Sunday, September 30, 2012

American's Choke In Ryder Cup

From ESPN: Erasing some of their worst Ryder Cup memories, the Europeans wore the image of Seve Ballesteros on their sleeves and played their hearts out Sunday at Medinah to match the greatest comeback in history and head home with that precious gold trophy.
Europe got its payback for Brookline, when the Americans roared back from the same 10-6 deficit. This rally was even more remarkable, carried out before a raucous American crowd that began their chants of "USA!" some three hours before the first match got under way.
Jose Maria Olazabal squeezed his eyes and fought back tears when Martin Kaymer holed a 6-foot par putt to beat Steve Stricker and give Europe the point it needed to keep the cup. This was the first Ryder Cup since Ballesteros, the soul of European golf in this event, died in May 2011 of a brain tumor. Olazabal wanted his team to wear navy blue, Seve's favorite color, and added a clever touch -- his iconic silhouette on the sleeves of their shirts.
"This one is for all of Europe," Olazabal said. "Seve will always be present with this team. He was a big factor for this event for the European side, and last night when we were having that meeting, I think the boys understood that believing was the most important thing. And I think they did."
Tiger Woods missed a 3½-foot par putt on the 18th hole, and then conceded a par to Francesco Molinari of about that length to halve their match. That extra half-point made it a clear-cut win for Europe, 14½-13½..
http://espn.go.com/golf/rydercup12/story/_/id/8445412/2012-ryder-cup-europeans-snag-improbable-victory
Simply put, Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker choked during the tournament.  Hopefully, in 4 years, they will not be on the team.
But, the Americans choked today, especially when they had a big, 4 stroke lead when they started this morning, and it is an embarrassment to USA golf.

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