Forget the Task Force.
Forget all the plotting and planning by the captain and vice-captains.
Finally, at last, the United States won the Ryder Cup the old fashioned way.
Our guys made the putts, a lot of them. Their guys did not. Our guys played better than their guys.
In the end, it was the United States, putting and pointing its way to a resounding 17-11 rout of the Europeans.
We should have saw this one coming, the Euros should have seen this one coming. The Euros should have seen it coming when on Thursday, David Johnson from Mayville, North Dakota, heckled the heck out of Andy Sullivan and Rory McIlroy because they were having problems making a 12-foot putt on the sixth green. Henrik Stenson summoned Johnson from the crowd and challenged him to make the putt. Justin Rose went so far as to lay a $100 bill beside the ball. Johnson was handed a putter, he wisecracked that it was too short and he promptly drained the putt.
The Euros should have seen it coming. Let the heckling begin.
“I really think it was the fans, it just gets you going and keeps you going,” said Patrick Reed, the PGA Tour’s version of a WWE guy, who can’t win a major but can’t seem to lose in Ryder Cup play. It was Reed who derailed Darren Clarke’s Sunday strategy.
Clarke front-loaded his lineup and when Reed knocked off Rory McIlroy to get the day going, the Euros should have seen it coming.
When the United States placed Arnold Palmer’s Ryder Cup bag on the first tee for inspiration, the Euros should have seen the train coming.
It ran them over. In fact, every American player won a match this week and that hasn’t happened since 1975 when Arnie was the team captain.
Yeah, the Euros should have seen it coming.
They saw the putts on Sunday. Phil Mickelson made way more than his share, enough to rack up 10 birdies and that was only good enough for a tie with Sergio Garcia. Good for Sergio, the guy who can’t putt did on that Sunday.
Not many other Euros did.
This one was four years in the making. It took that long for the putts to finally fall.
On Sunday, there was no choking. Out of the 12 singles matches, the U.S. won seven to make it a 17-11 slaughter. It was fitting that Ryan Moore tie his match with Lee Westwood to provide the half-point that locked up the cup. Earlier in the week Mickelson complained about the 12th pick coming too late that it made it tougher to plan.
Bah-humbug.
The Euros should have seen it coming when Westwood missed those two short putts late Saturday to give the U.S. a three-point rather than a one-point lead.
“I’m so proud of these guys, a great team effort, unbelievable golf. I’m just proud of ’em,” said team captain Davis Love III on the day he had long waited for.
“They guys gave it their all,” was the assessment of the other captain — Darren Clarke. “We’re disappointed but credit Davis and his team.”
You can also credit the thousands of Minnesotans who showed up, about 60,000 each day. This was the big blowout before the snows lay waste to the great north.
Most important of all, this one was for Arnold Palmer.
The Americans made that clear early in the week and there was Arnie’s bag at the first tee and you know Arnie would be proud.
Yes, talent finally won, it finally showed up, the United States was supposed to win.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Finally!
