USA: GOLF - THE EUROPEAN TEAM REACTION AFTER RETAINING THE RYDER CUP TROPHY BY DEFEATING THE U.S. AT THE OAKLAND HILLS COUNTRY CLUB, BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN.
Record ID:
648899
USA: GOLF - THE EUROPEAN TEAM REACTION AFTER RETAINING THE RYDER CUP TROPHY BY DEFEATING THE U.S. AT THE OAKLAND HILLS COUNTRY CLUB, BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN.
- Title: USA: GOLF - THE EUROPEAN TEAM REACTION AFTER RETAINING THE RYDER CUP TROPHY BY DEFEATING THE U.S. AT THE OAKLAND HILLS COUNTRY CLUB, BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN.
- Date: 19th September 2004
- Summary: BLOOMFIELD, MICHIGAN, USA (SEPTEMBER 19, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. SERGIO GARCIA AND THOMAS LEVET CELEBRATE THE VICTORY 2. SOUNDBITE (English) EUROPEAN TEAM MEMBER DARREN CLARKE SAYING: "It was a fantastic team effort and everybody scored on our team. Everybody contributed, everybody feels apart of it, which is the way we arrived here. And as we carried on everyone is apart of it. It's amazing." 3. SOUNDBITE (English) EUROPEAN TEAM MEMBER LEE WESTWOOD SAYING: "The difference between this Ryder Cup team and others is it is the strongest Ryder Cup team all the way through. I think we have 12 world class players." 4. SOUNDBITE (English) EUROPEAN TEAM MEMBER IAN POULTER SAYING: "It's my first Ryder Cup. I didn't know what I was missing 3 years ago when I was trying to qualify. I missed that cut by one place. I now know what I would miss and I don't ever want to miss it. It is the best week in golf history." 5. SOUNDBITE (English) EUROPEAN TEAM MEMBER COLIN MONTGOMERIE SAYING: "It has been great for us all. We have a great captain in Bernhard Langer, a fantastic captain. He's been fantastic so everything is good. We'll have a good celebration unfortunately a early wake up call tomorrow." 6. UNITED STATES TEAM WALKING OFF THE COURSE 7. SOUNDBITE (English) U.S. TEAM MEMBER JAY HAAS SAYING: "It is disappointing for the whole team to get beaten as bad as we did. We thought we were ready, it just didn't happen today." 8. SOUNDBITE (English) U.S. TEAM CAPTAIN HAL SUTTON SAYING: "I am not going to spend the rest of my life second guessing this. I was committed to what I thought was in the best interest of the team and if we would have played better and putted better I would have looked like a genius. But now I look like an idiot and I'll live with that." Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 4th October 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BLOOMFIELD, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES
- City:
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAC68H9DGATCR53RHDX4UBN439M
- Story Text: The European team is ready to celebrate after an
emphatic victory in the Ryder Cup.
Rampant Europe retained the Ryder Cup after
dominating the last-day singles matches on Sunday
(September 19) to beat the United States by a record 18-1/2
points to 9-1/2.
Wildcard selection Colin Montgomerie secured victory
with a one-hole win against David Toms at Oakland Hills
Country Club in Bloomfield, Michigan before the Americans
slumped to their heaviest defeat in the competition's
77-year history.
The point gained by the 41-year-old Montgomerie took
Europe to an unassailable total of 14-1/2 points, and that
soon became 16-1/2 after rookies Ian Poulter of Britain and
Frenchman Thomas Levet won against Chris Riley and Fred
Funk.
Irishman Paul McGinley, who holed the winning putt for
Europe at The Belfry in 2002, then beat Stewart Cink 3 & 2
before his compatriot Padraig Harrington put the icing on
the cake, winning two up against veteran Jay Haas in the
final game.
Europe's winning total eclipsed their previous best,
achieved at The Belfry in 1985, when they beat the U.S. by
16-1/2 points to 11-1/2.
It also matched the record total set by the U.S. against Europe at
Walton Heath Golf Club in England in 1981.
It was only the fourth time the Europeans had had the
better of the singles matches in the last 13 Ryder Cups.
Europe had to hold off an early challenge by the
Americans, who took initial leads in the first five
matches, before clinching the trophy for the ninth time --
and a fourth success in the last five matches.
U.S. captain Hal Sutton had predictably packed the
upper half of his last-day singles order with his best
players but could only watch as the Europeans, more
cohesive as a team all week, resisted the early onslaught.
" I am not going to spend the rest of my life second
guessing this," he said. "I was committed to what I thought
was in the best interest of the team and if we would have
played better and putted better I would have looked like a
genius. But now I look like an idiot and I'll live with
that."
Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk won the first two matches of
the day after the Americans, trailing 11-5 overnight, made
a fast start, but victories by Sergio Garcia and Lee
Westwood and a half by Darren Clarke put Europe on the
brink of victory.
Westwood recovered after trailing American Kenny Perry
by two after seven holes, winning one up, after Clarke had
squared his match with Davis Love III and Garcia rallied
with three birdies in a row from the ninth to beat Phil
Mickelson 3 & 2.
Westwood, who matched Garcia's haul of four and a half
points out of a possible five, effectively clinched his
team's triumph as Montgomerie, one up playing the last, was
assured of the half point Europe needed to retain the
trophy.
"The difference between this Ryder Cup team and others
is it is the strongest Ryder Cup team all the way through.
I think we have 12 world class players," said Westwood.
But it was left to Montgomerie, who has struggled for
much of this year while in the throes of a divorce, to seal
the win in his seventh Ryder Cup.
"It has been great for us all. We have a great captain
in Bernhard Langer, a fantastic captain. He's been
fantastic so everything is good. We'll have a good
celebration unfortunately a early wake up call tomorrow,"
Montgomerie told reporters after preserving his unbeaten
Ryder Cup record in singles matches.
First time Ryder Cup participant Ian Poulter shared his
feelings. "It's my first Ryder Cup. I didn't know what I
was missing 3 years ago when I was trying to qualify. I
missed that cut by one place. I now know what I would miss
and I don't ever want to miss it. It is the best week in
golf history."
The Americans had kept alive their faint hopes of a
miracle comeback by going ahead in six of the first 10
singles encounters, but Europe rallied in the sunshine as
the galleries of 40,000 became more subdued.
The resounding cheers of "USA, USA" that had echoed
around the par-70 South Course in the early afternoon were
wiped out by passionate European fans singing the
football-style chant of "Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole".
"It is disappointing for the whole team to get beaten
as bad as we did. We thought we were ready, it just didn't
happen today," said Jay Haas.
Britain (or Europe since 1979) have now won nine times
in the history of the competition. The United States have
won 24 matches and two have been tied.
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