Scott Murray, who has watched (almost) every Ryder Cup 2012 shot, gets carried away by Europe's triumph
TEAM EUROPE
Nicolas Colsaerts
The Ryder Cup looked like getting away from Europe early doors, with the Americans battering their visitors in three of the four opening-day fourballs. Only Nicolas Colsaerts showed any resistance, and he had to battle against Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker and Lee Westwood. Without the point he somehow salvaged by raking in a series of ludicrous putts, and clacking a number of approaches tight to the pin, Europe would have been jiggered from the get-go. The woefully misfiring Westwood had the good grace to spend most of the round loudly guffawing at his partner's escapology with a look of incredulity and glee writ large across his otherwise flustered coupon. The score at the end of the first day: USA 5-3 Belgium (and Europe).
Rating: 10
Luke Donald
If one decision won the Ryder Cup for Europe, it was surely José MarÃa Olazábal opting to send out Donald in the opening singles match. Pretty much everyone assumed the show would open with part two of Bubba/Poulter – surely a shoo-in for a future Peter Morgan play – but Ollie second-guessed Davis Love III, perhaps surmising that Poults the Entertainer would have got caught up in a sideshow to the detriment of Poults the Scrapper. Instead, Donald came out, clipped the gregarious Bubba with ruthless efficiency – forget those two short putts he missed to close out the match, he was five under through 17 – and silenced the crowd. Er, eventually. But silenced them early enough to send a signal all the way down the leaderboard, while allowing Poulter to go about his business in relative obscurity elsewhere.
Rating: 10
Sergio GarcÃa
This is the Ryder Cup. He's Sergio GarcÃa. Next.
Rating: 10
Peter Hanson
According to the rumour mill, the big man had a full and frank exchange of views with his captain regarding his non-selection after a piss-poor showing in the Friday fourballs. How important must their row have been? It would have showed to Ollie that every single member of his team wanted it, and wanted it bad, and given the captain extra succour, which he in turn was then able to transmit back to his players for that tearful call to arms on Saturday night. So that's how important their row must have been. Hanson also kept pestering the in-form Jason Dufner, enough to send a wee bit more nervous energy pinging around Medinah. No points, but his contribution was important in a way that can't be measured. In a way that actually was not measured, admittedly, but we're all adult enough to catch the drift of these elaborate concepts.
Rating: 10
Martin Kaymer
A player with absolutely no confidence whatsoever in his form, or in himself. A shy chap who suddenly found himself in the eye of a storm – having surely never believed it would come down to his match – with the whole world waiting for him to fail. A German who, like his legendary compatriot Bernard Langer, faced a putt for the Ryder Cup with a pitchmark on his line. A man who swallowed hard, decided he'd be buggered if he was going to introduce himself to Langer's demons any time soon, and hit his ball decisively into the cup.
Rating: 10
Paul Lawrie
Lawrie's Open win of 1999 at Carnoustie is still, outrageously and disgracefully, put down to Jean van de Velde's collapse. No matter that the Aberdonian shot a final-day 67 when the rest of the field were moaning and grizzling like bairns about the long grass. No matter that his four iron into 18 during the subsequent play-off was one of the great carpe diem moments in the history of All Golf. So how lovely for him to rout the in-form Brandt Snedeker 5&3 in the singles. He should have been picked more often, too: he was four under with his own ball in the Friday fourballs. Few will have the brazen cheek to question his ability now.
Rating: 10
Graeme McDowell
G-Mac sunk the winning putt at Celtic Manor in 2010, and in a funny way he did the same thing here, only at the other end of proceedings. He put away a missable putt to win his foursomes with Wee-Mac on Friday morning, having let a three-hole lead slip. If that had not gone in, Europe would not have had their first point on the board, and we wouldn't be here now. Also, he should get credit for wandering around in a manner which suggested he clearly wasn't having any truck with defeat. Poulter minus the shouting. And the sensational putting, but hey, you can't have everything.
