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Fantastic result and the response to Darren inevitable but one can't help sorry for Henrik after the McGinley/Mongomerie excitement in previous matches

Hmm...bit of a mismatch ultimately. Should Europe start searching for more challenging opponents?

Too Easy... USA need to include Canada ,Central and South America to find a more Talented team to play Europe

Well, the Guinness is going down well here. Cautiously eyeing the bottle of Jameson's on the side. Might be worth calling in sick for tomorrow right now.

Thanks for all the work you've done, Matt & co. Enjoy your pint. I'm sure it won't be the last of the day...

congrats on the win. I couldn't see this going any other way, but "unprecedented" three in a row? Come on now, the USA won 3 in a row in '79, '81, and '83 under the current format, which I think was started in 1979. Those three wins were the tail of something like 12 in a row.

DB, i think he was referring to an unprecedented EUROPEAN three-in-a-row!
Europe were magical...Clarke, Casey and Sergio the ultimate players of the weekend. JJ for the americans. Shot of the tournament was Sergios shot on the 16th in yesterdays foursomes - did you see the divot? Did you see the position. Kudos to Donald for knocking it in too!

Media hero of the weekend, Aussie Wayne Riley commentating for RTE! Soooo funny! Best golfing commentator for the occasion!

Matt, could have been up there if it wasn't for some of your paddy bashing! Good job all the same! I eventually saw the funny side to your blog on the opening ceremony!

Well done Europe!!! Legends

You are not the only one with a lump in the throat - I'm not embarrassed to say I was in floods of tears when Darren finished - what a phenomenal achievement and tribute to his late wife who by all accounts was such a support to him. And McGinley's gesture to halve his match - what a sportsman. Well done Europe, each and everyone of you but most especially Captain Woosnam.

Unprecedented for Europe that is, and anyway the first 9 of that 12 were the US against the UK and Ireland which is kind of like Europe verses California and Oregon.
Anyway as a person who doesn't usually care for golf(for 23 of every 24 months), 2 days of staying up to 3 am in Japan to get all the results has been worth it.
Well done to all for acheiving the near impossible making most Brits proud to proclaim themselves European.

The main text summary is at variance with what Five Live broadcast.

According to Five Live, the sequence of events was:

Start of play: 10-6;
Montgomerie dormie: 10.5-6;
Cink dormie: 10.5-6.5;
Cink wins: 10.5-7;
Casey dormie: 11-7;
Montgomerie wins: 11.5-7;
Woods wins: 11.5-8;
Casey wins: 12-8;
Stenson dormie: 12.5-8;
Clarke dormie: 13-8;
Howell wins: 14-8 (retains Cup);
Donald wins: 15-8 (wins Cup);
Stenson wins: 16-8.

There's a contradiction in the live text that doesn't seem to have been picked up, but it was Howell who secured retention of the Ryder Cup and Donald who sealed victory, and Stenson followed a few seconds later.

Well it's done - but there will be no sticking it down the throat of the Americans.

There were 24 absolute gentlemen playing out there - witness the congratulations for Darren Clarke from each and every man, the handing of a half to JJ Henry from Paul McGinley - McGinley knowing that JJ Henry did not deserve to lose.

Some of the US reporters thought it would get ugly with the supporters - they obviously have never visited Ireland before.

Have a great night folks, I will. Have a safe trip home and come back again soon!

P

Quote From DB
"congrats on the win. I couldn't see this going any other way, but "unprecedented" three in a row? Come on now, the USA won 3 in a row in '79, '81, and '83 under the current format, which I think was started in 1979. Those three wins were the tail of something like 12 in a row."

The US have only won 7 times in a row but the "unprecedented" three in a row is for the Europeans. No European team has ever won 3 in a row and the only team (Us or European) to win all 5 sessions.

Well Done Europe !!

It's a shame that moron of streaker came on the 18th or it would have been a record margin of victory. the stewards shouldn't have helped him out but left him to freeze his backside off!!

