Master Professional Gary Alliss, the son of the legendary tour player and BBC commentator Peter, was a two-time PGA Cup captain.
His tenure began with a daunting away match at Reynolds Plantation in 2007.
Great Britain & Ireland had not come close to an unlikely victory on foreign soil in years but his 10-strong team very nearly did the unthinkable in Georgia – and might well have made their own slice of history but for an outrageous piece of fortune that favoured the American team.
Being asked to be captain
“I'd left Trevose and gone to The Belfry where I was the Head Professional. I was down in the Academy, probably waiting for a lesson, and one of the lads on reception said that Sandy Jones, who was the Chief Executive of The PGA, was on the phone. His office was a 300-yard walk away but he asked if I had a minute.
“He then enquired if I would consider being the captain of the PGA Cup side in America in 2007. There was a bit of a silence as I was quite taken aback. He asked if I needed time to think about it? I told him that wouldn't be necessary and that the answer was yes.
“Sandy mentioned that they wanted to take the captaincy in a different direction and my family had a nice tie in after donating the Llandudno International Golf Trophy which the teams play for.
My non-negotiables
“I did say that I'd like to get all the players together and for the wives to meet and for my wife, Karen, to meet them. I also requested that I'd like to go out to Reynolds Plantation and survey the scene, play the course and do some preparation. I didn't want to do it unless I could do it to the best of my ability and they agreed. The Belfry were very good and they gave us 10 rooms and so we all met up and started to get to know one another.
"I do remember saying to Sandy that we would have a better chance if we could have the best player from each region rather than relying too heavily on the outcome from the Glenmuir Club Professional Championship. Previously if a player had performed well in the PGA Championship in the off year, they would almost have qualified for the following year's side.
"Also, it was always played on a links course with 50mph winds when the matches in the States would be played on a course that was inland and sheltered with fairways that are 25 yards wide. So we rejigged that and the team was decided at Royal Porthcawl at the 2007 Club Professional Championship which was another nice link to the Alliss family as that's where my grandfather had his first assistant's role.
Team spirit
“I remember the players being measured for their suits and the first photographs being taken. I had never met Jon Bevan and I recall him coming up and saying 'Are you Gary Alliss?' to which I replied that if he had any suggestions to let me know – and he gave me a whole list of stuff that we should do!
"The boys were great as a team. At our Belfry get-together I asked them if there was anyone that they might not be comfortable being paired with or was there anybody who played with a golf ball that they couldn't play with but everyone just said that they were happy to do whatever and that they'd do their best for the team. I went out to see the course and played it with the Head Pro there. When I finished, I knew that they would set the course up to suit the home team but, despite having never won away, I still thought that we had a great chance.
Pictured: Gary Alliss with Duncan Muscroft
The art of captaincy
“Leaving players out is obviously never easy as a captain and George Ryall certainly wasn't happy about missing the first session. I knew George had struggled with his back so I thought five sessions would be a lot. George definitely didn't agree, and he then won all four of his matches. So you might say that was an astute piece of captaincy though I'm sure George would say that he would have delivered me five points if I'd have played him.
One thing I probably didn't get right was to turn down their offer of a vice-captain. I had a few people who would help and be my eyes and ears in certain areas instead of me making all the big decisions and shouldering the responsibility. With the benefit of hindsight, I probably should have taken one.
The match
“After the first day we were right in the match and spirits were high. We had some natural pairings, like Mike Nesbit and Craig Goodfellow who were best mates and from the North East. Paul Wesselingh said that he would take James Whatley under his wing and give me at least a couple of points which they did.
"Duncan Muscroft, Hedley's son, was a great character and he came across as being very confident. In truth, he probably covered any nervousness with a lot of bluster. Somebody said to him on the 1st tee of the singles that he was a bit quiet. He turned around to this person and said 'our bloody shirts are loud enough!' which I thought was a very funny line.
"We began the final day two points behind at 9-7. I said to Jon Bevan that he would be leading us off. I told him that I wanted him to be one up by the time he'd played two holes and he duly got himself one up.
"Jon won, so did George, and we were right in it. I wasn't expecting Danny Taylor to be able to beat Mike Small, who everybody said was their best player and hardly ever lost a singles. But Danny – who was about a foot smaller than Mike – was up for it and he took him down. So it looked like we might actually win away. The American heads went down and their captain, Roger Warren, said to me that we had them.
The deciding match – and an outrageous piece of luck
“A crucial match was Wesselingh against Ryan Benzel which had an extraordinary finish. Wez was two up with three to play and the 16th was a very tough hole, uphill and around 450 yards.
"Benzel was in the rough and he hit a good shot but it was heading straight into the pond at the front of the green. It then somehow hit a rock or something underneath the water and finished a foot from the hole. Wez hit his to 15 feet but couldn't make match Benzel's birdie.
"The 17th is a par 5. Wes made a birdie four but Benzel chipped in for an eagle. You knew what was going to happen next: the American holed from 18 feet and Wez was unable to match him. So it ended up a win for the Americans by 13.5-12.5
"Needless to say, Wesselingh was heartbroken afterwards but he hadn't missed a shot and it still wasn't quite enough.
"So that was another layer of captaincy that I might not have anticipated – just to get him up enough to attend the prize presentation.
My abiding memories
“In 2015 Jon captained the team to victory and you really have to applaud him and his side as it's so hard to win away. You could see how big it was for our players to put a point on the board against some very strong players. We were up against Lee Rinker, who had been second to Tiger Woods in a PGA Tour event a few years before, and the likes of Tim Thelen.
"One abiding memory was of having a nightcap in our team room at about midnight on the Sunday and there was a knock on the door and three of the American team were standing there. They said: Can we come in and have a drink with you guys as you guys are way more fun than our team? That was a great way to end what was certainly the biggest honour in my career.”
About The PGA Cup
The PGA Cup is regarded as the pinnacle for any PGA Professional, with GB&I and the USA competing in a Ryder Cup format. This will mark the 32nd edition of the biennial match, which first took place in 1973.
Each team consists of 19 players, and the event unfolds over three days of competition, featuring four foursomes and four fourballs on each of the first two days, followed by ten singles matches on the final day.
The 2026 PGA Cup week will begin on Tuesday September 29. The competition proper begins on Friday October 2.
To find out more about the PGA Cup, click here.
