Team Europe has again won the Ryder Cup. With a victory of 15-13 in Bethpage Black, Luke Donald’s team lifted the cup for the second time on a row.
But credit to Team USA – the victory did not Come easily.
For a large part of the week at Bethpage, Team Europe seemed to be on its way to a victory of a cruise control. The team from Over de Vijver won the opening session 3-1 and did not look back. After Friday the management was 5.5-2.5. By the time a chippy session ended with four balls on Saturday, the leadership was bleached to 11.5-4.5.
“What we saw yesterday and what we saw today was unprecedented,” noted NBC analyst Brandel Chamblee. “They not only have the biggest lead ever, they do it on strange soil.”
It has been said for a long time that winning a Ryder cup on strange soil is one of the most difficult performance in Golf (it has only happened twice since the turn of the century), but this team of Europe made it look like it simple. With an impressive seven-point lead on the way to the singles session (the score was 12-5 after the rarely called envelope rule after a Viktor HOVLAND injury), Team USA would need a miracle during the last session.
Just on Sunday that miracle did not seem so far -fetched.
The Americans have captured the first two games of the singles session-session Copputy Birdies by Cameron Young and Justin Thomas on the 18th Hole-while while Bryson Dephambeau fought to earn a hard-earned half. With a few more American players who kept late leads, Red began to spread over the rankings. The path to victory, although narrow, began to take shape.
While the first games sink on Sunday morning, the Americans only had a 1.5 percent chance of winning the cup. After a furious Sunday cargo, those opportunities increased steadily. And when Match 8 stepped to the 18th T -shirt between Shane Lowry and Russel Henley, the European lead had shrunk in just two points.
In the end the comeback bid was not meant. Just after 5:15 pm local time, Shane Lowry rolled into a Birdie Putt on the 18th Green to win the hole and earn half a point to retain the cup for the euros.
“It was the most stressful 12 hours of my life,” said Donald. “Scream to the Americans and Keegan and his captain. We knew they would be tough, [but] I didn’t think they would be so heavy on Sunday. They fought so hard. Respect for them. ”
While the last putt fell, Lowry dropped a wild roar, dropped his putter and jumped around the green. After a hug with his caddie and handshake with his opponent, Lowry draped an Irish flag over his shoulders and soaked in the moment.
“That was the most difficult few hours of my life,” Lowry said. “I just can’t believe it. The Ryder Cup means everything to me.”
With the victory, Europe has now lifted the trophy after six of the last eight Ryder cups, and nine of the last 12 – and Donald has written a small history. With a second consecutive winning Ryder Cup captain, he joins Tony Jacklin as the only other European captain who wins home and foreign soil.
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