GOLF: I AM BESIEGED, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat.

Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism and everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days.

If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honour and that of his country. VICTORY OR DEATH.

- William Barret Travis

Nine years ago Justin Leonard sat in the US team room at Brookline listening to the words penned in 1836 by a 26-year-old lawyer, William Travis, who enjoyed an ancillary vocation as the commander of the Texan forces at the Alamo. The man who recited the speech was George W Bush, at that time governor of Texas.

A friend of the 1999 US Ryder Cup captain Ben Crenshaw, Bush was invited to address the American team ahead of the Sunday singles. The home side trailed 10-6 from the first two days and required inspiration. Bush chose the famous Alamo speech.

For Leonard, a Texan, it carried a resonance, and he would become the unwitting central figure in a celebrated comeback.

It was his 45-foot putt that inspired the notorious green invasion by team-mates, wives and caddies at the 17th - Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal still had to putt - guaranteeing the US the half point they required to win the Ryder Cup.

Leonard admitted to having regrets about the moments that followed his putt - 42 seconds of celebration, to be precise - but won't let those tarnish the memory of victory.

"I would have done it differently, sure. But, I think you have to keep in mind, there was so much emotion that day and we had so much momentum going, and unfortunately that spilled over into it.

"Yeah, I certainly would have done some things differently. I know for myself and for anybody that was on that team, it didn't take away from our victory at all, but I think we all would have done some things differently."

This is the first time Leonard has graced the biennial event since Brookline. Despite winning the British Open (1997) and enjoying 12 victories on the US Tour, the moment that will define his career is likely to be "that putt". He's happy with that.

"It's like 5-to-1 the comments I get about the Ryder Cup. Where would I put it in my golfing career? I'd put it first, too. I would. Because it wasn't a total individual achievement. My little match was, but it meant something greater than that.

"It's been a lot of fun the last month or so, since the PGA when the qualifying for the team was over. I've been asked about it a lot, been able to relive it quite a bit. And it's been a lot of fun, especially in Boston at the Deutsche Bank a few weeks ago, being pretty close to Brookline, I heard it at least once a hole, so that was a very fun week.

"I got home last week for the week off, and I woke up Monday morning and I was working out, flipped on the television and there was the hour special about Brookline. It's been hard to escape, but I've enjoyed it."

Coincidentally, Brookline represents the last triumph by the Americans and an obvious focal point for positive reflection.

This week Leonard, no doubt, would rather invoke Brookline than the Alamo. After all, the Texans, though heroic at that San Antonio citadel, were ultimately massacred.