Clarke true hero of Ryder Cup for Europe

RYDER CUP

STRAFFAN, Ireland -- He was the captain's pick. He was also the people's choice. That wasn't lost on Darren Clarke.

Ushered to the first tee for his singles match against Zach Johnson with thunderous roars that could be heard up to his hometown of Dungannon up in Northern Ireland, Clarke completed a roller-coaster week of emotions with a 3-and-2 triumph that ran his record to 3-0. No, he didn't score the winning point -- that honor went to Henrik Stenson, who beat Vaughn Taylor, 4 and 3 -- but Clarke won the crowd over, for sure.

``This is as good as it gets -- and to be Irish, it's just fantastic," said Clarke, whose decision to play in these matches was an emotional one. His wife, Heather, died Aug. 13 after a long bout with cancer, and Clarke, who hadn't qualified for the team, was basically told that a captain's pick was his, if he wanted it. For weeks he wrestled with the decision, but he chose to play.

``It's done a lot for me and it's done a lot for the people to show how much they care about me and how much they cared about Heather," said Clarke.

Clarke, who played alongside Lee Westwood and won a pair of four-ball matches, was singled out by US captain Tom Lehman during the closing ceremonies.

``Darren, you hurt us. You hurt us really bad," said Lehman. ``But we were all so glad you were on this team and we're behind you 100 percent."

It elicited a standing ovation -- from the fans and players on stage.

Said Tiger Woods: ``Darren being here was inspirational enough, then to play the way he played. I kept telling him, `You're a hell of a player.' Unfortunately, he went out there and did it."

While the Americans never even came close to getting a grip on the Ryder Cup, Steve Williams lost his grip on Woods's 9-iron. Holding it in his left hand as he walked on an embankment to the side of the seventh green, Williams was intending to dip it into the River Liffey when he stepped on a rock and slipped. Trying to maintain his balance, Williams let go of the club. ``He was going to splash it -- and he did," said Woods, who couldn't hold back the laughter. Someone jumped in to look for the club, but he didn't get it back until the 15th hole, and his match ended with a 3-and-2 triumph over Robert Karlsson at the 16th. There was one situation that called for the 9-iron after it got dunked, so Woods choked down and hit a ``little 8-iron." . . . Woods had one of the three singles wins for the US and three of his team's six wins in 28 matches. Still, he looked at it differently. ``They had 18 1/2 points and I gave them 2," he said in reference to his two losses.

No, it won't rank up there with Jack Nicklaus's sporting gesture in 1969, but Paul McGinley won a lot of friends with his actions on the 18th green of his match against J.J. Henry. All square, McGinley blasted out of a greenside bunker to 2 feet, so he had a sure birdie. Henry, who had driven into rough and laid up, had his third shot to 25 feet, hardly a gimme birdie, yet the Irishman walked over to him and told him to pick up his marker. ``It was a gesture that was done in the right spirit," said McGinley, though he found out later that had Henry missed the putt and McGinley won the match outright, it would have established a record for most points (19) by a winning team. ``Paul, I'll let you off now," said European captain Ian Woosnam, laughing. So far as Henry was concerned, ``It really shows you what the spirit of this competition is about. I tip my hat to him. It was a remarkable act." Playing in his first Ryder Cup, Henry didn't have a win, but did contribute 1 1/2 points thanks to three halves.

By beating David Toms, Colin Montgomerie recorded his sixth singles victory to tie for the top of the list in the history of the Ryder Cup. Nick Faldo and Peter Oosterhuis are the other Europeans with six, Sam Snead, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and Arnold Palmer the Americans . . . It's the second straight year Montgomerie has defeated Toms in singles. ``He said, `Let's have another game [in two years],' " said Montgomerie, but he shook his head. He's 43 and that's a long way off. ``That's eight [Ryder Cups] for me; I don't know if I'm due a ninth." . . . Luke Donald vs. Chad Campbell was another singles rematch from 2004, though this time the European got the better of the score . . . Give Montgomerie credit, when he wins a singles match, he wins against iron. He's beaten four major winners (Lee Janzen, Ben Crenshaw, Payne Stewart, and now Toms twice) . . . Going back to 1999, Montgomerie is 11-3-4 in the Ryder Cup . . . Westwood came down with a fever overnight but was still able to play. In fact, maybe he should catch a fever all the time, because he birdied five of the first seven holes in his 2-up win over Chris DiMarco.

Stroke play, match play, the format doesn't seem to matter. Sergio Garcia simply is struggling on Sundays this year. Brilliant as he was for two days of match play, Garcia was a stunning 4-and-3 loser to Stewart Cink in the second singles match. The result was never in doubt as Cink birdied four of the first five holes, then pulled 5 up when the young Spaniard bogeyed Nos. 6 and 7. It continued a painful trend in 2006, for Garcia has shot final rounds of 75 at the Buick Invitational, 73 at Bay Hill, 78 at The Players Championship, and 73 at the British Open to squander any chance at victory . . . Garcia thus missed a chance to become the first European ever to go 5-0 in the Ryder Cup . . . For the second straight day, there was an ace at the 213-yard, par-3 14th, this time by American Scott Verplank. ``It never left the flag, but to go in is pretty lucky," said Verplank, who beat Padraig Harrington, 4 and 3. ``I just turned around and told Padraig, `Well, it's your shot now.' "

Irishmen Harrington (0-4-1) and McGinley (0-1-2) failed to win a match in front of their countrymen, but you'd never have guessed it by their smiles as they celebrated with thousands of supporters. ``I'm so proud of our country," said McGinley. ``We put on a great show." . . . Harrington, McGinley, and Karlsson were the Europeans who failed to win a match. For the US, seven players failed to record a victory -- including those who qualified second (Phil Mickelson), fourth (Campbell), fifth (Toms), and sixth (DiMarco) in the standings. Also going without a win were rookies Henry, Vaughn Taylor, and Brett Wetterich . . . Of those who went winless, it was toughest on Harrington, however. Over the course of his last three matches, he never once had a lead . . . The four American rookies totaled 3 points, the two European rookies accounted for 2 1/2 . . . As for the captain's picks, while Lehman's duo of Cink (1-1-3) and Verplank (2-0) compiled a total of 3 1/2 points, Clarke and Westwood made Woosnam look liked a genius. Clarke went 3-0, and Westwood 3-0-2 as they combined for 7 points.

Of the 28 matches played -- 16 team, 12 singles -- Europe had a lead at the turn in 16 of them, the US led in five, while seven were level . . . Consider further that in the team matches, the Europeans had the lead on a total of 130 holes, the US for just 54, and in seven of the team matches, the US never had even a one-hole lead . . . Mickelson has lost in singles three straight times and he's 1-9-1 in his last 11 matches dating to the 2002 Ryder Cup at The Belfry . . . If the Americans were going to come out in their Sunday red, in tribute to their leader, Woods, the Europeans were ready. They wore vibrant red vests over soft red golf shirts . . . It was early in the day, it was raining, and there were puddles, even in the bunker. Donald was getting a long explanation from a rules official about placement of his ball when finally he waved him off. ``I think I'm going to play it," said the Englishman, who made par at the first hole . . . Valhalla in Louisville, Ky., will be site of the 2008 Ryder Cup. The next one overseas will be 2010, in Wales . . . Michael Jordan remained a faithful fan, watching the action for a third straight day. Also in attendance was Bill Clinton.