Three of life’s inevitables:
Death, taxes and another crushing of a U.S. Ryder Cup team on European soil.
That’s the way it’s been for the past 25 years and that’s the way it was on a raucous Sunday outside Paris with tons of blue on the singles scoreboard.
Final 42nd Ryder Cup score:
Europe 17 1/2 United State 10 1/2.
Wasn’t as close as the final score indicates.
Europe seized control of this latest confrontation between the guys from the United States and the lads from across the pond late Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning. Europe went 7-1 in those two sessions and set the stage for yet another Sunday thrashing.
You saw that slight glimmer of hope early Sunday when Justin Thomas, Webb Simpson and Tony Finau won three of the first five matches and Brooks Koepka scratched out a half a point from Paul Casey. But that was as good as it would get for a U.S. team that was out-played, out-spirited and out-coached by their European counterparts.
We can sum this up really quick for you and all we need to do is look at the records of the captain’s pick for each team.
Tiger Woods went 0-4, Bryson DeChambeau went 0-3, Phil Mickelson 0-2 and Tony Finau broke out of that mold with a winning 2-1 record for the American side.
For Europe, Henrik Stenson was 3-0, Sergio Garcia 3-1, Ian Poulter 2-2 and Paul Casey 1-1-1.
That math adds up to 2-10 for the Americans compared to 9-4-1 for Europe.
Any questions?
Truth be known, this event simply means more to the European side than it does to the Americans.
“I can’t quantify it, to tell you how much it means (to Europe),” said Ian Poulter, who along with Sergio Garcia represents the heart and soul of the European side.
Poulter took down the world’s No. 1 on Sunday, upsetting Dustin Johnson, 2-up. Likewise, Garcia smacked Rickie Fowler, 2-and-1, and became the winningest European player ever — he has chalked up 25 1/2 points to Nick Faldo’s 24.
European captain Thomas Bjorn called Sergio “the heartbeat” of the team when he was named as a captain’s pick, Garcia pretty much summed up the difference between the Europeans and the Americans:
“The feeling we have with each other, the way we connect with each other is amazing. I love everything about it. I’m so proud of the crowds we have in Europe, there’s nothing like it.”
The American team, with six players in the world’s top 10 was the favorite on paper coming in. Only problem is that there was no thick rough on that paper like there was at Le Golf National.
Captain Bjorn knew before the matches began that it could go his team’s way.
“This really goes out to the 12 players,” he said with a huge smile after his team’s overwhelming victory. “They were determined, they were focused. It was an amazing week. When they came in and I saw their attitude and the way they practiced, I knew we had a chance.”
He also knew history was on his side.
He also knew that his captain’s picks played the pants off the American captain’s picks.
He also picked some great pairings as well.
Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari were a perfect 4-0 as a team.
“It’s hard to describe,” said Molinari, the reigning Open champion who delivered Sunday’s victory-clinching point for Europe. “It’s an amazing group of guys. Nothing was gonna stop us. It’s not about me, it’s about the group. Everyone did an amazing job.”
In the end, Rory McIlroy made the most important footnote for this European win.
“Everyone,” said McIlroy, “everyone on our team contributed at least one point to the win.”
Jim Furyk might want to make a note of that.
