Brandt Snedeker put up the 14th point mid-afternoon on Sunday as Hazeltine and the enormous crowd and the entire U.S. Ryder Cup team could smell it.
Victory was but a half-point away.
It was fitting that it came from the last man in — Ryan Moore.
Moore, called RyMo on the PGA Tour, was the last man named to the team but he was No. 1 in everyone’s heart when he tied his match with Lee Westwood to give the United States the win it has coveted for the past four years.
The necessary 14 1/2 points was secure but the American, spurred on by the boisterous Minnesota crowds, didn’t stop there. In the end, it was a total rout. The final count was 17-11, it was never close, really, tight for a short while, yes but Darren Clarke’s front-loaded final-day lineup didn’t do enough early to turn things around.
Things started badly for Europe when Patrick Reed upended Rory McIlroy in the opening match to set the tone.
It stayed close for a while but by later that afternoon, the scoreboard was bleeding red and it was obvious that the United States was on its way to ending the drought.
Rickie Fowler added to the Euro demise when he upset Justin Rose in the day’s fourth match, 1-up. Instead of sweeping the first four matches, as Clarke had hoped, the U.S. got a 2-2 split to set the stage for the late afternoon onslaught.
After Moore put up his half point, the roof fell in on Europe.
“Amazing,” said Moore after providing the winning edge. “I mean, I don’t even know what to say. Obviously we had some great play going on behind me. I got comfortable out there. I just didn’t want to let the team down.”
Moore was 2-down with three holes to play but dropped a six-foot eagle putt at the par five 16th then birdied 17 to tie it up. His easy two-putt par at the 18th ended the suspense.
All that remained was to increase the margin of victory.
In the end, 17-11 left a smile on every American face.
