirming a 4&3 win for the Taymouth man and a first ever Rider Cup defeat for his opponent. It appeared to be a day of unfancied results as the next match to be confirmed would finish on the same green. Bruce and Rodgers had lost the 14th to another McLuckie birdie but Rodgers found the green at the par 3, 15th with a stroke to use. With Baird and McLuckie both missing the green, one of them had to get up and down to keep the pressure on and Baird duly delivered. However, Rodgers kept his cool to make a nett birdie and secure a 4&3 win for himself and Bruce.
Just up ahead at the par 5, 16th were the two Captains. After halving the 15th, Roberts and Keir were dormie 3. Needing only to secure a half for the match, the pair went one better as Roberts rolled in his par putt and Keir added the icing on the cake with a birdie 4 to seal the win by 4&2 for Taymouth. In a match that, on paper, had seemed like it could go either way; it was a comfortable enough win for the pair from Ayrshire. The session now sat 2-1 Taymouth and Kenmore were in danger of losing touch in the match.
Back in the final game, Duncan and Cook couldn't better Roberts and Ramsay at the 14th and 15th holes; finding themselves also dormie 3. Duncan was determined to get something for his side and recorded a birdie at the 16th to keep the match alive. The tricky 17th hole lay in wait but Roberts was stroking on Duncan with Cook and Ramsay also receiving 2 shots each on the hole. With Cook finding trouble, Duncan made his par. However, Steven Roberts had found the green in regulation and knew he needed only a 5 to confirm another Taymouth point. He secured his par 4 to take the match 3&1.
And so all eyes turned to match 2, which had reached the 18th. After trading the 13th and 14th, the Taymouth pair of Taylor and Mowatt had still been 1up; maintaining that advantage until the 17th tee. With Taylor making a par 4, Miles Shaw matched his efforts but with his stroke took the hole to bring Kenmore level in the tie. Taymouth were 3-1 ahead in the session and 6-3 ahead overall so it was now vital for Kenmore to get anything from the game and avoid being 4 points behind heading into the singles. With Miles Shaw just off the green in 4 at the par 5, it looked like all was to play for. However, the Kenmore man sunk his putt to secure a nett birdie and take the final hole to give him and Kerr a 1up victory.
In a day of unexpected results, there had been drama right until the last moment with Kenmore hoping that the vital point could propel them to yet another Sunday fightback. For Roberts and his Taymouth team, they would have taken a 6-4 lead heading into the final day and the Captain himself would be confident having secured his 5th Rider Cup point in a row heading towards the singles. For Baz Ramsay too, there was the joy of finally getting one over on Adam Duncan, whilst Steven Roberts would head into the singles matches with 2 wins from 2. The biggest mention of all, however, was reserved for Matuszczyk who had twice led the Taymouth team from the front and delivered maximum points.
The singles draw was going to be vital for both teams. Again, the Captains gathered with members of their squad to discuss tactics. Would Taymouth put their strong players out early to get the 4 points they needed to finally get their hands on the trophy? Having only needed 3.5 points on the Sunday at Forest Pines in 2024, there were similarities with the situation they found themselves in.
Kenmore too had to think carefully about how to deploy their team with the requirement to test Taymouth's resolve and get some matches going their way early. As always, the draw threw up some interesting match ups:
Match 1 - Dave Cook vs. Paul Matuszczyk
Match 2 - Adam Duncan vs. Chris Taylor
Match 3 - Blair Reid vs. Baz Ramsay
Match 4 - John Bruce vs. Craig Roberts
Match 5 - Steven Rodgers vs. Steven Roberts
Match 6 - Jason Kerr vs. John McLuckie
Match 7 - Gary Cornelius vs. Anton Mowatt
Match 8 - Miles Shaw vs. Ian Baird
Match 9 - James Cornelius vs. Alex Keir
Kenmore had gone big early with their three lowest handicap players out within the first four matches. Once again, Taymouth would have Matuszczyk lead off for them and had spread their stronger players across the line up. Steven Rodgers and Steven Roberts had drawn each other in the singles, as they had done in the first Rider Cup at Wokefield with the Kenmore man securing the point that won the trophy on that occasion. If the top matches went Taymouth's way, perhaps Roberts could get revenge?
