The Ryder Cup television schedule was completed early Monday morning and Europe ended up as the winner as they defeated the United States 14.5 to 13.5. The final result actually went down to the end as Graeme McDowell defeated Hunter Mahan in the last match to give Europe the win.
Europe was the favorite at Sbg global.com and they came through in the end even though it got interesting on Monday. Europe entered the day with a three point lead but the United States rallied to make things very exciting. McDowell had to make a big putt on the 16th hole or Mahan would have had a chance. The Ryder Cup is normally completed on Sunday but because of the weather the Ryder Cup schedule was extended to Monday.
U.S. Rally Falls Short – The United States made a great rally but it just fell short. Rickie Fowler won the final three holes of his match to get a half against Edorado Molinari. It was a great performance by Fowler who made a 15-foot birdie putt at the 17th and then an 18-footer on the 18th hole. Minutes later it was Zach Johnson closing out Padraig Harrington. That result actually tied the overall score at 13.5 to 13.5. The meant it all came down to the match between McDowell and Mahan and it was McDowell who came through in the clutch. McDowell was up three with seven holes left but he lost one shot in the 12th and another on the 15th. The 16th was the key hole though as McDowell came through with a big birdie putt. Keep in mind that just a half point would have been enough for the U.S. as they just needed 14 to retain the Ryder Cup. It didn’t happen though as McDowell did what champions do and that is make clutch putts.
Colin Montgomerie Comes Through – The European captain was Colin Montgomerie and Monty came through in a big way. He put McDowell in the last match because he knew that he could handle the pressure. McDowell is the U.S. Open champion and he has nerves of steel. On the other side, Corey Pavin proved that he was not up to the quality of previous U.S. captains. The U.S. really lost the Ryder Cup on Sunday when they completely collapsed. If not for that horrible day they would have not needed such a rally on Monday that ultimately fell short.