Before the Cup started I said this:

I'm tempted to have a flutter on Europe to win by three points or more, and separately on the US to do likewise. Why? I'm not sure who'll win, but with so many unknown factors - particularly the calibre of the American rookies and the ability of the captains - there's the real chance that all of them will pull one way and produce a blowout, and I'd suspect that with the consensus leaning towards a nailbiter you'd get better value plumping for a blowout.

Oh, if only I had! Because sure enough, every factor DID pull the same way - the rookies were fragile, Woosie did a better job than Lehman, Tiger once again didn't show up (can we now say for certain he is no good at matchplay?)...

...imagine what odds you'd have got on a repeat of 2004!

Tremendous stuff, heh? Did you just see Darren Clarke down a pint of Guinness?!? And champagne pour out of Woosie's nostrils?? Hilarious scenes. I think this might be the start of the greatest session in County Kildare's long and illustrious history of sessions.

And picture editors, stop looking for your back page photo!! Darren with a Guinness tash is the one you want....oh hold on, Woosie's just chugged one too!!!

But DB, you're right, sorry. We should be saying unprecedented for us. You won for about 40 years. Which is kind of why are boys are drinking like thirsty teenagers on a school trip to Calais.

Fantastic performance by a great "TEAM"! I imagine Thomas Bjorn feels even more remorse now regarding his outrageous outburst against Woosie! Darren has brought the emotional side out from all of us and posted 3 out of 3 but let's not forget Lee Westwood who played in every series, won 4 out of five points and didn't lose. Great effort and he has fully repaid Woosie for what was the right wild card choice anyway!!

Well done Europe, especially the big man from Dungannon. Not a dry eye in the house. All the best to Darren, Tyrone and Connor in the coming days.
Without a doubt Sport View Personality of the Year. Well done to both sides for a great sporting occassion.

The captains' picks on both sides have proved to be masterstrokes. Clarkey & Lee go without saying, but what about the efforts of Cink and Verplank today? Two shining stars amongst the otherwise fading stars and stripes.

Also seven years on from the debacle of Brookline, the true sporting ethos of golf and the Ryder Cup in particular has been firmly re-established. The reaction of the US teams and fans today was quality, as was McGinley's hugely magnanimous gesture in giving JJ a half. How easy it would have been for the Irishman to want to gain his moment of glory on the 18th green on home soil - well he did, but not in the way that 99% of so-called "sportsmen" would have pursued it.

To make the Ryder Cup an even contest it was changed from GB and Ireland v USA, to Europe v USA. Is it not now time to make it Europe v USA, Canada, South Africa, Fiji and Argentina! Come on, let's give them a chance!

Forget about that plonker David Walliams and posh totty Zara Phillips - big Darren must be Sports Personality of the Year 2006.

The campaign starts here!!

I'm so very impressed with the performance of the European Team this year. It seemed like the cup was retained with passion and a certain panache.

The talk of including other North and Central American nations in the American team may be a little unnecessary though. I feel that until we have won at least five in a row there is the risk that the Americans will be waiting to pounce and win once more.

Anyway, well done to the teams, especially Europe and well done to a certain fellow named Darren.

What a fantastic three days of sportsmanship from both teams. One thing I noticed from the 5 Live commentary, when everyone else was partying on 16, Montgommery was off in a buggy to support McGinley on 18 - He's going to make one superb captain in a few years time.

Congratulations to everyone involved, a great advertisement for the sport, the format and the hosts.

Cheers!!!!!!

Well, Andy, after a result that comprehensive it's hard to see Darren not getting it. Team of the Year is also a formality now.

Indelible memory for me of the fabulous last 3 days was when Clark's caddy arrived on the scene on the balcony, pint of the black stuff in hand. Thinking he was to have a gulp himself - and it would have been undoubtedly well earned - instead he passed it to Clarke who of course downed it in one. A wonderful boss - subordinate moment which said a lot about both men. Great stuff !

The consolation the Europeans so badly need. When they start winning majors, I may agree that Europe produces REALLY great golfers.

Go woosie! I think this really teaches the Americans a big lesson. They might do everything else well but one thing is for sure, golf shows the best of sportsmanship, something money can never ever buy. I feel the european team should feel proud of themselves that they totally dominated this game this time around.

