You could call it the "Miracle at Medinah" or the "Colossal Collapse in Chicago." Either title would be accurate to describe the Ryder Cup this past weekend. Here's my take:
As Greg and I mentioned during our preview, the 2012 Ryder Cup arguably featured the best field ever assembled at the event. It was the first time that every competitor was in the top 35 in the world rankings, and many were top 20 and top 10 players. The level of play was high most of the time and the skill level rang through.
The US team was the deeper team and it showed the first couple of days. In the team competitions, the US allowed each member of the team to play an equal amount, yet they amassed a 10-6 lead heading into singles. This meant everyone was physically fresh, familiar with the course, and their nerves were at ease.
Highlights for me included watching Keegan Bradley dominate Friday and Saturday. The kid was phenominal. He rejuvenated Phil and the Americans. He putted so well and hit it even better. Also, Bubba Watson was hilarious. He got the crowd yelling and screaming while he hit off #1. I've never seen anything like it. He also had the best line when he yelled, "They call me Mr. Fairway." I want that t-shirt! The last highlight was the par 3's. Most were long and over water. That made for some incredible match play drama. Especially on the tough alternate-shot format.
There were some question marks over the first couple of days for me though. First, why did Europe pull their big guns on Friday afternoon? Donald, Garcia, and Poulter all sat and the US won that session 3-1. Donald and Garcia did lose that morning, but they have such great records historically in the Ryder Cup. Poulter is the heart and soul of the squad, and he should never sit. That made no sense at all. I'd rather have him out there than Rory. Anyways, that session put them behind the 8-ball.
For the US, why did Tiger and Stricker get sent out Friday afternoon after sucking in the morning? Dufner and Johnson should have stayed in the lineup seeing as they won. Tiger and Stricker was the only loss Friday afternoon. Secondly, why did Phil and Keegan sit Saturday afternoon? They were the best team in the Ryder Cup, won quickly in the morning, and should have stayed in there for sure. It was a 2-2 tie that afternoon, which turned out to be costly.
The momentum truly did start to shift towards Europe on Saturday afternoon. After two quick wins in that session, the US had mounted a 10-4 lead and still had a chance in the last matches. Wins or halves would have been important, yet Europe closed them out by making putts on 18 and watching the US players miss their putts. 18 killed the Americans all weekend, and it started here. So instead of being up 12-4 or 11-5 or something, it was only 10-6 heading into singles.
Europe dominated singles today and played WAY better on the closing holes. Europe won 17 and 18 in nearly every match. The US did some major choking! So many matches should have been different in my opinion. There were "locks" out there that went the opposite way. Unlike days 1 and 2, the Euros made all the putts and the Americans didn't.
The strategies were different for Sunday and it proved big for the Europeans. They sent their big guns out early in the day hoping to quiet the crowd and gain momentum. They basically all won. Then, they got some unexpected performances from guys who struggled earlier in the event. These guys were Westwood, Molinari, Kaymer, Lawrie, etc. They also dominated the late holes, as I mentioned already.
The Americans sent out their young, exciting players first. This backfired as most lost. The "experienced" guys stunk at the end of the lineup as none could make putts. They have those "old nerves."Plus, instead of playing free and loose like they did on Friday and Saturday, they played not to lose and very tight.
I will also give some credit to Europe. They made tons of putts and made some great approach shots too. Poulter was clutch and Rose was insane. Justin Rose was outplayed and should have lost, yet three unreal putts got him the outright win against Phil. Phil played well but lost. That was the type of effort all the Europeans produced.
So now comes the blame game. Yes, I blame David Love III some. He didn't get the team ready for Sunday. I hated our Sunday matchups in the first place too. We needed some winners at start of the lineup. I hated how he kept Tiger/Stricker in there on Friday afternoon, and how he pulled Phil/Keegan on Saturday afternoon. Those moves cost us points. In hindsight, he made one major mistake when picking one captain's pick.
But I blame some players even more. The veteran Stricker was the worst captain's pick ever. He was 0-4. He is known for putting but he didn't make a thing all weekend. And Steve lost the match that clinched it for Europe on Sunday. He played 17 and 18 very badly.
And I blame Tiger Woods too. He was 0-3-1. If the Cup wasn't decided, he likely would have won his singles instead of halving it, but he was terrible as a whole. He needed to be more of a vocal leader like Phil, and step up to the plate in team competitions. I know he was paired with sucky Stricker, but not winning was shocking. If he wins one of those matches, the US wins!
So all in all I was shocked the whole weekend. I was shocked that USA made it look easy for most of Friday and Saturday, then I was even more shocked that the Europeans dominated singles and came back to win. That's our best event and we had the crowd behind us. #Disbelief
It sucks we have to wait two years to get revenge, but that's how it goes. Enjoy the golf offseason!
Andrew
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