BROOKLINE COUNTRY CLUB

There are pros and cons for the European team in the choice of Brookline Country Club in Massachusetts for the 1999 Ryder Cup.

It is a traditional course, much more like a British club than the lush, target golf set-ups so common in the US. But history is against anything but a win for the home side.

In 1913, American Francis Ouimet won the US Open, beating the formidable British duo of Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a play-off.

US teams thrashed the British in the 1932 and 1973 Walker Cups and Curtis Strange beat Nick Faldo in a play-off for the 1988 US Open.

The Country Club in Brookline was founded in 1882 and was one of the original members of the Amateur Golf Association of America. It is steeped in history, a highly exclusive place to play golf and a club which guards its privacy jealously.

But from September 24- 26, it throws open its doors for the 33rd Ryder Cup.

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