With Kenmore needing a fast start on the Sunday, it was Taymouth who once again got it in match 1. Brimming with confidence from his weekend performance, Matuszczyk took the opening hole against Dave Cook before winning the 2nd and 3rd to go 3up through 3. The strategy of putting the stronger players out first needed to pay off and Adam Duncan got off to a flying start, winning the 1st and 3rd to go 2up through 3. Blair Reid was having a ding-dong start with Baz Ramsay, losing the 1st before hitting back at the 2nd and losing the 3rd to be 1down early on.
In the battle of Kilmarnock in match 4, John Bruce got off to a slow start against Taymouth's Captain; losing the 2nd hole before winning the 3rd to get level after Roberts found trouble off the tee. Bruce then won the par 3, 4th to go 1up and put some more blue on the board. Steven Rodgers made a strong start too, winning the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th against Steven Roberts whilst only giving one back at the 2nd to lead 3up through 6.
Was the tide turning again?
In the matches at the bottom of the draw, Taymouth would be looking at John McLuckie to deliver a point against Jason Kerr and the former Captain looked to be on track by being 6up through 6 on the beleaguered Kenmore man. The tie between Gary Cornelius and Anton Mowatt was much closer. Cornelius won the 2nd before Mowatt took the 3rd. The match remained all square through 5 before Cornelius won the 6th to get his nose in front.
More blue was on the board early in the penultimate match as Miles Shaw, fresh from his Saturday heroics, went 1up at the 1st against Ian Baird. The Taymouth man, under pressure to deliver a point for the side having lost on Friday and Saturday; hit back with pars at the 3rd and 4th to put himself 1up through 5. The final match saw Alex Keir get off to a strong start as Kenmore's James Cornelius looked to be suffering a continuation of his form from the previous day. Keir was 2up through 2 but Cornelius showed his resolve by winning the 4th, 5th and 6th to go 1up himself.
There was now plenty of blue on the board, with the projected score showing Kenmore taking the win at 10.5 - 8.5. But there was a lot of golf to be played and there was a growing nervousness around all the tight matches in the field. Matuszczyk was still leading the way at the front. Dave Cook had fought back, winning 3 out of 4 holes to get within 1 through 8. However, the Taymouth player kept his composure and won the 9th, 10th and 12th on the way to restoring his 3up advantage with just 6 to play. It looked like he could deliver one of the four points required.
One game that wasn't going Taymouth's way was match 2. After losing the 4th hole to Chris Taylor, Adam Duncan won the 5th, 6th and 7th; birdying both par 5s, to move 4up through 8. Taylor had no answer to Duncan's form and the Kenmore star won the 9th and 10th before another birdie won the 12th and the match 7&6. It was the first confirmed point of the final day and brought the score back to 6-5 overall.
Blair Reid was also starting to turn the screw for Kenmore. After drawing level at the 4th, Reid won the 6th, 7th and 9th to go 3up at the turn. Baz Ramsay, keen to avoid the horrors of Forest Pines and desperate to deliver a point for Taymouth, was staring at another defeat. The match between Kenmore's Rodgers and Taymouth's Steven Roberts was catching the eye. After winning the 7th and then the 8th, with an excellent birdie 2; Roberts looked to be turning the tie around. However, Rodgers doubled down on his steady Saturday form and took the 9th and 10th holes to keep his 3up advantage. Roberts kept himself in the game with a fantastic up and down for par on the 12th but lost the 13th to go 4down with just 5 to play. It looked like Rodgers was going to claim a massive point for Kenmore and defeat Roberts in the singles again.
Taymouth's Captain meanwhile was continuing to have a close match with John Bruce. Roberts won the 6th with an excellent nett birdie before Bruce took the 7th and 8th to put daylight between them for the first time at 2up. The man so often maligned for his lack of bottle would show that he had found some though, using his strokes effectively to win the 9th and 10th to draw level. Bruce produced a birdie at the 12th to regain the advantage but it was nip and tuck.
If that match was looking close, John McLuckie and Jason Kerr's was anything but. McLuckie won the opening 9 holes to be dormie at the turn. Kerr managed to win the 10th hole but simply delayed the inevitable as the pair halved the 11th to end the match 8&7. It was a rather different ending for the Kenmore man, having been the hero at Forest Pines with his win sealing the retention of The Rider Cup. McLuckie had delivered the point that would have been expected from him and with the confirmed score now 7-5, Taymouth needed only 3 points.
It looked like Ian Baird and Alex Keir were their best bets in the bottom matches. Baird had won the 6th and 7th to go 3up on Miles Shaw and would hold that advantage to the turn. Shaw won the 10th but Baird took the 12th and 13th with solid pars to move 4up with 5 to play; the Kenmore man flagging at the end of a long weekend. Keir had reached the turn all square against James Cornelius but won the 11th with a par 3 and then extended his advantage at the 13th and 14th to sit 3up with 4 to play.
Blair Reid would be the next to secure a point for his side. Having won the 12th to go 4up, Reid had a mini wobble by losing the 13th and 14th to find himself back to just a 2 hole advantage. However, after halving the 15th, Reid won the 16th with a par 5 to seal a 3&2 victory and atone for his defeat the previous day. For his opponent, Ramsay, it was another singles defeat but he was hoping it wouldn't be the same final outcome come the close of the match. The confirmed score now read just 7-6 to Taymouth.
In the first match, Matuszczyk was losing his grip on the point that had looked assured from early on. Dave Cook won the 14th and followed it up with a solid par on the 15th to get back to just 1down with 3 to play. Nerves were getting the better of both as they halved the par 5, 16th with triple bogey 8s. The 17th hole was next, with the body of water daunting in the middle of the fairway. Cook had struggled on the hole the previous day and it would prove to be his undoing again as he allowed Matuszczyk to win the hole and the match 2&1.
Taymouth now led 8-6 and the elusive trophy was within touching distance.
Back down the fairways of Belton Woods, Ian Baird was closing in on another point for the team in white. After halving the 14th, Baird was dormie 4 and a par 3 at the short 15th hole could not be bettered by Shaw as the debutant finally secured his first point of the weekend with a 4&3 victory. For Kenmore's Welshman, it was yet another singles defeat with him yet to record a point during Sunday play.
The overall score was 9-6, Taymouth now only needed 1 point. At Forest Pines, they had only needed a 0.5 point and failed to see it out; could the class of 2025 see the job through?
One of the key matches looked like being Kenmore's Captain Gary Cornelius against Anton Mowatt. Cornelius had won the 8th and 9th to go 2up at the turn but Mowatt, still to record a point in Rider Cup history, was fighting hard. He won the 10th before producing a solid par at the 12th to draw level. Mowatt led for the first time in the match at the par 4, 13th after both players got into trouble and it was a similar story at the next hole but this time Cornelius managed to get back to all square. At the par 3, 15th the Kenmore Captain made par to go ahead again with just 3 holes to play.
Up ahead, Steven Roberts had started to mount a fightback in his battle with Steven Rodgers. After winning the 14th, a par at the 15th was good enough to take that hole too; suddenly he was only 2down with 3 to play. Roberts kept the pressure up by making another par on the 16th and Rodgers narrowly missed a putt to halve the hole. His lead had evaporated and he was now 1up with 2 to play. With Rodgers receiving 2 shots on the 17th, it looked like a good chance for him to close out the game. Neither man played the hole well but Rodgers found water with his second shot and ended up halving the hole to go dormie 1.
The match between Bruce and Taymouth skipper Roberts was still close too. Roberts had used his strokes well to win the 13th and 14th to lead for the first time since the 2nd hole. The Kenmore man knew he needed to deliver a point for his side and secured pars at both the 15th and 16th to take the holes and move the match back in his favour. Roberts had a stroke to use on the 17th but got into trouble off the tee and could only make a nett bogey. That left Bruce with a putt to seal the match but his narrow miss meant the game would go down the 18th in the same position as Roberts and Rodgers, dormie 1 to Kenmore.