Congratulations to the Team - brilliant performance

What's really worrying from an American point of view is that Europe are dominating, without much of Europe having a huge interest in golf. What would happen if France, Germany and Italy started to take golf seriously, let alone Eastern Europe in the years to come? Does anyone know what is being done by the European PGA and even the EU to increase access and participation in golf across Europe? Or if interest in golf has grown over the last 20 years on the Continent?

Well done everyone, am working in Baghdad and have just read the result.As a Norn Ireland man very well done to Darren, nobody ever thought you would let us down despite the dreadful time you have had recently been through. Once again congrats and well done

What a day, what a week , what a man. Darren you did yourself, your country and your team proud. This week will live long in the memory of all golf fans and all irish people

Well done to the Europe team - it's hard to pick anyone out as so many of them did so well.

As the for the USA, I think the answer is for them to pick more wildcards. They suffer from an abundance of very good players, and I think they might do better to pick a set of that they know can gel together as a team, players who won't wilt in the heat of the team competition.

Well how does "Big Mouth" Bj酶rn feel now. 2 wildcards and 2 outstanding performances. What a pick by the captain.....huge respect for Woosie now a masterstroke of "Team sports" Somthing the yanks just dont have.

Thanks for a great 3 days, bring on 2008

pb says "when Europeans start winning majors, then yu can claim to have great golfers".

The fact is that out of the top 20 world ranking golfers, only 5 are Americans. This is a huge turnaround of fortunes and the young players coming through in Europe are exceptional and there is a lot of them.

That said, let's not get big-headed and talk of increasing countries to make it more competitive, the US have a nasty habit of fighting back on home soil.

Just got back from the best press conference I have ever been to (just read that back and realised that's like a plumber saying the best blocked toilet they've ever seen....anyway) but Rob is going to write about that in a minute. Suffice it to say that the European team are in high spirits.

One quick serious point before I bash some more nonsense out on a different thread but James F, you're right to point out what look like inaccuracies but the consensus here is that it was Stenson, by a whisper. With so much going on at the same time in different places in golf events, TV and radio frequently play things off tape ie nearly live. It can sometimes be very difficult to work out the real order of things. But when you're actually at a golf tournament you can often tell you're about to see something good on a big screen because you heard a massive cheer 30 seconds before.

in answer to mr farrar and the 5 live text......it is wrong
the actual results as the games were actually finished was that luke donald secured a point to make europes total 14 points there by retaining the cup then stenson won his mach to take the score to 15 points.then darren clark secured his win to take it to 16 points

ps a dormie doesnt actually mean that the point has been won by that person only that the minimum they can get is a half point but this is not actually counted until the match has actually completed

I love golf, not a good player myself, but darren clark's finish was just awesome. i cried when he teed off on the first and when he putted out to win his match, i take my hat off to the k club for such a fantastic ryder cup, the best i've ever seen, the spirit in which it was played and the support of the irish fan's, just fantastic.........josh from bristol

Is there a similar competition of Asia and Australasia versus Africa - Singh against Els would be tasty.

Sure this has already been said but just wondering where all the Woosie doubters are now? Congratulations to both teams for a Ryder Cup of great entertainment and sportsmanship (take note all those involved in football) and particularly to Ian Woosnam and the Europeans for a stunning victory.

the points accrued and the exact points tally to enable europe to win were as follows.....
start of play 10-6
cink wins..10-7
montgomerie wins..11-7
woods wins..11-8
casie wins..12-8
howell wins..13-8
donald wins..14-8..retains cup
stenson wins..15-8..wins cup outright
these are how the scores were tallied as the matches actually finished

Actually, I think the current format of the Ryder Cup is just fine - the Europeans are just going through a hot streak right now.. I am asure at some point in the future the momentum will switch back.As for Canada and South America, I think we're satisfied being in the President's Cup, and I think the hope here in Canada will be that when we host the event next year in Montreal, we can host it as well as Ireland did, and have the same boisterous (but fair) fans that the Irish proved to be.

