As Ryder Cups go, some matches end early, and some come down to the final hole. What better way to conclude a match than to have the 18th be a par-5?
As we saw with Tiger Woods and Bob May, who were basically playing match play against each other in the 2000 PGA Championship, the 18th was where the fun happened. A par-5 with water right and an intense fairway bunker left makes you find the fairway off the tee to have a shot at the extremely undulated green. In the 2000 PGA Championship, when the pin was in the middle on Sunday, the announcers commented that nobody had hit their second shot on the correct tier. By missing it, three-putting is very much a possibility (As both May and Woods nearly showed).
The hole, just 545 yards, isn't long by any means, so in team play it will be a great chess game. A short hitter might lay up to a safe distance while the second goes for the flag. You will see some eagles and you will see some bogeys which is all you could ask for in a final hole of the Ryder Cup.
The only real change since 2000 was the addition of a bunker guarding the left side of the green, making it more difficult for someone bailing out left.
Photo courtesy of Golf Digest
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