FLUSHING, Mich. -- This past July, Justin Roth pulled out a videotape that had been collecting some dust in the family archives. As a 14-year-old who was just beginning to get more into competitive golf, Justin wanted to see once more how dad - PGA Professional J.R. Roth - handled pressure with everything on the line.

The tape of the 1996 PGA Cup at Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland, was as much about pressure as it was about teamwork and emotion. As J.R. sat in his son's room, the video played and the memories came flooding back.

"It was surreal then, playing those last four holes, and it was overwhelming," said J.R. Roth, the 1993 PGA Club Professional Champion who carried the fate of his U.S. Team on his shoulders in the final match of the 1996 PGA Cup. "It was a situation that you read about, but it was happening to you. People were counting on you."

So, it was on Sept. 1, 1996, when rain, wind and 58-degree temperatures brought two evenly matched teams even closer.

Before the day had ended, the U.S. forged a 13-13 draw and retained possession of the Llandudno International Trophy, in one of the most tightly contested matches in any golf competition. What made the Gleneagles duel at the Monarch's Course special was that neither team could pull ahead of the other in any session. After two days of four-balls and foursomes, it was an 8-8 dead heat. A combative final-day singles resulted in a 5-5 draw.

Roth, who was then the PGA head professional at Flint (Mich.) Golf Club, rallied from a two-hole deficit, winning the final four holes with pars for a 2-up triumph over England's Bill Longmuir.

"The turning point for me was saving par on the 17th, a par-3 hole that we faced with driving rain," said Roth, now PGA head professional at Knollwood Country Club in West Bloomfield, Mich. "I knocked my ball on the green and made a good three-footer to save par. That put me 1-up, and gave me the cushion I needed."

When Longmuir failed to get up and down from a back bunker on the 18th green, Roth sealed the match when he two-putted from 60 feet, knocking home a five-foot par putt on the Monarch's Course to complete his rally. There were tears in Roth's eyes, as there was for Captain Gary Schaal, a PGA Past President, who gave Roth a big hug.

"We came together for one week, putting aside our competitive differences, and played like a team," said Roth. "I think that is why Europe has done so well in the Ryder Cup. They play, and they share as a team. The PGA Cup was the top thrill of my golf career."

The 22nd PGA Cup will be contested, Sept. 23-25, 2005, at The K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland. The United States meets Great Britain & Ireland on the 7,150-yard Smurfit Course, in a competition patterned after the Ryder Cup.