Quite frankly, with the President's Cup being next door to the US, I'd expect a large contingent of US fans to show up for the event and heartily cheer for their side. It could be quite lively there.

I think I have been beaten to it, but Darren Clarke has staked a claim for 大象传媒 Sports Personality of the Year.

Just want to take my hat off to Darren Clarke. I thought the guy was amazing over the last three days, when you consider what he is going through...In my eyes he is ispirationational. Darren Clarke, a continent is proud of you - you are a legend.

Obviously, DC should get Sports Personality of the Year! He should've been a shoe-in just for putting his name forward in the first place, let alone for the magnificent performance of the last 3 days. What a great guy! Equally obviously, the European team should get Team of the Year & Woosie's surely sewn up Coach of the Year? Fantastic!

GREAT GOLF AND MY HEART WENT OUT TO DARREN CLARKE AND HAD A TEAR IN MY EYE FOR HIM WELL DONE TO THEM ALL

Unfortunately I didn't get to see most of the last day catching only the back end of the highlights.

Could anyone tell me why Luke Donald was being booed?

i think that europe played some great golf all weekend but espically darren clarke. it was nice to hear the reciption he recieved on the first tee on friday he is one of the sports truest gentlemen i have seen.

Simon

Luke Donald wasn't being booed, the crowd were chanting "Luke,Luke" which sounded liked Looook Looook so a lot of people thought it was booing but was in fact just the opposite

He wasn't being booed, they were shouting 'luuuuuuuuuuuuuuke'.
This started in the states, and can be heard most Saturday / sunday nights on Sky.

Simon,

Luke Donald was not being booed - What was actually being cheered was "Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuke" - Same as when RVN was at Man Utd and the crowd cheered "Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuddd"

Luke Donald was not being booed, it was just the crowd calling his name "Luke", Kanu always had the same problem in the Prem.

As an Irishman having lived in the UK and USA over the past 20 years, so proud of the team and of the fans.

The USA often gets a bad press and often because we tend to think of its financial, industrial or military might. However, we saw over the past weekend what REALLY makes it such a great country - the pride, will-to-win and, above all, the generous spirit of their people. And anyone who gives Tiger a hard time just doesn't understand the nature of 18-hole matchplay golf.

I hope that when it's our turn to lose, we can be as gracious.

Thanks all - I hoped that I had misheard the crowd as it seemed out of place amongst such great support!

What a fantastic result, I was shouting at the telly in celebration watching the highlights (even though I knew the final result...)

A tremendous Ryder Cup and another truly memorable result for European fans. So chuffed for all of the team and especially Darren and Lee.

I feel for Tom Lehman and American fans, though. Tom was a great player and probably a good captain, but I'm sure that he was hampered by the selection system - probably more than by the supposed "individualism versus team" differences in cultures.

There's way too much money available on the US tour, and as a result we've seen that the ability to create a big bank balance from playing golf doesn't translate into the ability to play as part of a team, for nothing more than honour. But what to do about it?

I'm convinced that although the leading players (i.e. money-winners) on both sides of the pond should be automatic picks, the number of qualifiers by money has to be reduced. Personally, I'd like to see no more than half of each team selected on winnings, with the rest being Captain's Choices ("Wildcards" is derogatory, and completely unfitting, as all four of them showed this year). Maybe the respective bodies on each side should go further, and limit earnings qualification to only three? This would surely give the Captains a bigger challenge, but also the ability to pick the players that they truly believe have the best chance of giving the team performance that the competition deserves?

On the subject of expanding the pool of eligible players on the US side, does anyone really think that Americans would go for it? And if the authorities did, would we expect that, unless money remains the only, most inappropriate criterion for the majority of selections, any non-US players would actually be selected? Europe versus Rest of the World might be an interesting and entertaining concept, though!

Huge congratulations to everyone involved, on both sides, but commiserations, Tom - you really didn't get a fair whack at it!

Great golf guys but please change your outfitters / fashion advisers. You will give golf a bad name at this.

Was on 15 when Stenson sank his putt. We had already heard That Donald had won on the radio and the heard the roar on 14 when Howell went 5 and 4.
Darren Clark - Legend. Whenever he walked off or onto a hole the atmosphere felt different from any other European or American. It was more than sport!

