Ryder Cup: the great energiser

GRAEME McDowell has experienced the highs of a Ryder Cup victory at Celtic Manor and the deep disappointment of a defeat on American soil but he believes European star power next week in Chicago can overcome any fervent home support at Medinah.

Images of McDowell being engulfed by European supporters on Celtic Manor’s 17th green after clinching victory over Hunter Mahan two years ago underlined the massive lift Colin Montgomerie’s team got from the home fans in Wales as Europe reclaimed the Ryder Cup it had lost amid similar scenes for the Americans at Valhalla.

Chicago, McDowell suspects, may be just a little different.