Catastrophe. Collapse. Choke. Miracle. Failure. Revenge. Stunner.
Any of these words could be used to describe what happened today (Sunday) at Medinah Country Club in Chicago, Illinois. Some would be more fitting than others, depending on whether you were rooting for Team USA or pulling for Team Europe. Either way, today is a day that will be remembered in not only golf history, but sports history altogether. And I'm 100% positive I'll be only one of millions talking about what just happened. I just wanted to give my 2 cents about this ridiculous day. So, let's get started shall we?
As you may have known, this Ryder Cup saw total domination by the Americans the first 2 days. USA looked like the Europe of the past decade, while Team Europe totally looked like a typical struggling American Ryder Cup squad that constantly got beat down since the turn of the century. USA led by a score of 10-6 after 2 days, an eerily similar score the Brookline Cup in '99 which saw the USA make up that deficit and win the cup in shocking fashion. Still, they were only 4 1/2 points away from Ryder Cup lore...
That's when crazy stuff started to happen. Captain Olazabal totally front loaded his Sunday Singles squad to go out and get points. And guess what? Unlike most of the previous 2 days, that's exactly what they did. They took their American counterparts down and quickly tied up the score, 10-10. Even an almost late-to-tee-time Rory McIlroy was able to win against the hot-handed Keegan Bradley without too much drama.
Honestly, my dad and I couldn't believe what we were seeing. Suddenly, football took a backseat and golf was the main item on tv until the end. We were either going to be in for a really close Ryder Cup that we enjoyed due to a USA win, or we were going to see one of the most historic collapses in the history of the world. Unfortunately, we got the latter.
Once the score reached 10-10, it was game on for both teams. Things got tight, and it was a true race to the number. In this case, it was 14.5 for the USA to win the cup and 14 for the Europeans to retain it. The latter matches that everyone seemed to brush off because they weren't supposed to matter became the matches we all were intrigued about.
It might have taken a while, but Dustin Johnson got the first point of the day for the US by defeating Nicolas Colsaerts of Belguim. A little while after that, Zach Johnson (no relation), snatched a clutch point by taking down 2010 Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell. The USA once again had a comfy lead, and again, it seemed like they'd escape with a narrow victory.
That was definitely not the case.
I have no clue what happened after that moment. From that moment on, only Jason Dufner was able to grab a full point for the United States. Jim Furyk, who was battling all day with Sergio Garcia, completely gave away even a chance at a half point with two fatal misses on 17 and 18. Point Europe. Lee Westwood looked nothing like the Friday and Saturday version of himself and played superbly against an underperforming Matt Kuchar. Again, point Europe.
Suddenly, tied at 13 all, it came down to 4 cats who haven't even won a point in this Ryder Cup. Woods, Stricker, Kaymer, and Molinari had the weight of their teams and countries on their backs, as their matches were going to be the deciders.
It inevitably came down to Kaymer and Stricker, as they were the group ahead of Woods/Molinari. Tied going into 17, that's where the move was made. Kaymer safely made par, while Stricker, who had been struggling with his putting all week, hit another poor one and made bogey. This ensured a half point for Europe, who were only 1 point away from keeping the Cup. Stricker struggled towards a par on 18, and Kaymer ended the drama with a clutch 6 footer for par on the final hole to ensure European elation. Definitely made sense that the guy with the most question marks heading into Sunday and with the least amount of playing time earned the clinching point.
After this, the Europeans celebrated crazily, and it was clear that on the 18th fairway, Tiger Woods was completely dejected. Still only a part of 1 winning Ryder Cup team (Brookline '99), this week definitely epitomized his entire year. In position to become a hero again, but getting stopped by his own random poor play, someone having the weekend of their life, or just simple bad luck.
This Ryder Cup is clearly going into history, for all reasons imaginable. For the Seve connection. For the Brookline revenge. For the Colsaerts barrage on Friday. For the Poulter takeover Saturday. For all the ups and downs that went down in a 3 day span. Whether you're American or European, if you watched this Ryder Cup, you'll always remember what a memorable and ridiculous one this was, good or bad.
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