McEvoy masterminds impossible dream

Captain McEvoy (right) congratulates Marc Warren

BBC Sport's Kitrina Douglas profiles Peter McEvoy, the captain who masterminded Great Britain and Ireland's successful Walker Cup defence.

I recently took part in a series of seminars for junior golfers with Peter McEvoy that were organised by the EGU and Southwest counties golf unions.

Peter started with a now infamous video - an inspirational marvel designed to help those of us on this side of the Atlantic believe we have nothing to fear when taking on the Americans.

The video started by asking viewers which individuals and teams hold a number of golfing records.

Most people tend to imagine that the records are all held by Americans.

By the end of the film, viewers are left in no doubt that all the successes are in fact British triumphs.

Our winning Solheim Cup team watched the video last year - and every member commented on how brilliant it was.

In fact, I think nearly every golf team in the UK has been inspired by it.

Successful golf

I have not played much golf with Peter - our last encounter was in the quarter-finals of the Sunningdale foursomes where he won down the 19th in a sudden-death finish.

As I wandered off the green after a brief handshake he commented to my partner: "Does she always behave like that?"

That episode taught me something about Peter. How he actually achieves success is vitally important to him - as are the game and its traditions.

I have had the opportunity to play under a variety of captains for both England and Great Britain.

McEvoy with US captain Danny Yates (left)

Although all the captains were nice ladies, some seemed more concerned about our choral renditions for the final dinner than making us believe we could win the match.

Perhaps deep down they didn't believe we had the game to beat the Americans.

Ann Irvine was a notable exception. She captained our England Under-23 side to gold medal in the European team championships in 1982.

From the moment we left England she did everything in her power to enable us to perform at our best.

Even if it meant harassing a few selectors and officials!

In a similar way, Peter McEvoy has masterminded the impossible: defending the Walker Cup on American soil.