US stings Europe for Ryder victory
Trailing by two points entering the 12 closing singles at Valhalla, Faldo went with sting in his tail, putting Pádraig Harrington out last despite the danger of the Open and PGA champion’s clash with Chad Campbell becoming irrelevant.
So it proved and the final scoreline was a resounding 16½-11½ to the United States.
Paul Azinger’s side, ending a run of three successive defeats, clinched victory with four games — those involving not just Harrington, but also star-of-the-week Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell — still out on the course.
With the wind taken out of their sails Poulter managed to make it four wins out of five to be the week’s top scorer and debutant McDowell won as well, but Westwood and Harrington lost and so ended the event without a win between them.
For Harrington a mere half-point to his name was the same story as at The K Club two years ago. His two major wins made it a fantastic year, of course, but as far as the Ryder Cup is concerned he peaked too soon.
As for Westwood, he finished with an attack on the Kentucky crowds.
“Some of the stuff that has been said to me has been shameful,” he commented. “I have been abused from start to finish and I don’t think that’s golf.”
Faldo said his singlesorder was a team decision, but it was only six years ago that Curtis Strange sent Tiger Woods out 12th at The Belfry and that did not matter either. The lesson was not learned.
Faldo stated: “We are talking about fractions between these two teams.
“If we could get it to the last four guys ... that was the risk I guess we took.
“We gave our heart and soul. The golf was fantastic and this particular week they have done us.
“Everybody has given 100% and that’s all you can do.”
America had won, of course, without world No 1 Tiger Woods, but what Azinger did was find 12 players who gave their all for the cause.
“We just had a plan and stuck to it,” he said. “We created a 13th man with the crowd and they were beautifully behaved.
“The guys had an ‘everything to gain’ attitude and they came together as a group. In the end it comes down to putting and heart and our guys had a lot of heart.”
