My favorite Ryder Cup memory: Mark James

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We asked several Champions Tour players to share their favorite memories from the Ryder Cup. What did Mark James say was his favorite moment?

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It means a lot; a huge amount to make a Ryder Cup team. To win majors certainly is difficult for a lot of players because they are played on courses that you need a specific type of game where you don't hit a lot of greens because they trick them up a lot. You really need a huge short game to win a major. It's very difficult for a lot of players. If you're not winning majors, the next best thing is to win other tournaments or make the Ryder Cup team. Making a Ryder Cup team is something you only get a chance to do every couple of years. It's a big thing on your CV (curriculum vitae). When I was playing on the main tour in Europe, players were looking at the list constantly hoping to make it. You play down to the press, but for the players, it's definitely huge.

The first team I played on was with players from Great Britain and Ireland in 1977 but after that it was a European team. To be honest it didn't seem to make much difference when it went to Europe. There wasn't a flood of Europeans immediately; I think there was probably three or four that first year, but not an absolute flood. It obviously strengthened the team with Seve (Ballesteros) but we still lost that first year.