USA still struggles with team concept
USA still struggles with team concept
NEWPORT, United Kingdom – With the tears of his teammates spilling around him, Phil Mickelson described the United States’ Ryder Cup defeat on Monday as one of the most painful moments of his career.
Mickelson, a veteran of eight Ryder Cups, was able to keep his emotions in check following Europe’s nerve-wracking one-point victory at Celtic Manor, but his words conveyed a sense of disappointment that shattered any notion that the Americans don’t care about this event as much as they should.
(Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
“I felt more disappointment that I have ever felt,” said Mickelson. “We put a lot of heart and energy into it, and we wanted to win awful bad. We really believed we were going to win, and we came within half a point.”
Teammates Hunter Mahan and Bubba Watson could not control their emotions as Corey Pavin’s U.S. side reflected on a thrilling final day in which the visitors’ brave comeback fell short by the smallest of margins.
Europe’s triumph didn’t come about because of any lack of caring from the Americans. And it wasn’t, as has been suggested in the past, because of personality clashes in the U.S. team.
Yet there was still a sense that while the American squad enjoyed each other’s company and was willing to fight for a common cause, the idea of a team environment did not sit as naturally with them as it did for the Europeans.
“We know what it means to us,” said U.S. veteran Jim Furyk, just a week removed from collecting $10 million for winning the FedEx Cup playoffs. “Rarely have I ever been as happy as after winning the Ryder Cup, and I have never cried after losing other than at the Ryder Cup.”
The American pain was very real, and there was frustration and confusion mixed in with the anguish of such a close defeat. Because, with its performances in the final-day singles matches, Pavin’s side showed exactly how much talent it possessed, and it still wasn’t enough.
If the Ryder Cup was three days of singles play, the U.S. would have won comfortably. The individualist nature of the final-day format sits better with the Americans’ mentality, but they had simply left themselves too much ground to make up.
(Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, who both failed to collect a single point in the foursomes and fourball matches, were suddenly revitalized on Monday, racking up comfortable victories once left to operate under their own steam.
Tiger Woods, who displayed patchy form at best even while collecting two points with partner Steve Stricker, was a different character altogether in singles, demolishing Francesco Molinari with a display that suggested a return to top form may not be far away.
The Americans haven’t won on European soil since 1993 and this was the closest they have come in that time frame. Pavin’s squad was full of talented individuals, but Euro captain Colin Montgomerie’s was greater than the sum of its parts.
When Europe eventually crept over the line on a day where sunshine finally bathed the Welsh countryside following endless rain and murk, it could look back on Sunday’s third pairs (won by 5.5 points to 0.5) as the turning point. In the end it needed every inch of the three-point lead (9.5 to 6.5) that it took into the final day, as a captivating finale boiled down to the final match between Graeme McDowell and Mahan.
Mahan was inconsolable at the end and will sadly be remembered for the flubbed chip shot on 17 that eased the pressure on McDowell and effectively handed Europe the trophy.
“You hate to put a guy in that position,” said Steve Stricker, whose victory over Lee Westwood at the top of the order gave the Americans a perfect start. “We can all look back and think about a shot here or there that could have turned the match to make up that point.
“You hate to see Hunter going through what he is going through, but it shouldn’t come down to that. We are taking this all as a team loss and trying to help Hunter through the situation.”
McDowell has emerged as one of golf’s genuine stars after winning the U.S. Open this year, but described Monday’s tension as “being in a different stratosphere” to his Pebble Beach heroics.
Europe, led ably by the inspirational Montgomerie, was full of men like McDowell for whom it came naturally to lay down for the cause.
“This means everything for us,” said Ian Poulter. “This is the best tournament in the world, and it is as big as it gets. This means more to us than anything else we might achieve.”
In a contest decided by the slimmest margin possible, that mentality was worth its weight in gold.
Comments