USA Win 41st Ryder Cup > 1st Time Since 2008
USA Regain 41st Ryder Cup as Davis Love III's Side Storm to Victory over Europe in Titanic Battle...
USA 17 Europe 11 http://i.cdn.turner.com/pga/cs/sites...ns062509_1.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/...5444012771.jpg Rory McIlroy suffered his first singles defeat in the Ryder Cup as the United States won the biennial contest for the first time since 2008 in convincing fashion at Hazeltine. Europe needed to overturn a three-point deficit in Sunday's 12 singles matches to claim an unprecedented fourth straight win in the biennial contest. Open champion Henrik Stenson gave Darren Clarke's side the ideal start with a 3&2 win over Jordan Spieth in match two, but McIlroy then lost a highly-charged contest with Patrick Reed on the 18th. For the first time in eight years the Ryder Cup is wrapped in red, white and blue after the fired-up Americans sparked wild celebrations following a dominant singles performance on Sunday. Inspired by the incredible Patrick Reed – the man of the tournament and no mistake – and a vibrant, seemingly ageless Phil Mickelson, the Americans completed a 17-11 thumping. What an afternoon. We had perhaps the most eagerly anticipated singles match in history in Reed against Rory McIlroy that lived up to expectations – and it still wasn’t the game of the day. Step forward Mickelson and Sergio Garcia. To think Mickelson had ten birdies in a Ryder Cup match for the first time in his long career….and still didn’t win. Mickelson leapt into the air when the final one went in on the 18th but Garcia followed him in from 10ft. Between them Garcia and Mickelson have played in 19 Ryder Cups and here they shared 19 birdies. Europe won three of the first five singles but Mickelson halted the blue tide. The Americans dominated the second half of the singles programme and soon it became a question of who would have the honour of clinching the winning point. Suitably enough, it was delivered by Ryan Moore with a performance that summed up the American super show. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/...5442155534.jpg Patrick Reed managed to come out on top in a titanic battle with Rory McIlroy Two down to Lee Westwood with just three holes to play, the wild card who only knew seven days earlier he would be competing finished eagle, birdie, par to win all three. The tone of the day had been set a couple of hours earlier with the first match out and one everyone wanted to see. Whenever they come to talk about the 41st edition of this biennial competition they will start with McIlroy from the blue corner and Reed from the red. Even though the Americans led by three points at the start you felt this match would dictate much of what followed and so it proved. For eight holes it reached a standard the like of which even this event has never seen, and while it understandably dipped thereafter it was still utterly engrossing. Naturally it came down to the 18th and naturally the pair hit shots from the top drawer. Pressure? What pressure? After Reed, who was one up, knocked it to 7ft, McIlroy struck one inside him. The match got the ending it deserved as well, as Reed held his nerve to hold his birdie putt for a vital one up success. After both men exchanged words of mutual respect, US captain Davis Love made a beeline for McIlroy. ‘I told him that with his two tournament wins and his performances here, it was the best month of golf I’ve ever seen,’ said Love. Pure class. There was better news for Europe in the second match, where Henrik Stenson showed the pedigree of an Open Champion to beat Reed’s partner, Jordan Spieth. The Swede is now 40 years old and supposedly has a dodgy knee but belied it all to play his fifth match of the week and win three and two. He was seven under par at the finish. In the third match came Europe’s find of the week – the game’s next superstar, Thomas Pieters. He claimed his fourth point out of five and underlined all his vast potential by beating JB Holmes three and two. Another point was delivered by the other find, Rafa Cabrera-Bello. But a plainly tired Justin Rose lost a close one to Rickie Fowler before Mickelson halted Europe’s momentum. What a reception greeted Reed and McIlroy on to the first tee. If ever they want to get people to play golf they need only show them a stretch of four holes from the fifth where the two men, would you believe, shared seven birdies and an eagle. The fireworks began with a McIlroy birdie at the driveable par four fifth but still he lost the hole, as Reed poured in an eagle putt from 12ft. After matching McIlroy’s birdie at the sixth, Reed greeted the roar by bowing to the crowd in imitation of his opponent’s similar mischievous gesture on Friday. http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/...5444272790.jpg Brandt Snedeker celebrates putting USA on the cusp of victory after clinching his point Naturally, McIlroy wasn’t going to let that pass without a response. At the 7th it was his turn to match Reed’s birdie and now he put his finger to his lips, as the American had done at Gleneagles in 2014. As banter goes it wasn’t MENSA standard but it was harmless and led to an 8th hole that will take its place in golf history as among the sport’s finest moments. Both players were miles from the hole after their tee shots but that mattered not a jot. First Rory holed from fully 70ft and embarked on his most manic demonstration yet in a weekend full of them. And still he couldn’t retake the lead, as Reed matched his birdie once more from fully 25ft away to be five under par for the four hole stretch. Reed went nuts, the crowd went mad, and then a lovely moment at the end of this unforgettable hour as the two players put their arms around one another as they left the green. It was a nice moment that summed up the early play as everyone took a step back following the occasional bouts of idiocy on show from spectators during the Saturday afternoon fourballs. A plea for calm on the first tee brought loud cheers from the crowds. ‘Welcome Euros,’ they sang, before getting behind the home side. Gathered there enjoying the wonderful scene were arguably America’s two greatest sportsmen over the past 20 years – Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. First up was McIlroy and Reed. Inevitably after that breathless first eight holes where they had slugged each other to a standstill, a more human standard broke out. After all the golf they had played and energy expended, a touch of mental fatigue set in. Reed went in front for the first time at the 12th and increased it at the 16th before McIlroy cut into the deficit at the 17th. it was the American, however, who had the last word. It was to become the story of this 41st Ryder Cup. All week the prevailing chant among the largely fabulous crowd had been ‘I believe that we can win,’ and now it has come to pass.. Quote:
|
All times are GMT. The time now is 03:38. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
SEO by vBSEO 3.5.2