The Ryder Cup just hits differently.
Like the Super Bowl and the World Cup, golf’s moment of grandeur is enough to knock anybody off their stride.
An event steeped in tradition, the Ryder Cup leaves an indelible mark on those that are given the honour to compete.
But that privilege can come with a level of both trepidation and patriotism that no other event of golf’s packed schedule can offer.
The pressure and expectancy can weigh heavy on the most experienced of players as felt by 2014 Ryder Cup hero Jamie Donaldson.
The Welshman produced one of the event’s all-time iconic moments when he secured the winning point for Europe with a wedge shot onto the 15th green at Gleneagles to beat Team USA’s Keegan Bradley 4&3.
But before he had even reached the spectacular climax, Donaldson had a little wobble of his own amid the chaos of opening day.
Keeping your emotions in check
“Oh, it’s unbelievable. I mean, honestly, you just don’t think your legs are going to get you there,” Donaldson told talkSPORT.
“Asked how he dealt with his nerves at the tee, Donaldson said: “You’re a bit sort of jelly legged, you’re walking, it’s a long walk through tunnels and stuff.
“Underneath crowds at Gleneagles to get there quickly so you didn’t have to barge through and stuff like that.
“But weirdly, the closer you get to the tee, this surge of adrenaline hits your body like nothing else.
“You’ll never feel like playing any other golf tournament.
“You can be coming down the stretch in a big event and you won’t feel it. Not like that.”
He continued: “It’s just totally different, it’s the amount of adrenaline in your system.
“You get on that first tee and you hit the ball, provided you make good contact, obviously, it goes so much further than it would do normally.
“It’s just pumping through your veins. You just want to bounce around.
“If one of them [Team USA member] walked into you, you’d be ready to go. You’re just on edge, you’re bouncing.”
More money, more problems
Ryder Cup pay has been the hot topic of discussion in the lead up to the Bethpage Black event.
Unlike their Team USA counterparts, European players are not financially rewarded for their Ryder Cup efforts.
All 12 American players, including captain Keegan Bradley, will be given $500,000 (£370,000), with $300,000 (£220,000) of it donated to charity.
Then, each player can decide what they choose to do with the remaining money.
Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele have already committed to donating their earnings in full but it remains to be seen what their teammates choose to do.
Donaldson says Team Europe’s method of not paying players is the right call and helps strip the experience back to its purest form.
“The fact that you don’t get paid and you feel things on that first tee, walking to the first tee, hitting off the first tee. That buzz that you don’t get in any other golf tournament, shouldn’t be paid,” he added.
“You don’t want to be paid. The fact is that it’s golf in its purest form.
“To play golf as a team is amazing but to play under that pressure, you don’t need money.
“Money kind of spoils things in a way because it’s just pure adrenaline, you can’t replicate it.”
