Ryder Cup Roundup: Team Europe Coverage

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Just the beginning of what figures to be extensive coverage of a comeback for the ages. Still, we already gleaned some interesting stuff about Sunday's Team Europe play at Medinah.

Dave Kindred on the emotional win being all about Seve.

This was the kind of day Seve Ballesteros lived for. It was a day when something gets done that no one thought could be done. To win the Ryder Cup, the Europeans needed an historic, unprecedented comeback.

Peter Alliss says it's the best win he's ever seen.

It was a magnificent performance from the whole European team and I have never seen a more exciting end to a Ryder Cup - and I've seen plenty.

It was absolutely brilliant to do that over here in front of a crowd that was very much rooting for the home side.

Larry Fine on Martin Kaymer sinking the winning putt for Europe, with a motivational assist from former captain Langer.

He raised his arms high, pumped his fists and then ran into the fairway and jumped into the arms of Europe captain Jose Maria Olazabal.

"It's a feeling I never had before," said Kaymer, a former world number one and major winner, who later gave special thanks to compatriot Bernhard Langer.

Kaymer had been out of form before his final day win over Stricker and had sought some advice from Langer, who missed a deciding six-foot putt at the Ryder Cup 21 years ago at Kiawah Island.

"On Friday I sat down with Bernhard and talked to him a little bit about the Ryder Cup because my attitude wasn't the right one," Kaymer said.

Paul Mahoney on Luke Donald setting the tone with a 2&1 win over Bubba Watson.

But Luke Donald simply froze him out to win 2&1. European blue on the leaderboard. First point claimed. Momentum.

Donald could do no more to affect the result but he had done his job. Mind you, the Ice Man almost melted. He was coasting at four up through 13 holes until Watson rattled off three birdies in a row before running out of holes.

"I don't know what I would have done going down 18," Donald said. "The nerves were starting to build and Bubba was putting some serious pressure on me. What a relief. I had a lot of responsibility going out number one. Ollie [Europe captain Jose María Olazabal] had enough trust in me to go out first and get that first point. It's a great honour."

Kevin Garside on Ian Poulter.

In Olympic and Paralympic year the Sports Personality gong is probably beyond him. Therefore I propose a category all on its own to be awarded to the sportsman or woman who demonstrates a degree of passion, skill and commitment that against all odds threatens to alter the course of events, change a game, stand an hour on its head. The winner in this, the inaugural year, is Ian Poulter for his astonishing display at the Ryder Cup in Medinah on Saturday. I further propose that henceforth the trophy carry his name. Thus have we created the Ian Poulter Passion Award.

Paul Hayward, also on Poulter.

Poulter, or 'Poults’, who started as an assistant pro and golf shop manager at Chesfield Downs Golf Club, has moved to the highest echelon of Ryder Cup gladiators.

This event stirs his natural tenacity, gives him something to fight against. It is the perfect outlet for his pride.

Richard Williams on the Ryder Cup in the context of the Ryder Cup and Europe's busy year in sport.

In the annals of a competition whose history stretches back to 1927, the 39th edition will occupy a special place for its drama and its wonderful setting. Nothing could have more fittingly honoured the memory of Seve Ballesteros, who died in May of last year, than the fighting spirit shown by players whose white shirtsleeves on Sunday were adorned by the image of his distinctive silhouette.

Derek Lawrenson says Captain Olazabal got it right in the end, comparing the captains on a variety of topics.

Lawrenson also has a timeline on how the event unfolded for Europe.

The Guardian's player report card.

GolfChannel.com's Team Europe report card.

The Guardian's live blog from the day.

Video of the European press conference. Some thought it was cute, I found it awkward and mildly childish. Jonathan Wall called it "the biggest press conference trainwreck in golf history" and says "you only need to watch this clip of Garcia passing drinks and spewing beer all over the floor to understand how big the Ryder Cup is to these guys."

BBC with player reactions on video immediately after the round, including Olazabal having to walk away after getting emotional when Seve came up.

Here is the YouTube version:

The closing ceremony speech by Olazabal.

Golf Channel's final day highlight package.

Sportscenter's highlights.

Ryder Cup Recap: 2012 Images Edition

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Working long hours with low light late, the lens-toters got some amazing stuff.

Sam Weinman and Alex Myers' Birdies and Bogies kicks off with three of the most emotion-rich shots you'll see in golf and is accompanied by several other incredible images, including a doozy of Martin Kaymer by David Cannon.


All 753 of Getty's best stuff from Sunday.

SI's shots from Sunday including Kohjiro Kinno's wide shot of Kaymer's reaction.


The Chicago Tribune's gallery includes this Scott Strazzante shot of the Americans sitting through the Closing Ceremony.


