It felt a lot like summer this weekend at the Ryder Cup.
The U.S. team evoked memories of America's disappointing and frustrating showings in the World Cup and World Basketball Championship this summer, as the Europeans cruised to their third-straight Ryder Cup title in a tournament in which they were considered the underdogs.
Winning by a score of 18.5 to 9.5, the Europeans dealt an embarrassing blow to American golf.
The U.S. team entered the tournament with everything pointing in its favor. Tiger Woods has historically faltered in the Ryder Cup, but he nonetheless remains the most intimidating presence in golf. The team also boasted superstars Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, and Chris DiMarco. But the European team put the paper game to waste.
From the outset, Sergio Garcia, who barely missed becoming the first player to win all five of his Cup matches, led the European team. Garcia paired with Luke Donald to help the Euros gain an early lead in the competition. The Americans never came close, as even the strong pairing of Woods and Jim Furyk were unable to solve Garcia and Donald in foursome play.
The American side needed a miracle heading into singles play on Sunday; however, the European domination continued, with eight of 12 singles matches going their way.
Woods and captains Scott Verplank and Stewart Cink posted the only American victories on the day. Verplank won both of his matches, but strangely enough, was left out of the rest of the tournament. The consistent and solid play of the Europeans as a team was never matched by an American team that lacked a cohesive feeling.
Of all the American disappointments, Phil Mickelson stung the deepest. A fan favorite in the U.S., Mickelson could have used some support in Ireland. Mickelson went 0-4-1, the worst record for the Americans and a staggering underperformance for a player ranked No. 2 in the world. David Toms and Chris DiMarco also went winless for the Americans.
The lack of American inspiration was surprising considering the events that preceded the start of play. Just days before the tournament, an Irish tabloid published photos of Elin Nordegren, Woods' wife, and accused her of being involved in pornography. Woods was outraged, and was not shy about saying so. He demanded that the article be retracted and threatened legal action against the publisher. Woods should have had all the motivation he needed to embarrass the Europeans on their own turf. But while Woods' play was far from stellar, he should not shoulder all of the blame for the loss. The Ryder Cup presents a unique moment in which golf becomes a team event, and Tiger's team did very little to support its leader.
The Europeans needed to look no further for inspiration than teammate Darren Clarke. Still grieving over the loss of his wife six weeks ago, Clarke performed wonderfully, winning all three of the matches in which he participated. The emotions flowed over for Clarke upon winning, as he cried in the arms of his caddy and his teammates.
While the Europeans showed a great amount of talent and poise, Americans continue to deliver on failure after another in world play. The Ryder Cup team showed very little enthusiasm and lacked a desire to match that of the Europeans. The United States showed once again that while it has the best golfers in the world in Woods and Mickelson, the best team of golfers resides across the pond.
