Welcome to this week’s Sideline Eye.
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What a week it has been too!
The biennial Ryder Cup golf between Europe and the USA was held at the Gleneagles course in Scotland.
There is something special about golf tournaments in Scotland - the home of golf.
What made it all the more remarkable was the difference in the two teams.
I’m not talking about the 16 and a half to 11 and a half scoreline either.
The demeanor of the two teams was like chalk and cheese.
You could see the whole European team were a tight-knit group with each player wanting to perform for themselves, their team mates and their captain, Paul McGinley.
They were all there for each other, celebrating their successes together and feeling the pain of their defeats together.
The USA, in comparison, looked forced and stiff with each other.
While some pairs who played together showed signs of camaraderie, overall the team looked lacking in spirit.
There is no question the USA team boasted plenty of talent, but the result goes to show how much spirit plays a part in these events.
That kind of passion is so important in such a dynamic where you have 12 superstars and their egos on each team.
It starts with the captain, and his enthusiasm filters down through the players, something McGinley mastered.
USA player and World No 13 Jordan Speith had an excellent Ryder Cup.
It was the 21 year old’s first Cup and he showed he will be a major star in the near future.
He showed poise and was not overcome by the situation, just quietly going about his play.
However, his opponent in the singles was Graeme McDowell who exemplifies what the Ryder Cup is about.
He takes the golf very seriously and hates losing.
But he is also quick to have a laugh, smiles and waves to the crowd at every opportunity and chats with team mates and competitors alike.
His determination to come back from being three holes down against Speith is why his team mates love him so much.
While the Europeans were in the box seat heading into the singles, only needing four wins out of the 12 matches to retain the Cup, if Speith had won the first match, it could have put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons.
World No 18 McDowell was down three holes after the front nine holes before Speith missed a short putt on the 10th hole for a halve.
McDowell went on to win the next three holes and the 15th to win the match 2 and 1.
It was also fitting that European debutante Jamie Donaldson sealed the win for his team.
Leading by four holes against Keegan Bradley, Donaldson hit one of the shots of the competition to knock it to about two feet on the 15th.
As Bradley needed to win the hole to stay alive, both players conceded each other’s putts for Europe to retain the Ryder Cup.
Donaldson won three matches and lost one over the three days, another impressive display from someone in their first Cup.
The fractures in Team USA came out for all to see at the post Cup media conference.
Team captain Tom Watson, a wonderful player with an excellent record who has been an outstanding ambassador for the game, failed to instill the team spirit needed for his charges to succeed.
In the press conference, Phil Mickelson openly said that he thought Watson had failed in this.
Watson had left Mickelson out of both sessions on the Saturday and it sounds like the left-hander ate sour grapes the entire time he was on the sidelines.