There’s a whole lot more work as vice-captain than as a player but Paul Lawrie is having “brilliant fun” as he tastes the Ryder Cup experience from the back room team rather than the team itself.
Lawrie famously played in Ryder Cups 13 years apart in 1999 and 2012 – the biggest gap of any player in history – both in America and arguably the two most dramatic in history.
But at Brookline for the US comeback from 10-6 down and Medinah for Europe’s epic victory four years ago, what happened behind the scenes didn’t even occur to the Scot.
“As a player, you know very little of what is going on behind the scenes and you don’t really want to know the arrangements or what the vice-captains are talking about,” said Lawrie, one of Darren Clarke’s three initial picks as vice-captain for Hazeltine this week.
“As a player, all you want to know what time you have to be there, knowing that everyone else has taken care of all the arrangements for the week.
“But this time, there’a a lot of stuff to do, and it’s amazing to be honest. While Darren is in charge and has the final say, he runs things past the vice-captains much more than I thought.
“We’re all on a Whatsapp group and every day there are messages. It’s a lot more work than I thought it would be but that’s not a moan as I am really enjoying it. You’re involved much more than I thought.
“And there’s great banter among all the vice-captains. Sam is really good, as is Padraig, while Clarkey has always been a bit of a wind-up merchant. It’s been brilliant fun.”
The feeling of anticipation is much different for Lawrie, knowing that the pressure to perform is not there this time.
“All you can do is chat to the players and help prepare them the best you can by passing on your experience,” he continued. “There are players on the team who have way more experience than me when it comes to the Ryder Cup but there are also a lot of young players and rookies in the team who the vice-captains can help.
“The two matches I played in were both away from home. The only Ryder Cup I know as a player is the one these rookies are going to face and I think that was one of the reasons that Darren asked me to be a vice-captain.”
The attitude in match has completely change for him as well.
“As a player all you are bothered about is your match, in fact they drum into you that all you can influence is the game you are playing at the time,” he said. “Whereas when you are a vice-captain you have a radio in your ear and know how every game is going.”
Lawrie’s experiences of the hostile environment at Brookline and Medinah are also likely to come in useful to the European cause.
“I’ve never experienced a home Ryder Cup as a player. I was at Gleneagles as a spectator and it was obviously loud and noisy,” he recalled. “But I definitely think playing away from home is that much harder.
“There were incidents in both the matches I played in that were over the top but they were still great experiences and good to be part of.
“More than any other event, you have to stand up and be counted in a Ryder Cup. You’ve got 11 team-mates that are relying on you to bring home a point and it’s quite frustrating when you don’t.
“You get down on yourself and it’s quite hard because we know how important the Ryder Cup is to the Tour. But the only way to deal with the pressure and the crowd is by making birdies. That’s the only way you can quieten them.
“So I’ve tried to pass that on the younger guys I’ve spoken to. You’ve got to enjoy it. You can’t go out there feeling pressure or feeling tight.
“You’ve got to love it as you will not have a better experience in your life than the Ryder Cup. That’s all you can pass on to them, really.”