Rating: 10
Rory McIlroy
The only man to take to the Ryder Cup tee while still eating his breakfast.
Rating: 10
Francesco Molinari
Molinari has shown an occasional tendency to wobble a bit when the heat is turned up – witness his spurning of the Scottish Open title earlier this year – but when the pressure was on in the singles, he repelled a charge from the greatest player of our age not once, but thrice. The final fightback was breathtaking: having thinned a chip on 17, then driven into a bunker on 18, the old problems looked to have resurfaced. But he desperately steadied himself and clipped a gorgeous iron into the green, where this time it would be Tiger who would suffer from temperature issues. It was the shot that won the Ryder Cup for Europe. Tendency to wobble? Oh I don't think so.
Rating: 10
Ian Poulter
Poulter could have lost his singles match 10&8 and still deserved the man-of-the-tournament award. Turning round a Saturday afternoon fourball with five birdies in a row would be the high-water mark for any normal player, especially as he appeared to squeeze most of the jelly out of his eyeballs when screaming in delight on 16. But it's his antics back on the first tee, taking on the crowd and Bubba amid pantomime scenes, that will live longest in the memory, and must have made the Americans wonder exactly what the hell they were dealing with. "Don't get scared, Poulter!" shouted some wag down 18 on Saturday morning. Oh Poulter didn't get scared.
Rating: 10
Justin Rose
Up to the Sunday singles, the only European player to have ever been spotted as a young man purchasing foodstuffs from late-night Basingstoke kebab emporium Chick-Mex had enjoyed a solid Ryder Cup, if not a great one. After 16 brave and battling holes in the singles against the legendary Phil Mickelson, it was still a case of nearly-but-not-quite. But then he raked in a monster on 17 to level the match, jigged around like a penguin who had been taking unwise choreographic advice from Peter Crouch, and stroked in a putt he had no right to make on 18 to steal the game. This was against one of the greatest players to have ever lived. Kids of Europe, if you get enough of those large doners down your neck, our long-term future in this event is assured.
Rating: 10
Lee Westwood
Westwood was a complete shambles for two and a half days. Even the two holes he won on the front nine of his singles match were as a result of tiddlers missed by Matt Kuchar. (Naturally, he gave one of them back with a lame short prod of his own). But with the scoreboard turning blue, Westwood realised the importance of getting his act together, and so he finally stopped buggering about. His 25-footer on 15, to effectively seal the match after a rare hot streak with the flat stick, was as good a putt sunk all week. Kuchar made him tap in from one and a half feet to seal the win, an outrageous insult under most circumstances, but Westwood took it in good humour, perhaps aware that if he had been playing against himself, he'd have demanded to see it too. A gent who stepped up for Europe when it really mattered, and not for the first time either.
Rating: 10
José MarÃa Olazábal (non-playing captain)
OK, so maybe he should not have kept picking Westwood during the first two days. But perhaps he knew exactly how things were going to pan out, and that Westwood would require three-and-a-half rounds to get going, before putting in a crucial shift. Otherwise, Ollie was pretty much bang on, setting the tone from the opening speeches to his emotional valediction on Sunday evening. You would need a heart of stone not to have been in floods when, during an interview with Sky, he absent-mindedly began talking to Seve – "This is for you …" – before realising he was on camera and correcting himself. "This was for him …" was all he managed by way of continuation, before burying his face in his cap for a wholly deserved sob. It was heartbreaking and life-affirming at exactly the same time, as all the best sporting moments should be. And those are the ghosts of Brookline vanished, too.
Rating: 10
Seve Ballesteros (vibes)
Well, y'know. And is there anything more fitting than Europe having won like this on a course set up so players can drive like madmen and then fashion ludicrous escapes?
