Riley’s early exit baffles Sutton, but makes sense to former coach

Adam Candee

Monday, Sept. 20, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.

The magnitude of the Ryder Cup first took its first swipe at Chris Riley during the practice rounds and it prompted him to seek out Dwaine Knight, his old UNLV coach, around the Oakland Hills putting green for some advice about managing his breathing to combat the pressure.

By Saturday, though, Riley had nothing left to control because he ran out of breath entirely after a long week and an even longer month. Emotionally, Riley simply became a victim of being Riley.

In the midst of the United States' worst-ever Ryder Cup loss to Europe, Riley drew national criticism when he asked out of afternoon play because he felt "drained" after a stirring morning best-ball victory with Tiger Woods that temporarily lifted their squad from the hole it continually dug this weekend.

But to hear it from Knight, who knows the energetic Riley as well as anyone, his former star's deference to the team was lost among the many problems that engulfed the United States in losing the Ryder Cup for the fourth time in the past five matches.

"I think what he tried to say was, 'I'll play, but I'm not at my best,' " Knight said Sunday night.

Effervescent and hopelessly bouncing off the walls, Riley stunned American captain Hal Sutton and much of the country by asking out of golf's biggest competition after going 1-0-1 in his first two matches. Sutton obliged, pairing Woods with Davis Love III for an uninspiring 4-and-3 loss to Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley that helped sap whatever momentum the Americans built with three wins in four morning matches.

After a restless week in Michigan that came on the heels of the birth of his first child, Riley -- who Knight said originally did not expect to play more than three matches -- felt he had nothing left and wanted to prepare for Sunday.

"It didn't really surprise me," Knight said of Riley's request. "If you watched that last hug with Tiger, you could see he was almost limp."

Riley lost his singles match Sunday, falling 3-and-2 to Ian Poulter.

Knight followed Riley and fellow Rebels alumnus Chad Campbell through some practice and during Friday's and Saturday's matches. Both players sought him out for help: Riley with breathing and Campbell, who went 1-2 in three matches, with putting.

United States assistant captain Steve Jones also looked to Knight for help during the practice rounds, asking him to watch out for Riley's energy level.

"He said, 'Make sure he gets some rest because he's really tired,' " Knight said.

Knight said that it's common for Riley to schedule downtime to stay fresh because of the amount of energy he expends playing the game. Riley paced himself well in the months leading up to the Ryder Cup, in large part thanks to his need to help his wife, Michelle, during her pregnancy. Starting in late May, Riley had four periods of at least three weeks off, the final one leading into last weekend's play.

But after a few nights with a newborn and a few more preparing for the Ryder Cup and then playing, Riley saw his move as a team-oriented one, but the NBC broadcast team and the print media skewered him for it.

"I told (Sutton) I wasn't ready to go. And look at our U.S. team, we have tons of guys that will step up and play," Riley said Saturday.

To ask out of competition in the sport's most important event would be unusual for any player, but when the request came from Riley, Sutton could not believe it.

"I said, 'A 42-year-old fat man (Sutton) in '99 went five straight matches, so I'm sure that a 30-year-old flat-belly that's hyper can go four, can't ya?' " Sutton said, a request that did not convince Riley.

"I just said, 'I'll do whatever you want me to do, but if it was up to me, I'm pretty emotionally drained, and let's get a fresh guy out there,' " Riley said.

Sutton did not push him.

"I just thought, well, if he really doesn't feel like it, then I'm not sure he can help us as much as somebody who is really energetic about being out there. So I went a different direction."