Americans dominated by Europe's brilliance
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- They were hoping for a sporting miracle yesterday, only it didn't materialize. Now, American Ryder Cup players must hope for a diplomatic miracle.
The granting of statehood to Fiji and South Africa, and the automatic citizenship to lads named Singh, Els, and Goosen.
How else to thwart the golfing machine that is Team Europe, a dominating group of jovial souls who quite possibly at this moment are still dancing, singing, spraying champagne, and simply enjoying their latest Ryder Cup conquest, an 18 1/2-9 1/2 thrashing of the US at Oakland Hills Country Club.
Not only was it the seventh win for the Europeans in the last 10 editions of this storied event, but it was their greatest margin of victory and it matches the highest number of points a team has accumulated since the Ryder Cup went to its present format in 1979.
So utterly dominating was the performance that it took just six singles matches to assure that the Europeans had the necessary points to keep the coveted trophy on European soil. That the sixth match featured Colin Montgomerie was poetic justice to the grandest scale, for no one embodies the spirit of this competition quite like the Scotsman, the most beguiling, yet entertaining personality in golf.
When Montgomerie deftly negotiated a brilliant par at the 494-yard closing hole to close out a stirring 1-up win over David Toms, the clinching point had been secured and galleries stuffed with European loyalists erupted with a spirit that was to be admired. Six matches were still on the course, but no matter.
This was Monty's stage. He very well could have played in his final Ryder Cup, so if that is the case, let it be saluted that he improved to 5-0-2 in singles play and he deserved the joy that overflowed. "Personally," said Montgomerie, "it means nothing. Nothing. OK? This is all about a team event. We can't really put it into words."
As he spoke, the ground shook and the crowd put it into words for him, thundering out the song of European victory.
"Ole, ole, ole, ole. Ole, ole, ole, ole."
If the tune is familiar, it should be, for it has been sung with passionate fury seven times and now on three of the last five trips to American soil. Only this time, the script wasn't quite so familiar, because whereas this competition in the previous nine playings had been decided by 2 points or fewer on seven occasions, captain Bernhard Langer's lads went out and put up arguably the greatest Ryder Cup performance in history.
It began Friday morning -- a 3 1/2- 1/2 edge in a four-ball session --and it closed out with a singles demolition under a blanket of bright blue sky, the Europeans winning 7 1/2 of a possible 12 points in a format they are supposedly unable to play. Yeah, and they can't drive it straight, play American-style golf courses, chip, or putt, either.
Except when Samuel Ryder's hardware is on the line, that is.
What was on the line entering the 12 singles match was this: The Americans trailed, 11-5, and needed to win 9 1/2 of the 12 points. A daunting task, and to take on the challenge, captain Hal Sutton had one hope. He needed his lead men to start fast, post American flags all over the scoreboard, and hope those coming behind followed the lead.
For a while, the plan worked, because Tiger Woods won the first hole, got 2 up on Paul Casey, and was his relentless, focused self in a victory that ignited early hope. Phil Mickelson built a 2-up lead over Sergio Garcia through eight, Davis Love was 2 up through six on Darren Clarke, the dynamic Jim Furyk birdied three of the first five holes and roared to a 5-up cushion through eight on David Howell, and Kenny Perry got 2 in front of Lee Westwood. The Americans at one point had the lead in six of the first seven matches.
"We started out in spectacular fashion," said Sutton. "People were wondering, `You know, are the Americans going to do it again?' "
It was a reference to 1999 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., when the US entered singles play on the wrong end of a 10-6 score, but won 8 1/2 of 12 points to win back the Cup. Sutton was on that team, but whatever good memories were being stirred by his leading men up front quickly melted away in a blistering day of sunshine.
"All of a sudden, we lost it," he said.
Indeed, his boys did -- at least if you don't count Woods in Match 1 (he never lost a hole and parlayed a scintillating eagle at the par-5 12th into a 3-and-2 win) and Furyk in Match 4 (a 6-and-4 thumping that ran his singles record to 3-0-1). But those were the only wins Sutton would get from his six front men, the European victory coming thusly:
In the critical second match, Garcia birdied Nos. 9, 10, and 11 to go from 2 down to 1 up and Mickelson couldn't make a birdie after the par-4 eighth. The lefthander's bogey at the par-3 13th put him 2 down and the lasting image of this match will be Mickelson's approach to the 16th green hitting short and rolling into the pond to add fuel to the European momentum, which by now had swung their way.
In Match 3, Love was in front by 2 through 14, but Clarke birdied the 16th, then made a miraculous pitch-in from behind the par-3 17th green to earn a halve. It meant Langer had come close to his prediction of 2 points in the first three matches, the Europeans earning 1 1/2 to put a sudden halt to the early American momentum.
In Match 5, Lee Westwood (4-0-1 to share team-high point honors with Garcia) fought back from 2 down through six against Perry. It was all square when Westwood bogeyed the par-4 14th; the European went 1 up on the next hole with a birdie and came home in three pars.
And in Match 6, Toms had the daunting task of taking on Montgomerie, but the American liked how things looked on the frontside. "We were leading in every match except mine," said Toms. "But it was the same story as it was all week -- even when things looked good, it quickly turned." That's because as Montgomerie clung to a 2-up lead for most of the middle holes, it seemed to inspire the Europeans behind him, most of whom jumped into the lead. Toms squared the match for a second time at the 15th, but the Scotsman poured in a 13-foot birdie putt from the back of the green at the 16th and a pair of finishing pars assured him of an overall Ryder Cup record of 3-1 this time around, 19-8-5 overall, and most of all, the glorious clinching point.
Yes, the matches that followed were meaningless, but still the Europeans poured it on, save for two quiet American wins -- Chad Campbell by 5 and 3 over Luke Donald, and Chris DiMarco by 1 up over Miguel Angel Jimenez. There were blue European flags beside Thomas Levet's name (over Fred Funk), and Ian Poulter's (over Chris Riley), and Padraig Harrington's (over Jay Haas), and Paul McGinley's (over Stewart Cink) to close out a most impressive performance, one that left the Europeans dancing beside the 18th green, while the Americans tried to sort out their emotions.
"None of us like to sit up here saying we lost, but that's the way it is," said Furyk, who despite his singles magic, knows he lost three team matches.
"The stage was set. We just didn't get it done," said Sutton, who had prepared for two years for this and now his ears were ringing with thunderous choruses of the European victory song that had to be heard clear over to Dublin, where they will get together in two years to stage the 36th edition of this international event.
Another Ryder Cup try? A scary thought, perhaps, but Sutton shook his head.
"I have proud emotions, to be honest," said Sutton, seated next to all 12 of his players. "We're bleeding, but we're not dead yet. We'll get back up and fight again."
And rest assured, they'll find a united group of Europeans to give them a go.