Kenmore knew they needed two full points from the matches to keep the pressure on. However, Rodgers picked an unfortunate moment to make an error off the tee and Steven Roberts took full advantage; a superb birdie 4 winning the hole and securing a vital 0.5 point from being 4 down with 5 to play. His Captain wouldn't be able to pull off the same heroics as Bruce safely secured his par on the final hole and won the match 2UP. It was a first defeat of the weekend for the Taymouth Captain but he had battled hard in a close match.
The confirmed score was now 9.5-7.5; Taymouth needed a 0.5 point again and there were only two live matches left on the course.
Suddenly everyone was glued to their phones, looking for live updates from those behind.
James Cornelius was fighting hard, trying to test Alex Keir's mettle. A par at the 15th had won Kenmore the hole and a bogey at the 16th was also good enough to bring Cornelius back to 1 down with 2 to play. He was receiving a stroke on the par 4, 17th too; it looked like he could make the fightback.
Up ahead, his brother Gary had lost the 16th to give up his slender advantage on Mowatt. The Taymouth man had a stroke on the 17th and used it perfectly to win the hole with a nett bogey and move 1up for only the 2nd time in the match. With Cornelius and Keir behind on the 17th tee; The Rider Cup was over. Mowatt couldn't lose being dormie 1 and had secured the vital 0.5 point that Taymouth needed. It seemed poetic; that the man who had previously failed to win a point should be the one to secure the victory for the team without a Rider Cup win.
However, there still seemed a reluctance to celebrate, Captain Roberts asking repeatedly if it was actually over. There would be no such dubiety moments later as Alex Keir won the 17th to secure a 2&1 victory over James Cornelius in the anchor match and move the confirmed scores to 10.5-7.5.
Roberts leapt into the arms of his Taymouth team mates, the relief palpable after three difficult years of Kenmore rule. The Captain then jumped in a buggy and headed back down the 18th to celebrate with his team still out on the course. Mowatt even secured a 2UP win down the 18th to make the final score look more comfortable than it probably ever felt at any point during the day.
When the dust had settled on what had been another extraordinary battle between the two teams, the performance from Taymouth had been as dominant as Kenmore's in the first ever Rider Cup. Winning every session along the way to victory, they had finally delivered when it mattered.
For Taymouth, everyone in the team had contributed a point across the weekend. An outstanding Paul Matuszczyk had led the way with maximum points but Steven Roberts had also finished the weekend unbeaten in his best ever Rider Cup showing for the team:
Taymouth | Friday Foursomes | Saturday Fourballs | Sunday Singles | Total |
Ian Baird | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Alex Keir | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Paul Matuszczyk | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
John McLuckie | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Anton Mowatt | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Baz Ramsay | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Craig Roberts (c) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Steven Roberts | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
Chris Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
For Team Kenmore, it had been a difficult weekend for Captain Gary Cornelius; who failed to score a point, along with Dave Cook. The three lowest handicap players all delivered 2 points in Duncan, Bruce and Reid and Miles Shaw secured his best ever Rider Cup performance by joining them on 2 out of 3 for the weekend:
Kenmore | Friday Foursomes | Saturday Fourballs | Sunday Singles | Total |
John Bruce | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Dave Cook | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
James Cornelius | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Gary Cornelius (c) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Adam Duncan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Jason Kerr | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Blair Reid | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Steven Rodgers | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
Miles Shaw | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
All that was left to do was to present the deserving winners with the much coveted trophy. Taymouth's quest to the top of the mountain had been completed, questions about their bottle answered. All the mocking put to one side for a moment of joy, no doubt mixed with relief, at ending the hoodoo.
As Roberts lifted the trophy and his team held him aloft, he let out a cry into the skys above Belton Woods.
"You know!" he proclaimed to the Kenmore charges watching on.
They did know. There was no doubt and no complaints.
Taymouth had won The Rider Cup.
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