Tom Lehman smiled warmly at the memory. While standing at the back of an Aer Lingus flight from New York to Dublin with his infant son in his arms, he had said wistfully: "It would be great to somehow bring the clock forward two years and go directly to Valderrama, just for the chance of winning the cup back. It's going to be a long wait until 1997."
That was in the aftermath of Oak Hill '95, when Lehman was heading to compete in the inaugural Smurfit European Open. Now, two years on, baby Thomas had grown into a mischievous toddler and the player who had led the singles order in an ill-fated battle, was back in the US side as the third leading qualifier.
How did he feel now that the long wait was over? "I feel the same way now as I did then," he replied, when we talked recently. "I'm ready to get the cup back."
Having acquired the status of a "major" winner since Oak Hill through his triumph in the 1996 British Open, Lehman will be a key member of the US line-up. Indeed he was also handed a crucial role two years ago when he beat Seve Ballesteros by 4 and 3 in the top singles.
That was a match in which the Spaniard produced some miraculous recovery shots - he had only 11 putts for the first nine holes - to try and compensate for a dreadfully wayward long game. And it also included some classic Ballesteros skulduggery when he claimed Lehman had played out of turn by tapping home a 12-inch putt on the 12th green.
Ever the gentleman, however, Lehman now preferred to retain only positive memories of that encounter. "It was a remarkable performance by Seve," he recalled. "In fact, I still find it hard to believe that he took me to the 15th. If it had been anybody else in the world playing from where Seve hit his tee-shots, I'd have won by eight and seven, at worst."
But there is no chance of a return meeting, now that Ballesteros is skipper of the European side. Instead, the Spaniard can give full rein to instincts that were frequently in evidence at Oak Hill, particularly in the fourballs on the Saturday afternoon.
"I wasn't playing in that group of matches and I went out on the course to see the other guys," said Lehman. "I watched Seve and David Gilford in their match against Jay Haas and Phil Mickelson and where golf was concerned, it was essentially a one-man-show: Gilford against the two Americans. And Seve was his coach.
"He was like the Lone Ranger on Silver, just cracking the whip. `David hit it here; David hit it there; David put it there; David do this; David do that.' And Gilford seemed to be replying `yes sir, yes sir, yes sir'.
"A good leader is someone who can inspire confidence, courage, passion. Even get you to do what you maybe don't think you can do. And Seve's that kind of a guy."
Was Lehman sad his old adversary wasn't playing, that his game had gone into such decline? "Sure," he replied. "I think it's sad for golf. He's been an awfully exciting player over the last 20 years - until Tiger Woods came along. And yes, I think people miss that. I certainly do."
There are others who would argue that through his own, rather special skills, Lehman has also enhanced the game in recent years. While acquiring a reputation as a tough, determined competitor, he has retained a keen awareness of the human side of the sport, particularly in his dealings with fellow players.
This can be attributed in no small way to a climb from decidedly modest beginnings. Indeed an accountancy degree from the University of Minnesota in 1982 proved to be largely redundant when he embarked on a professional career a year later. "There wasn't much prize money to count," he admitted.
Then he went on: "But I really wanted to show everyone that I really belonged out here. I adopted an aggressive approach and began to believe in myself. You have to have confidence to be able to compete.
"I think what holds every guy back is not giving himself enough credit. I know I didn't give myself enough credit early on and it took a complete change of attitude to allow me achieve Ryder Cup status. I found that I started winning when I stopped beating myself.
"That's all part of the learning curve. I feel like I'm still a player on the rise; that my best golf is certainly still ahead of me. It's everyone's goal to be number one and I'm now ready to be the number one player. I'm going to work as hard as I ever have. I won't get complacent."
These virtues helped him to remarkable success last season when he was named Player of the Year by the USPGA Tour, the PGA of America and the Golf Writers' Association of America. He was also a member of the victorious US team in the President's Cup matches and teamed with Duffy Waldorf for a second successive victory in the Diners Club Matches.
They are also the sort of virtues that appeal to US skipper Tom Kite, who seems certain to hand Lehman a key role at Valderrama. Given the anxiety expressed on that flight two years ago, his enthusiasm for the match was hardly surprising.
"There are so many good players on both teams that I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "I believe the Europeans will have an advantage in knowing the golf course, but I think the US have a stronger team overall."
He went on: "From recent years, however, we have learned to expect a close match every time, irrespective of the strengths of the teams. And I expect this year to be no different. I expect it to come down to the nitty-gritty. A difficult match."
Did the closeness of the contests surprise him, given the seeming superiority of individual American players, certainly in terms of world ranking and tournament victories? "I wish I could answer that," he replied. "It probably has a lot to do with the nature of matchplay, but we are also talking about a battle between the American and European styles of golf.
"It seems to me that the European players do so well at Augusta because of chip and run, pitching and putting, open fairways and generally imaginative shot-making. Maybe as a group their short games are better than our guys on the American tour."
But what about Oak Hill? "Well, Corey Pavin wasn't the only one to chip in there," he said. "The Europeans chipped in a lot. I personally saw a lot of chipping-in going on and a lot of putts being holed, apart from the holes in one by Costantino (Rocca) and Howard Clark.
"It seemed that the Europeans were able to come up with the big shots when they needed them, more than the Americans did."
Was that not a reflection of keener competitive instincts among the Europeans? "I suppose you could say that," Lehman replied. "Seve was certainly difficult to beat, even playing badly. And Bernhard Langer is also a hard man to kill off."
Lehman then countered, however, by highlighting a rather special talent in the current American line-up. "We now have Tiger," he said simply. "He's a once-in-a-generation, once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-a-century type of player. Anybody could play as his partner."
Warming to the notion, he went on: "I think the ultimate fourball pairing would be John Daly and Tiger Woods. Obviously it's not going to happen this year but we may see it in the future if John's recovery continues to go well. Just knock it out there 350 every time and wedge it around. Somebody would be on the fairway often enough for them to do terrible damage."
A fascinating thought, but given things as they are, who did he think would win at Valderrama? "I think it's going to be a close match but the US team will win," said Lehman.
"The thing about the European side is that they have a lot of good, young players that no one's ever heard of over here in the States. Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, Ignacio Garrido - guys like that who are excellent players. Nobody in the US knows really anything about them, but I happen to believe that they're very good.
"They are young players getting their first taste of Ryder Cup competition which means they'll be anxious to impress. That will make them tough to beat. But Tom Kite did a good job with our wild cards, picking Freddie (Couples) and Lee (Janzen) and we've got some great young talent in Tiger and Justin Leonard.
"This leads me to believe that overall, our team is a little bit stronger and a little bit deeper. Then, of course, there is the fact that we lost last time, which is going to inject an element of revenge."
He concluded: "I think that Tim Kite is going to be a heck of a captain. He's a pretty hard-nosed character and he's not going to be backing away from anybody either."
By his own estimation, Lehman hasn't changed very much, even if considerable tournament earnings mean that his accountancy skills can now be put to practical use. He tries to keep things in perspective, keep things simple.
It seems an ideal attitude to carry into matchplay battles - the sort he is likely to encounter on the alien slopes of Valderrama.