And as for the atmospehere on 16th, I don't think I will ever experience anything in sport like that again.

DC should certainly be crowned sports personality of the year. Not just for his achievements over the last few days but for his gesture earlier this year when he refused to proft from an unexplained improved lie whilst his ball was in rough over night. What a gent, what a great guy and what an ambassador for sport.

"Is there a similar competition of Asia and Australasia versus Africa - Singh against Els would be tasty."

Unfortunately, a four man contest would be over by midday on Friday !!

Considering recent competitions, this Ryder Cup surely restored the original sporting values that Sam Ryder intended, friendship and sportsmanship. The Americans gracious in defeat, the Europeans generous in victory. This had everything for the fan....except maybe a close finish....off for a guinness now.....

one of the best sporting days of my life, right up there with scott gibbs souring sir clives celebrations at wembly in 1999.

Also i think the chant for Luke Donald is actually from his university days at Northwest where they chant Go U! NU! correct me if i'm wrong.

Anyway what a great weeekend.

Did this contest really have everything that the spectator/viewer would want? Although the result was phenomenal, at least for us on the Eastern side of the pond, was it all that it should be and what we should want it to be - a fair and closely fought contest, with a knife-edge finish?

Personally, I'd like to have my adrenaline levels stay through the ceiling until the last put of the last match, on the 18th green, regardless of which side wins. But everything I've read and heard today - from pundits, sports writers and bloggers - is united in condemnation of the winnings-based selection process.

GB&I were handicapped for years by the limited selection pool available. Then the rules were changed and we've gradually ended up in the situation where it's the US team and it's Captain who are handicapped by being forced to field big earners who, maybe, aren't best suited to the competition.

Time for the rules to be changed again, to give the Captains more choice over selection. Some players surely should qualify on earnings, but not 10 a side. Make it three or four, with the rest being personal selections based on ability to play as a team, and the playing field starts to level again.

Europe would still win, but at least future US Captains wouldn't have to go home feeling like they'd been sent to execution, hands bound and blindfolded!

Sorry to be a bit of a trainspotter about this but surely Luke Donald holed the putt that won the Cup - not Stenson.

Monty wins - 11 points
Casey wins - 12 points
Howell wins - 13 points
Darren Clarke went dormie 3 up - guaranteed 13.5 points

Luke Donald ins - took us to guaranteed 14.5 points.

Stenson's win moments later - it was already all over!

Assuming of course that Sky showed us Donald's and Stenson's winning putts in the right order??

Fantastic congratulations to all the team especially a man who showed us all what sport should be like thank you Darren Clarke. Also somebody tell that obnoxious clown Di Marco how to behave when the contest is OVER! Perhaps Paul McG can have a word. Look forward to the next trouncing in 2008

Sorry about my previous comment - I should have read the earlier contributions re: who hoiled the winning putt - from Mr Farrar and Mr Geach who also spotted Stenson going dormie which I missed.

Have to say I agree with Mr Farrar, dormie means you have definitely secured a half point whether it "counts" or not. So when Luke Donald won on 17 we had definitely won the Cup.
Go Luuuuuke.
Sorry Henrik.

Let me get this straight.

The Euros win 3 in a row (something that has never been accomplished before by a EUROPEAN team) and suddenly there's talk on their side of the pond about expanding the US side to include Canada and others?

Hmmmmmm. Pretty big talk for a continent that isn't exactly drowning in majors, don't ya think?

Surely Luuuuke is Star Wars? Sorry, JC, but Go U NU????

In response to anyone counting the dormie points before the match has finished.

The reason dormie points aren't counted is because the match is still live and you can be disqualified from a match in progress.

Hey Guys,

Forget all this tosh about WHO sank the winning putt. Big D was asked at the start of the week about it and, with the sportsman quality he displayed all week, he clearly stated that he didn't care who did it - just as long as it was a European.

This was a TEAM event, won by a great TEAM who will hopefully now go on as individuals to win a shed load of Major Championships.