Paul Lawrie was part of the European team downed by a record-breaking American fightback at the Ryder Cup in 1999, and has said that reversing the roles 13 years later "doesn't get any better".
Lawrie: Cherishing role reversal
Lawrie lost only one game at the 1999 event in Boston, when America fought back from four points down to claim the cup in record-breaking fashion. Europe equaled that record at Medinah, and Lawrie played a crucial part with a 5&3 victory over FedEx Cup winner Brandt Snedeker.
"This obviously feels a lot better than '99," said Lawrie. "That was pretty tough - we were 10-6 ahead, the American team played fantastic and deservedly won.
"But today, especially at my age, to be part of this team and to come back from 10-6 behind on American soil, it doesn't get any better."
Sergio Garcia, whose 1 up win over Jim Furyk brought Europe level at Medinah, was another veteran of the 1999 loss. He suggested that keeping pressure on the American team, despite their dominant position going into the final day, had been vital.
"We knew if we got going early we needed to put the American team in a situation where we wanted to see how they felt with a bit more pressure on," said Garcia. "Obviously everything was going their way throughout the
whole week. They were making the putts, they were getting the good breaks here and there.
"We were just waiting to change that a little bit and see if we could do the same thing they did to us in '99 and see how they could react against that. I have been in that position, Lee has been in that position, Jose has been
in that position, obviously Paul has been in that position and we know how it feels - it's not easy.
"It was a combination of playing great and maybe then that little bit of pressure getting to them."
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