As I write this on the Thursday after Ryder Cup Sunday, there is a slight chance that some members of the winning European team could still be nursing the after effects of a serious hangover, following what in the end turned into a rather more comfortable than expected defence of the trophy.
In a previous article I suggested that Luke Donald should have been selected by Team Europe, and I stand by that claim as the rookie Stephen Gallagher was the only European player to not win a point, as it turned out the exclusion of Donald did not harm Europe at all, had he of played possibly the winning margin would have been even more than 16.5 – 11.5 margin that was recorded.
In recent times, Ian Poulter has earned himself the title of Mr Ryder Cup. Poulter was not his usual self at Gleneagles, but playing alongside Rory McIlroy against Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler, Poulter still managed to produce one of the moments of the weekend. Poulter had a magical chip in on the 15th green that stopped the growing American pressure dead in its tracks. Cue the more traditional chest banging, eye-popping celebrations that we have become used to in Ryder Cups
Special mention should be made of the Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson partnership especially in their match against Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar. This may well go done as the best match in terms of quality of golf produced in the history of the Ryder Cup. Watson and Kuchar found themselves playing unbelievable golf to record a team score of nine under par by the sixteenth hole and lost the match 3&2 to the Europeans. If they had of played the last two holes the Rose / Stenson team were looking at a possible round of 58, something that seems unbelievable even having witnessed the event in real time.
After two days of Foursomes and Fourballs the overall match score stood at 10-6 as it had done two years previously. Only this time the score was in Europe’s favour. Two years ago, the Sunday went down in history as the Miracle at Medinah, as Europe stormed back to win the cup. Could history be repeated and the shoreline be overturned for a second tournament in a row. For a few moments it looked possible as Jordan Speith and Patrick Reid started brightly, but then came Rory McIlroy. For a long time the worlds number one player has been in Ryder Cup teams and you would have struggled to spot Tiger Woods as the best in the world. McIlroy wasn’t going to go down that road as he made clear right from the start. He started his round by going Birdie, Birdie, Eagle, Birdie, Birdie, as McIlroy blitzed poor Rickie Fowler into a shocked daze. McIlroy never looked backed and clinched the first point of the day 5&4 and the European team were back on track.
As Rory dominated, Graeme McDowell fought back from three down in his match to close it out 2&1 and the early momentum required for a USA fightback was gone. It came down to who would seal the victory and in the end that fell to Jamie Donaldson who stiffed his approach shot at the fifteenth to take down Keegan Bradley and the European party could commence.
Much was said in the aftermouth about the way Paul McGinley captained the European team and the job done by Tom Watson on captaining team USA. Unsurprisingly the losing captain faces questions and criticisms from the media, perhaps more surprising the questions of Watson raised in the press conference immediately afterwards by Phil Mickelson. Was that the right time and place for said comments, as you could hear the Europeans outside singing and celebrating if you listened carefully enough as Mickelson was talking. Perhaps a more considered and reflective response once back on US soil would have been more fitting. This criticism coming from Mickelson was a little surprising and perhaps made the loss even more dramatic.
An extra mention should be made to Lee Westwood who many thought perhaps would not be selected by McGinley, but Westwood overtook Seve Ballesteros, the Spainard who is still forefront in European minds in Ryder Cup terms, in points gained for Europe on his Ryder Cup career. Also kudos go to Sergio Garcia, fellow countrymen to Ballesteros and who has adopted some of the Spanish flair. He is also another player who comes alive in this bi-annual competition. This time Garcia formed a partnership with McIlroy which never knew if it was beaten. Garcia pulled off some wonderful shots to rescue a half when defeat seemed likely. Before holing some monster puts on the Sunday to beat Jim Furyk in the singles, ironic as over his career putting issues are perhaps the biggest reason Garcia has yet to win majors in the way McIlroy is now doing.
So Europe win again and the same questions are there to be answered, why do the Europeans come together as a better team than the Americans? Is it down to the captain, the players etc… There are now two years until thus competition tees off again at Hazeltine, Minneapolis, at that time we will see if the questions have been answered
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @robbienewell. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter –@LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
Main Photo:
