Dramatic Comeback Gives Ryder Cup Win To Europe
Despite entering the final day of competition with a 10-6 lead, the American couldn’t hold on and a dramatic comeback by the European team gave Europe a Ryder Cup victory on Sunday at Medinah.
The Huffington Post reports that Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk took 1-up leads into 17, but neither came away with a point. Europe claimed the first four points of singles play on Sunday.
Devil Ball reported that, as major golf moments often do, it all came down to Tiger Woods. Woods and Steve Stricker, who had lost all three of their previous matches together this week came close, but couldn’t get it done on the final two holes. Martin Kaymer made his final putt to clinch the win in favor of Jose Maria Olazabal’s European team. Davis Love III was the American captain.
Kaymer’s put sealed the win, and Woods missed a putt to halve his point. The final score was Europe 14 1/2 and US 13 1/2. The Americans had lead 10-4 lead midway through Saturday but then just about everything fell apart, making the win as much a European comeback as it was an American collapse.
Overcoming a four-point deficit is no small feat in Ryder Cup play. Prior to Sunday’s European win, the largest and presumably most significant Ryder Cup comeback came in 1999 when the US also overcame a four-point deficit at Brookline. Now, Europe has its own comeback moment to talk about.
The next battle for the Ryder Cup will take place in 2014 at Gleneagles, Scotland.