Golfweek's gallery includes this uncredited AP shot.

This And That From 2012 Ryder Cup Saturday

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Doug Ferguson's game story opens by suggesting the European finish Saturday may mask a sizable deficit, but was so thrilling that no one really cares.

Bob Harig suggests the last two matches won by the Europeans Saturday gave us some sliver of hope for a suspenseful Sunday, and also notes that Ian Poulter's 5-birdie finish play only makes his Friday afternoon benching look worse.

Ewan Murray's Guardian game story reminds us the Europeans have only once come back from a Sunday deficit and that was when they trailed by two at Oak Hill in 1995. He also offered this on the crowds.

How a patriotic, noisy crowd have lapped it all up by cranking up the atmosphere with the confirmation of each US point. They are perfectly entitled to do so, even if some of the whooping reaction to poor European shots remains in bad taste.

The Daily Mail's Patrick Collins with the traditional lamenting of the American crowds.

The galleries revelled in it all yet the composition of spectators told a tale of their own. Study the crowds and you might easily conclude that America is populated exclusively by white people, with the solitary exception of Michael Jordan. Yesterday, they gave instinctive applause to the two ex-Presidents Bush as they toured the course in a buggy. George Dubya seemed vaguely alarmed by the rare compliment. The players they follow are cast in the same God-fearing, Romney-voting mould. The overall impression is of the Tea Party at play, and their delight in battering Europeans is unmistakeable.

The Telegraph's Jonathan Liew on Ian Poulter emerging as Mr. Ryder Cup Saturday (though most of us already knew this, which is why his Friday benching should haunt the Captain).

Most of the time, Poulter’s feverish aggression renders him deeply irritating as a person. This is, after all, a man who has a section on his personal website devoted solely to his collection of sports cars. But for one week every two years, he becomes a continent’s hero: the fuel on which Team Europe runs, the conductor of its orchestra, a lightning rod for America’s scorn.

Gene Wojciechowski thinks the 10-6 trailing Europeans have a shot if Keegan Bradley is abducted, Michael Jordan, President Bush, Amy Mickelson and Rev. Jesse Jackson are in the singles lineup and Lee Westwood is made a U.S. citizen.

The bookmakers at William Hill would agree, offering 1/8 on the US to lift the Cup and 9/2 on Europe.

Heading into Sunday, John Huggan says that seen beside Ian Poulter, Rory McIlroy "appeared flat, done in and unlikely to be fully prepared -- either mentally or physically -- for yet another Ryder Cup match less than 24 hours later."

And Malcolm Folley with this obituary for Tiger Woods, Ryder Cup central fixture.

In future, Woods will perhaps no longer be considered a central fixture in the US team. He forfeited that long-held conviction over two of his roughest days in the Ryder Cup, when his old nemesis, Phil Mickelson, aided by young sidekick Keegan Bradley, whipped the densely populated galleries into a frenzy.

Even with a less suspenseful finish likely, Dave Kindred says we've already seen why the Ryder Cup is more fun to watch, more fun for (some) to play and more rewarding of those having fun.

It is not silly to say the Ryder Cup creates more pure fun than the Masters, the Opens, and the PGA Championship do combined. Those events are freighted with history, even burdened by history, and they demand payment in pain from any player who would make their history his. Next to those exercises in masochism, the Ryder Cup is a dawn-patrol tee time with your buddies.

Highlights from the Golf Channel's talking heads:

Brandel Chamblee: “If you don’t consider the score.  If you just take away the fact that the crowds involvement late in the match, you can’t help but think that the fact that Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson were not out there in the afternoon were a big part of why, I think, Europe was able to stage some miraculous comebacks.”
 
Nick Faldo: “They now have a real important job of putting out the 12 players.  This is a big moment.  The European Team has got to be thinking how are we going to win this and where are we going to win this.  And they’re going to have to start looking at the back end of the 12 where America is looking at the front end of the 12.”
 
David Feherty: “I don’t think, in the history of the Ryder Cup, there’s ever been a team that has gone into Sunday four points behind feeling any better than this European Team.  They have the momentum.  It feels like they’re tied up, six points to 10.”

Well everyone except Peter Hanson, who didn't hide his anger at being benched Saturday as reported by golf.se. I tried to translate it but I'll just take the Swedish publication's word for it.

For fun, here's what Google Translate gave me:

Peter Hanson poked also in Saturday's second round. It made him very disappointed. "It's just as well I did not say anything, because that would not be so beautiful anyway," he says to the Swedish Golf.

The announcement came just before noon, when the morning matches were about to run out.

Then Peter Hanson had long stood and warmed up, to help clean up the figures in afternoon tee time. But among the eight names like Captain José Maria Olazábal had chosen was not the Swede.

