Golf: Interview with Superfan: “Picture of the Ryder Cup is on my mantel”

Europe vs. USA. On Friday, the Ryder Cup (8 am at LIVETICKER) begins on the Albatros course of the Le Golf National Golf Club near Paris.

What’s the meaning of this? Well, that means first and foremost that every decent European golf fan has been getting hotter every day for quite some time now.

For example, that he gets involved in permanent loop highlights from Miracle @Medinah, simply follows Ian Poulter on Twitter (of course Poults was the first player on the range on Monday morning, of course!) or simply “EUROPE! EUROPE! EUROPE! must bawl.

When asked who would be a suitable contact person for SPOX in the run-up to the Ryder Cup, the answer was quickly found: Stephen Atkinson. Stephen who?

Stephen Atkinson is a 56-year-old Englishman who made the headlines this year for writing a more than entertaining letter to European captain Thomas Björn in which he told him that he would not be available for a wildcard pick.

“With a heavy heart I have to tell you that I wish you wouldn’t consider me for this year’s Ryder Cup,” Atkinson wrote. Actually incomprehensible, as he also noted in his letter, Atkinson had just won the West Hill Monthly Medal and was in brutal shape.

Björn was visibly disappointed with the cancellation and paid Atkinson a surprise visit. How Atkinson experienced his time in the spotlight, he tells in the SPOX interview. Also: the ultimate Ryder Cup tip.

SPOX: Stephen, for those of you who didn’t notice, how did you get Björn to write a letter at all?

Stephen Atkinson: My kids kept teasing me that I said I could technically qualify for the Ryder Cup.

SPOX: Which is true.

Atkinson: Exactly. I currently have handicap 6. If I had gotten that down to 2 or 3, I could have made it to the British Amateur Championship in theory, then to the Open Championship in theory and then I could have gotten a wildcard. So clearly possible! (laughs)

SPOX: Absolutely. Would have been a miracle, but why not?

Atkinson: In any case, one day I had ten minutes left in the office and thought it would be funny if I cancelled Thomas. I found the address on the Internet and wrote the letter. I didn’t think anything of it, but seven days later all hell broke loose.

SPOX: Because suddenly Thomas Björn was in the flesh at your door.

Atkinson: I opened the door and couldn’t believe that Thomas was there. I was slightly shocked and thought to myself that this was all going completely out of control. (laughs) But of course I had the Sunday of my life. It was an indescribable experience. Now I have a picture of the Ryder Cup on my mantel.

SPOX: In your letter, you write that you are ranked 52,187th in the world.

Atkinson: 52,187 sounded somehow accurate to me. Well, I guess it’s not.

SPOX: And you write that you are the captain of the Babalou Golf Society. What can I imagine by that?

Atkinson: We are a small golf community that enjoys playing a nice round of golf and drinking a glass of wine. Not always in that order, please note here. (laughs)

SPOX: Didn’t you regret your cancellation? You may be in better shape than Sergio Garcia. But okay, his top 10 finish last week at the Portugal Masters gives hope.

Atkinson: I’m currently third in the Babalou Player of the Year League, but I’m still one of those who think the wild card for Sergio is the right choice.

SPOX: Really? Sure, his aura in the Team Room can’t be underestimated. Nevertheless, I somehow lack a Rafa Cabrera Bello and Matt Wallace has also played an outstanding year. Overall, are you satisfied with the European team?

Atkinson: Absolutely. I think Europe can offer a great mix of experienced players and rookies. The key will be that they will act as a real team in a European manner and the spectators will become a factor.

Page 1: Captain’s visit and Europe’s shape

Page 2: Self-confident Americans and the Expert Forecast