Ireland seals the Ryder Cup again

WHAT is it about the Irish that they are so often central to the story when Europe beat the United States for the Ryder Cup?

In the past, it couldn’t have been done without the magic of Eamonn D’Arcy at Muirfield Village in 1987, Christy O’Connor Junior at The Belfry in 1989; Philip Walton at Oak Hill in 1995 and Paul McGinley, again at The Belfry, in 2002.

Yesterday, it was Graeme McDowell from Portrush who had the distinction of winning the decisive match in a nail-biting climax watched by more than 35,000 wildly celebrating fans in the valleys of south Wales. It all came down to the very last match on the course and when McDowell, who again displayed the kind of nerve and courage that typified his magnificent victory in the US Open at Pebble Beach in June, obtained the precious clinching point, the place went mad.