As Martin Kaymer lined up a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole Sunday at the Ryder Cup, one of two…
As Martin Kaymer lined up a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole Sunday at the Ryder Cup, one of two things could have happened.
With a make, the Europeans would match the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history and pull off an unprecedented victory against the U.S. team. With a miss, the Americans would have been awarded a half-point, forcing a final hole, where a prowling Tiger Woods had a 1-stroke lead in the middle of the 18th fairway — a huge advantage to the Americans.
But with the pressure of the tournament and an entire continent placed on his shoulders, Kaymer was icy cool. He sank the putt to defeat American Steve Stricker, and celebrations ensued at the Medinah Country Club, outside of Chicago.
The putt completed not just an incredible comeback, but also an incredibly emotional victory for the Europeans. All weekend, the talk had been about Seve Ballesteros — the former heart and soul of European golf in the Ryder Cup — who died in May of 2011 of a brain tumor.
As a tribute, the European team wore navy blue — Ballesteros’ favorite color — and a silhouette of the golfing legend on the sleeves of their shirts. The same image could also be found on bags and hats throughout the weekend.
It was an unusual weekend for the European team in other ways, too.
On Sunday, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, Rory McIlroy, nearly missed his tee time after thinking he was meant to tee off an hour later than he was. Luckily, while McIlroy strolled out of his hotel, he got a phone call that he had to tee off in 25 minutes.
Somehow, he managed to find a police escort and made it to Medinah in just enough time to tie his shoes, take a couple practice putts and tee off.
Had McIlroy been more than five minutes late, he would have been disqualified and likely lost the Cup for the Europeans.
On Saturday, one of ESPN’s most popular golf columnists — Gene Wojciechowski — wrote the Europeans off as they entered the competition’s final day down 10-6 in a race to 14.5 points.
“Team Europe can still win if the following five things happen Sunday: Keegan Bradley is abducted. Team USA Captain Davis Love III inserts Cup spectators Michael Jordan, President George W. Bush, Amy Mickelson and the Rev. Jesse Jackson into the singles lineup. Lee Westwood: U.S. Citizen. Marty McFly shows team Europe captain Jose Maria Olazabal how to go back in time. Team Europe wins eight of the remaining 12 matches to retain the cup,” the columnist wrote.
The Europeans must not have gotten Wojciechowski’s message.
“It’s been done in the past,” said Ian Poulter, one of Europe’s best players, on Saturday when the odds were stacked against his team. “It’s going to be done again. That’s all we can ask.”
It turns out that winning eight of the remaining 12 matches wasn’t too far-fetched after all.
Even more impressive, Europe was anchored on Sunday by four guys who hadn’t won a match all weekend — Kaymer, Peter Hanson, Francesco Molinari and Paul Lawrie.
Meanwhile, Stricker and Woods, the two anchors in the U.S. lineup, didn’t win a match all weekend.
Suddenly, the European Ryder Cup collapse 13 years ago seems like it was yesterday.
That year, the Americans overcame an identical 10-6 deficit, but they did it on their own turf.
But last weekend, the Europeans fought against USA cheers that started three hours before the first tee-off. They fought against Woods, Stricker, Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson.
“1999 was fun,” Furyk told ESPN. “This was pretty miserable.”
But this Ryder Cup victory wasn’t about Tiger Woods or an American collapse. It wasn’t about McIlroy nearly missing his tee-off or Wojciechowski pulling the plug on team Europe too soon. It wasn’t about Mickelson applauding Justin Rose’s 35-foot birdie from the back of the 17th green in a rare, contemporary moment of classiness in American sports.
It was about the legacy of Seve Ballesteros and the age-old cliche of never giving up.
“This one is for all of Europe,” European captain Jose Mari Olazabal said. “Seve will always be present with this team.”
Write Isaac at ims7@pitt.edu.
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