Rating: 10
TEAM USA
Keegan Bradley
America's player of the tournament. Bubba got all the credit for whipping the crowd up, but really most of the early palaver was down to the 2011 US PGA champion, who set about sinking a preposterous number of putts on the opening day and running around like Marco Tardelli in the 1982 World Cup final. Had by far and away the most haunted thousand-yard stare of the entire US team in the closing ceremony. He really did care quite a lot. He'll be winning a few majors down the years.
Rating: 10
Jason Dufner
Spent the entire week wandering around like a man wondering if he had left the gas on but deciding that it will be OK either way because he's got a pretty good insurance policy. Three points from four, the last won when he flicked away Peter Hanson, who had been coming back at him in determined fashion, by raising an eyebrow. Took to the stage in what could only be described as a carefree mooch, both hands in pockets, like a gentleman popping down the road to see if he could grab a pint at the local before lasties, but no worries if he doesn't make the bell, he might have a couple of cans back at home in the fridge. Scruffy and slightly overweight, give or take a splash of genius he is each and every one of us. Only he's jumped the rope.
Rating: 10
Jim Furyk
Showed his usual fighting spirit from beginning to end, even though it didn't quite work out for him. Unlucky to lose to the Macs on the opening day, he made damn sure it did not happen again with birdie on the opening hole against the pair on Saturday. He never relinquished that lead. And what could he do in the singles, up against both Sergio and Seve? He was a dimple away from going dormie two on 16, celebrating a putt which was dropping but then outrageously decided to pop back out again, then saw his attempt at a long-range up and down from the back of 18 miss by a coat of paint. You know who was keeping those balls out? Yep. Despite it all, he was gentlemanliness personified. Apart from during the closing ceremony, that is, where he was a picture of seething malevolence as a Scottish folk band jigged gleefully in front of him, heidrum-hodruming right up in the poor guy's grille.
Rating: 10
Dustin Johnson
The Ryder Cup is perhaps the perfect arena for Big Dustin, who is arguably the most talented player on the entire circuit, but certainly the most inconsistent. In matchplay conditions, though, he can have his thundering meltdowns and move on without having suffered too much pain. Having needlessly shed a two-hole lead to Colsaerts in the singles, missing short putts and toying with water, he hit a towering long iron into 14 to set up birdie, the first of three holes in a row to close out a match in the brisk manner of a hunter twisting a rabbit's neck. Three wins from three, without making any fuss, a gentle giant.
Rating: 10
Zach Johnson
A tenacious wee irritant, a scrapper of the highest quality. Only denied a four-from-four record by Ian Poulter's frankly silly putting display at the tail end of the Saturday fourballs. During the closing ceremony, was by some distance the American to appear most personally affronted by defeat. The look on his face! The narrowing of the eyes! Now there's a man who understands how important the Ryder Cup is.
Rating: 10
Matt Kuchar
The incredible smiling man. He even managed a thin-lipped version during the closing ceremony, despite his putter having cooled on him – and Westwood's having turned inexplicably molten – at exactly the wrong time. Otherwise, a consistent thorn in Europe's side, winning both of his fourballs.
Rating: 10
Phil Mickelson
Lefty has never been the greatest at the Ryder Cup, but this looked like finally being his year. He formed a majestic pairing with the rookie Keegan Bradley, the two dovetailing perfectly, the old boy taking up the slack when the young pup ran out of steam. The perfect Ryder Cup was in the making – until Rose raked in that astonishing birdie monster on 17 in the singles. When the Englishman completed his smash and grab on the final green with a granite pressure putt, it was a hammer blow to Mickelson, and the Americans, who had now lost all five of their opening matches. Mickelson's reaction to having his pocket picked? A warm smile, and generous congratulations. What a sport. If Seve really is pulling the strings somewhere, perhaps he could set up some sort of pulley mechanism that'd finally deliver a US Open to one of the game's gents. Seve?
Rating: 10
Webb Simpson
Came roaring out of the blocks in the singles, and would have had a three-hole lead after four had Poulter not chipped in outrageously at the first. Was denied by Poulter and Rose scrapping like madmen in the Saturday morning foursomes, but otherwise delivered two easy victories over the first two days. It is always nice to see a relatively unheralded major winner prove they've got what it takes to stay at the very top, and Simpson gave notice of his intention not to be a one-hit wonder.
