Europe retain Ryder Cup
Article posted: 30 September 2012
It's incredible - I've never seen anything like it
Lee Westwood demonstrated all of his class on the final day at Medinah Country Club as Europe completed a remarkable comeback - arguably the greatest in the competition's history - to retain the Ryder Cup.
Trailing 10-6 at the start of the day, Europe claimed eight-and-a-half points to seal a 14½ - 13½ victory over the United States.
Westwood, representing Europe for the eighth time, showed all of his experience in Chicago, shooting a bogey-free round to triumph 3&2 over Matt Kuchar – his 21st point in the Ryder Cup.
"It’s incredible," said Westwood. "I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve been watching the Ryder Cup since 1985 and have played in eight. It was staggering.
"I know what momentum can do and tried to impress that on a few people. This is one of the best American teams I’ve seen, the rankings suggest that. We were always going to be up against it."
The world number four praised the spirit in which the game was played.
"At the end of day it’s just a game of golf," said Westwood. "We’ll all get together and have a beer. Obviously our beer will taste sweeter, but we’ll remain friends."
Vice-captain Darren Clarke said: "It was awesome. To come back is incredible. I think the momentum turned on Saturday night, when we still believed we could win.
"I’m not in the slightest bit surprised. I think we showed why the Ryder Cup is one of the greatest shows on Earth. I’m over the moon that we’ve won."
Espen Kofstad birdied 16 and 18 to shoot a two under 70 final round at the Challenge de Catalunya, which was reduced to 54 holes after rain suspended play throughout Saturday. He finished tied seventh on ten under.
Kofstad was tied 13th on eight under after closing with a level par 72. Matthew Nixon carded a one under 71 to finish tied 31st on five under.
Alexandre Kaleka was inside the top 40 on four under. Chris Lloyd was three under and Ben An was two under.
Jeev Milkha Singh was tied 17th at the Coca-Cola Tokai Classic.
Categories
Blogs
Archives
