Dec. 21, 2004 – Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup Team has secured another overwhelming victory by claiming the 2004 Golf Writers’ Trophy but the outstanding captaincy of Bernhard Langer was further emphasised in the annual poll.

Langer, whose inspirational and meticulous leadership helped Europe to a record nine point victory over the Americans at Oakland Hills, finished a clear second in the voting ahead of Ernie Els, The European Tour Order of Merit winner, with Annika Sorenstam and Colin Montgomerie tying for fourth place.

The Golf Writers’ Trophy is awarded each year to the individual or team, born or resident in Europe, who have made the most outstanding contribution to golf in the preceding 12 months.

Karen Stupples, the Women’s British Open champion, Miguel Angel Jiménez, who won five times, and the English World Cup pair of Luke Donald and Paul Casey were among others to feature in the poll.

This is the fifth time The Ryder Cup Team has won the award, with Langer involved on each occasion. The German twice won the trophy as an individual, in 1981 and 1993, making him the most honored recipient since the award was introduced in 1951. Seve Ballesteros won three times as an individual and with three Ryder Cup Teams.

“It is always a great honor to be considered by the members of the Association of Golf Writers to receive their own trophy,” Langer said. “The whole experience of being Europe’s Ryder Cup Captain was awesome and one I will treasure for the rest of my life.

“I loved the challenge of taking on one of the strongest US Teams ever on their home soil. We all know that, before 2004, only twice have we been successful on American soil, but my players responded extremely well and with great enthusiasm.

“This historic event and the large margin we won by, away from home, will not be easily repeated. As Captain I want to thank everyone for their support and the part they played in our outstanding victory.”

Commenting on his Captain’s achievement, Montgomerie said: “It is difficult to say whether someone has been the best Captain ever but Bernhard was certainly the coolest.

“He may have been wearing those blue and yellow shoes, which made Ian Poulter envious, but he had the shades on and he always walked around at exactly the same pace. He was never flustered by anything. He was the epitome of cool.

“Bernhard was a fantastic leader and did a magnificent job. Thanks to him, we weren’t playing for ourselves, we were playing for each other. We left our egos in various parts of Europe and we were a team even before we got on the plane to go to America.

“On the Friday night I could sense some of the younger players might be becoming a little complacent. There was a lot of talk going on while Bernhard was trying to explain something. Eventually, I pointed out that he had won two green jackets, which were two more than any of us, and it might be worth listening to him.”

On a personal note, Montgomerie holed the winning putt on the 18th green at Oakland Hills following the trauma of his divorce earlier in the year. “When that putt went in, it righted the wrongs of the previous 12 months,” Monty admitted.

He added: “Every shot on a golf course pleases someone, whether it is you or your opponent, and when David Toms chipped 20 feet past at the last, that pleased me. Then he holed the putt, which didn’t please me as much. I had a four-footer, right-to-left, which are the ones we like, but in the circumstances I didn’t want to waste any time and let any negative thoughts creep in.

“Looking back, you always like to hole a putt to win the match, rather than have two for it and shake hands. So now I am thankful to David for giving me the chance to hole that putt, but I wasn’t at the time.”

Golf Writers' Trophy winners

1951 - Max Faulkner
1952 - Miss Elizabeth Price
1953 - Joe Carr
1954 - Miss Frances Stephens
1955 - LGU Junior Team (Mrs BR Bostock, capt)
1956 - John Beharrell
1957 - Dai Rees
1958 - Harry Bradshaw
1959 - Eric Brown
1960 - Sir Stuart Goodwin
1961 - Cdr. RCT Roe
1962 - Mrs Marley Spearman
1963 - Michael Lunt
1964 - Eisenhower Trophy Team (Joe Carr, capt)
1965 - Gerald Micklem
1966 - Ronnie Shade
1967 - John Panton
1968 - Michael Bonallack
1969 - Tony Jacklin
1970 - Tony Jacklin
1971 - Walker Cup Team (Michael Bonallack, capt)
1972 - Miss Mickey Walker
1973 - Peter Oosterhuis
1974 - Peter Oosterhuis
1975 - The Golf Foundation
1976 - Eisenhower Trophy Team (Sandy Saddler, capt)
1977 - Christy O'Connor Sen.
1978 - Peter McEvoy
1979 - Severiano Ballesteros
1980 - Sandy Lyle
1981 - Bernhard Langer
1982 - Gordon Brand Jnr
1983 - Nick Faldo
1984 - Severiano Ballesteros
1985 - Ryder Cup Team (Tony Jacklin, capt)
1986 - Curtis Cup Team (Diane Bailey, capt)
1987 - Ryder Cup Team (Tony Jacklin, capt)
1988 - Sandy Lyle
1989 - Walker Cup Team (Geoff Marks, capt)
1990 - Nick Faldo
1991 - Severiano Ballesteros
1992 - Solheim Cup Team (Mickey Walker, capt)
1993 - Bernhard Langer
1994 - Laura Davies
1995 - Ryder Cup Team (Bernard Gallacher, capt)
1996 - Colin Montgomerie
1997 - Alison Nicholas
1998 - Lee Westwood
1999 - Sergio Garcia
2000 - Lee Westwood
2001 - Walker Cup Team (Peter McEvoy, capt)
2002 - Ryder Cup Team (Sam Torrance, capt)
2003 - Annika Sorenstam
2004 - Ryder Cup Team (Bernhard Langer, capt)

Source: The PGA European Tour