For a brief moment, there was hope. For a brief moment on Sunday morning at Gleneagles, the United States held the lead in six matches at the Ryder Cup, with four more all square. If everything continued on its current trend, the United States would have had a fair chance of capturing the cup it had fumbled away two years ago.
But if there was a theme to the 2014 Ryder Cup, it was this: Europe does not quit. (We'd make some French-surrender joke here, but Frenchman Victor Dubuisson won his two matches.) Virtually every time the United States would establish an advantage, Europe would grind back with a series of relentless drives, pitches, and putts.
Nowhere was this more apparent than in the first singles match of the final day, pitting white-hot American rookie Jordan Spieth against veteran U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell. Spieth blazed out to a three-hole lead by the turn, but slowly let McDowell back into the match and would end up losing. Combine that with Rory McIlroy's earlier hammering of Rickie Fowler, and Europe, needing just four points on the day, had two points before the United States could post even one.
Patrick Reed, the pro wrestler in golfer's clothes, managed a big win against Henrik Stenson. But just a few minutes later, Martin Kaymer won the battle of two-major winners against Bubba Watson. Matt Kuchar and Phil Mickelson managed to win their matches, but by then, the finish line was already in sight. Hunter Mahan let Europe's best player, Justin Rose, back into their match and eventually halved, leaving Europe just half a point away from victory.
In the end, it fell to rookie Jamie Donaldson to hole the winning putt, defeating Keegan Bradley with five matches still on the course. Donaldson had two putts to win; he lipped the first, and tapped in the second. That guaranteed a tie, which meant Europe retained the cup, but the European team wanted to win it outright. As a result, Donaldson wasn't aware of the victory, and neither was the crowd. But with Donaldson's approach on 15 just two feet from the hole, the Europeans clinched victory outright, and the champagne began flowing.
The United States had faced an uphill challenge right from the start. Home-course advantage gives teams an implicit advantage of up to three points, and Europe, the defending champion, would retain the cup in the event of a tie. Plus, Europe boasted the majority of big-name stars in McIlroy, Rose, Kaymer, and others, as well as the noted Ryder Cup hired gun Ian Poulter. The United States lacked stars like Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, and Jason Dufner, and captain Tom Watson declined to pick the two hottest golfers in recent weeks in Chris Kirk and Billy Horschel.
Friday morning began with promise for the United States, as the rookie team of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, and the veteran pairing of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley, each were able to win a point in fourball. Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker split against Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer, but Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson got blown out by Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson. Still, the United States held the early lead.
It wouldn't last. In what would become a theme of this Ryder Cup, Europe woke up in the afternoon and took total control. The United States could only manage a half-point, again courtesy of Fowler and Walker. European MVP Justin Rose again brought in a point for Europe, and the surprisingly strong team of Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson dealt Mickelson and Bradley their first loss as a team. Surprisingly, Spieth and Reed did not play the afternoon session on Friday, the first of many Tom Watson on-course decisions that would draw second guessing.
Saturday morning dawned with Mickelson and Bradley sidelined for the entire day, frustrating both players. The United States managed 2 1/2 points, with Fowler and Walker once again splitting their match. Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan got up off the deck to win, and Reed and Spieth again continued their astonishing debut run. But Kuchar and Bubba Watson again took a loss, and then came the afternoon.
Europe took 3 1/2 points on Saturday afternoon, with only Spieth and Reed managing even a halve against the Euros' relentless assault. The problem for the US, in so many matches, was the inability to hold a lead or hold off a charge. The Europeans simply would not stop grinding, and the Americans had no margin for error from the very start. By the time Saturday ended, Europe was up 10-6, and all that the USA could do was hope and pray for another closing miracle.
It fell to Rory McIlroy, naturally, to end all that. McIlroy destroyed Fowler in their head-to-head match, and from there, the rout was on. And now, the United States will have a quiet flight back home, and a long wait until the competition returns to America, and Hazeltine, in 2016.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Facebook or on Twitter.
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