Justin Rose: ‘We ticked every box we could control’

Ryder Cup veterans Ian Poulter and Justin Rose saluted team captain Thomas Bjorn’s calm under pressure and attention to detail after the Dane delivered a landslide victory for Europe over the United States at Le Golf National.

Europe protected an overnight 10-6 lead over the Americans ahead of yesterday’s 12 singles matches and by the end of another dramatic day’s golf on the outskirts of Paris had regained the Ryder Cup pulling away with a 17½ to 10½ victory few had predicted.

Bjorn had managed to get the best out of 12 players in a team including five rookies against a strong American team.

Poulter praised Bjorn, acknowledged as a fiery personality, for bringing calmness to the European camp.

“I’ve played a few (Ryder Cups) now. Thomas has been extremely calm all week. He’s allowed us to be very relaxed and chilled in the team room, and he understands every player on a personal level and professionally, as well.

So to be able to have that level of calmness in the team room, I think this week showed through.

Rose admired Bjorn’s preparations over the last 20 months to put the dozen team members in the best possible position to succeed.

“I think what Thomas did and the backroom staff did for the team and what you don’t see along this line (of players) right now, you see a bunch of guys who are elated and you see a bunch of guys enjoying the situation, and you see a bunch of guys having drinks to celebrate,” Rose said last night.

“What this team did was not drop their guard until this moment right here. This team was relentless in its pursuit of excellence. We ticked every box we could control all week long. Our focus was unbelievable this week.

Thomas didn’t fill our week with pointless team meetings. He trusted us to be 12 players that would come together, and today trusted us to be 12 individuals working towards the same common goal. And that was his strength this week.

“And I think that we didn’t drop our guard all week long. We stayed on point as a group, and everybody, the discipline we showed got us to this point where we can now let our hair down and now really drop our guard hard.”

Picking up on that theme, Poulter added: “Thomas’s team, the one you don’t see, which are the ones that really help us, the backroom staff, the vice-captains, the chefs, the nutritionists, team physios. The list goes on, and you only see 12 of us sitting here right now, five vices, the wives, the caddies, we can go on and on.

“But Thomas has pulled his team together and I’m not including us 12 as a team, but the entire team behind the scenes to make all this work, and that’s what’s been very, very impressive.”