Following the publication Hanson sat long and hard in the Europe section of the law, but when all the fire-balls had been knocked out, he finally set out to run a ranking workouts with trainer Richard Lindberg and caddy Mark Sherwood. Though judging by the determined steps and clenched his face, it was probably more about turning off his anger.

Captain Ollie's post round news conference posted by Golf Channel.

Folley says Ollie gave the team quite a tongue lashing Friday night, a contrast to his on-course demeanor.

Jose Maria Olazabal has been a low-profile captain, at times appearing invisible. Yet, behind closed doors after a ragged, unprofitable first day for the stars of the European game, he voiced his displeasure in a speech of controlled anger.

‘We got the hair dryer treatment,’ said Graeme McDowell. And McIlroy, a fervent Manchester United fan, added: ‘It was a roasting, real Sir Alex Ferguson stuff.’

Oliver Brown with this less than flattering assessment of Captain Olazabal.

On only the second day, he could be accused of myriad misjudgments. Why did he drop a buoyant Ian Poulter for first-day fourballs in which Europe were swatted 3-1? Why did he join up Justin Rose, Poulter’s first choice of partner, with a woefully out-of-sorts Martin Kaymer? More damningly, why was he not a more prominent presence on the course? Where Love was ubiquitous, haring between holes and discussing pairings with his son – called, in case you were curious, Davis Love IV – the ever-intense Olazábal preferred to hover backstage, leaving the on-course motivational speeches to his quartet of deputies.

We know that the Spaniard is capable of Churchillian flourishes, given that he famously reduced several members of the European team to tears with an address at Valhalla in 2008. But he ought to have done more to animate a side in danger of heavy defeat. The verdict of Colin Montgomerie, the victorious captain at Celtic Manor two years ago, was withering as he claimed the players were not nearly demonstrative enough in their body language.

“Even when they win a hole, there is no energy or momentum,” the Scot said.

On the American side, Rex Hoggard reports that Davis Love stuck to his committee of advisors for assistance.

The Golfweek team makes their predictions for Sunday's singles.

Jim McCabe's notes include the career achievement for Tiger joining Phil Mickelson as the all time leader in Ryder Cup losses, with 17.

Ed Sherman with birdies and bogies, doesn't seen NBC too happy with what will most likely be a suspense free final day.

Sam Weinman and Alex Myers also file birdies and bogies, awarding NBC a bogey for Saturday's technical difficulties.

John Strege with some of the telecast and Twittersphere highlights.

Michael Bamberger thinks Bubba has changed the game forever with his Happy Gilmore opening tee shot.

Gary Van Sickle is already handing out awards, that's how over this thing is. He gives Medinah a big thumbs-up and based on the other awards, you realize we've already seen more wacky and nifty things in two days this week than we saw all of the "playoffs." Another reminder how much better Ryder Cup golf is than anything we see the rest of the year.

The Observer gives out awards too and they called the U-S-A chants "the Ryder Cup's vuvuzela equivalent." Uh, no.

In the photo department, SI's gallery. The Chicago Tribune's shots. And a Guardian gallery of mostly Getty Images.

Golf Channel's Saturday highlight package.

Sportscenter's highlight package.

The opening Watson v. Donald match goes at 12:03 ET, 11:03 CT, with NBC starting at noon, but will be preceded by Golf Channel pre-game coverage starting at 8 am ET. William Hill's take on the singles matches.

And finally, James Orr explains that the messages in the sky for Europe are tweets selected and commissioned by Paddy Power to get a little publicity for a possible Guinness record: World's Biggest Tweet. Video of one message above Medinah Saturday:

Inevitable: First Column Suggesting Captain Ollie Is No Monty!

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And the prize goes to The Daily Mail's Malcolm Folley, who will receive an exclusive one-on-one with self-presumed 2014 Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie as long as he doesn't ask about, well that you know, that thing.

Olazabal failed to generate the response he had hoped for until the end of a momentous day. Yet Davis Love III’s men need just 4½ more points to reclaim the trophy.

Olazabal’s captaincy of the European team is unlikely to be regaled in tales of wonder. For when the story of the 39th Ryder Cup is retold, we will think of Americans Keegan Bradley, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson and the ageless Phil Mickelson burying the reputations of the finest golfers from the other side of the Atlantic beneath the first fall of leaves at the Medinah Country Club.

We will struggle to understand how Olazabal had been unable to galvanise such renowned players as McIlroy, Donald, Lee Westwood, McDowell, Garcia and Justin Rose into offering greater resistance.

‘It’s a crisis now,’ said Colin Montgomerie, who proved a shrewd captain of Europe at Celtic Manor two years ago. ‘Our players haven’t performed to their ability and that’s why the gap has widened all the time.’