Rating: 10
Brandt Snedeker
He was beaten by the Macs, he beat the Macs, and he was smoked by Paul Lawrie. A mixed bag, but the guy's just won $10m at the FedEx and must still be spinning. Plus, like his team-mate Dufner, Snedeker exudes the carefree manner of a punter who's just taken a gamble to jump the rope and see how long he can get away with it. Albeit jump the rope more athletically.
Rating: 10
Steve Stricker
His putter wasn't as hot as it usually is, and the poor man ended the tournament as the Bizarro Poulter, with a 0-4 record, and no points to show for his troubles. But consider his matches for a minute: he lost 2&1 in his opening foursomes, and his other three games by one hole. And if his putt at 18 on Saturday afternoon hadn't ridden the wall of death round the back of the cup and squirmed out, he would have denied Garcia and Donald the point at 10-4 which started Europe's revival. The thin lines between success and failure can be measured by the width of a dimple. He also had to deal with the preposterous opening-day putting of Colsaerts, accepting blow after blow with a dignified stoicism.
Rating: 10
Bubba Watson
It would get very odd if people carried on like this every week, but the Ryder Cup calls for a sprinkling of showmanship, and Bubba has it coming out of his ears like hair pokes from under his visor. It takes a special kind of star to engineer a brouhaha with the express intention of teeing off amid the tumult, then run down the fairway high-fiving half the entire gallery. And it takes a special kind of golfer to deliver two huge fourball victories, and make the usually ice-cool Donald flustered enough to miss a couple of short match-clinching putts.
Rating: 10
Tiger Woods
As anybody who witnessed the great man's meltdown on the 16th tee at the Masters this year will know – he missed the green by 40 yards with a wedge, then hoofed the club along the ground as his soul departed for a voyage in the funk mothership – when Tiger struggles, he really struggles. Which is what he did on the front nine at Medinah, flaying drive after drive into the trees, and misjudging his short irons woefully. And yet coming home he was every inch the 14-time major winner, fighting and scrapping to the death in every match. OK, so he ended up with little to show for it. But you have to wonder if his concession to Francisco Molinari at the last on Sunday will, in time, be seen as an act of sportsmanship right up there with Jack Nicklaus's to Tony Jacklin at Birkdale in 1969. Having missed his short putt to win the match, Tiger seemed to instinctively realise that Europe's comeback deserved outright victory, that the Seve Factor was a story that needed a positive conclusion, and that – to paraphrase Big Jack – he did not think Molinari would miss that, but he didn't want to give him the chance. Tiger might not have the greatest Ryder Cup record, not by a long chalk, but this concession alone is some legacy to leave the competition. One of the great sporting gestures.
Rating: 10
Davis Love III (non-playing captain)
Having built a 10-6 lead going into the singles, it cannot seriously be argued that the American captain got much wrong during the week. Within minutes of suffering the most painful defeat of any US captain in Ryder Cup history, he was in front of the cameras, warmly congratulating his opposite number Olazábal, evoking the Spirit of Seve – "He was obviously here for that one point they needed!" – and insisting that any heat should be directed at him, and not his proud players. "I hope they put it all on me, because these guys put a lot into this. They played very, very well. We're going to be bitterly disappointed, but it was a good Ryder Cup, and it was good for golf. It wasn't good for us, but it was good for golf." Europe wouldn't have had a Homeric singles odyssey to embark on had they not been facing the strongest US team since 1981, when America travelled to Walton Heath and gave the home side a frightful smack in the mouth. For his efforts, Captain Love should be applauded. Without his excellence, we'd be talking about a very average Ryder Cup right now.
Rating: 10
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/oct/01/ryder-cup-2012-alternative-ratings?CMP=twt_gu
