When the Irishman prevailed 7 and 6, he and Finsterwald refused to shake hands. The nightlong entreaties of their teammates did not change either mind. Match play, as the low-handicapper Siggie Freud would have said, has everything to do with why Ryder Cup matches are so unusually contentious. And so does the fact that this is not only a team competition, but a nationalistic team rivalry involving countries once at great odds. That means you're not only watching the other fellow, you're wishing him ill.
Matches can turn around quickly.
And if the other guy makes eight on a hole, that doesn't give you any margin because it's just one hole, not four shots. They don't regularly bear upon their shoulders any responsibility to teammates or to, indeed, their countrymen. You feel guilty, tense, irritable. The rule change has had the desired effect, with the States winning six of the past 11 meetings, Europe winning four, and one being halved. As the competition has risen, so has the heat.