Europe Wins the 2010 Ryder Cup

Well golf fans, the action has concluded at Celtic Manor in Wales, and in the end, it was the Europeans winning the 2010 Ryder Cup, by a score of 14 1/2 to 13 1/2. The U.S. team gave the European team a run for their money in the singles matches, but it was the matches on Sunday that really set the team from Europe on their way to the win, as they just completely dominated the action, and it ended up being the difference for the European team.

Heading into the event, most believed (including myself) that the Europeans were the better team from top to bottom, in terms of talent and those that were playing well right now. That turned out to be the case, as Colin Montgomerie managed to find the right combination in terms of how he set up the singles and team matches.

It was very intriguing to watch Lee Westwood back in action after the injury he suffered prior to the PGA Championship, as it’s obvious that he’s going to be making a run at the world number one ranking once he gets back in the flow. And then there was Ian Poulter, who is never shy in terms of showing his confidence, and he showed why this week. He was huge for this team, and made some big shots at key moments for this team, as did Luke Donald, who has been red hot as of late.

Of course, the match that got all the attention was the twelfth match of the singles competition, which saw Graeme McDowell hold off Hunter Mahan for the clinching point. Mahan didn’t exactly have a great chip shot that would have made things more interesting, but Mahan doesn’t deserve all the blame for the loss. Like Phil Mickelson said in the press conference after the event, it was a mixture of shots here and there throughout the week that could have made the difference.

It’s never fun to lose, especially when you are so close to victory. It has to be tough for the players to wonder what might have been, given the fact that only a half a point would have allowed the U.S. to retain the cup. But despite the loss, there are certainly some positives coming out of this event, and they definitely outweigh the negative of losing it.

If you got a chance to check out the U.S. team press conference after the event concluded, it really felt like we were looking at a team. Some may think that the Ryder Cup is “just another event,” but if you saw the way Mahan reacted after the missed chance, you’ll know that is simply not the case. It’s great to see a team filled with some of the best players in the game come together and create that team atmosphere, and that certainly speaks volumes for the possibilities to come for the U.S. team.

While the usual suspects like Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker proved to be the most valuable members of the team, guys like Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton, and Bubba Watson all got great experience out of this. Most of those guys will probably play in a few more of these, and the experience in Wales will only help them in the future.

So even though it was a loss for the U.S. team, I don’t really think it can be viewed as a disappointment. Both teams played very well, but overall, the Europeans were just better. There’s no shame in that. The pressure was on the European team on their home turf, and they came through with the win.

Congrats to the Monty and the European team on the big victory!