Europe pull off record comeback

Europe win eight of the 12 singles matches to stage a miraculous comeback to beat the USA 14½-13½ to retain the Ryder Cup.

Minute-by-minute analysis of the last of three days of the historic intercontinental golf battle. The Journal’s John Paul Newport and Ian Berry provide the latest from Medinah Country Club.

Final blogs from The Daily Fix Re-live the tension from the bottom

5:39 pm

Final: Europe 14 1/2, USA 13 1/2

by John Paul Newport

In a meaningless tag end to the Ryder Cup, Tiger Woods missed a short putt on the 18thgreen to lose the final to Molinari and halve their match.
That made the final score 14 1/2 for Europe and 13 1/2 for the U.S. European chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole” are ringing all around the grounds here at Medinah Country Club. This is going to be a hard loss for captain Davis Love and the other 12 American players to deal with.

5:38 pm

 Final: Europe 14 1/2, USA 13 1/2 by Editor

Molinari wins the final hole to halve the match, giving Europe an outright win.

5:21 pm

Europe 14, USA 13

by John Paul Newport

Here in the media center, the European contingent of reporters mostly sit on the right side of the center aisle, and the Americans on the left. It’s like a wedding, with the groom’s family on one side and the bride’s on the other. Numerically, we are about the same. The roar when Kaymer made the putt was as loud as I’ve ever heard in a mostly, theoretically non-partisan newsroom. The silence on the American side was deep. Really shocking conclusions for the Americans, who should have been a lock to win the Cup. The final score will probably be 14-14, assuming Woods wins the final match against Molinari. (Woods won the 17thhole to go 1-up.) But it doesn’t matter. Europe retains the Cup

5:19 pm

            Europe 14, USA 13

            by Ian Berry

Tiger, watching from a couple hundred feet away on the 18th fairway, didn’t budge for at least 25 seconds after the winning putt fell.

5:17 pm

            Europe 14, USA 13

            by John Paul Newport

Stricker makes his par. Now, just maybe, he may recover from this experience. Especially if Kaymer misses. TV is showing clips of Bernhard Langer, another German, missing his famous putt….. Kaymer rolls it in. Europe keeps the Cup.

5:13 pm

            USA 13, Europe 13

            by John Paul Newport

Now Kaymer. Oh boy. No one wants to win this thing. He rolls it at least six feet past. So hope for the Americans remains alive.
Sticker will have 8 feet or so — the same distance he missed from on this green yesterday — to force Kaymer to make his.

5:11 pm

            USA 13, Europe 13

            by John Paul Newport

Okay, sports fans. Here it is. Stricker’s putt on 18, about 40 feet, downhill, on a super slick green. If he doesn’t make it, America’s only hope is that Kaymer three-putts from half that distance.
The result: really, really bad. I hate to say it, but that putt was one that will be hard for Stricker to recover from, psychologically.

5:07 pm

            USA 13, Europe 13

            by John Paul Newport

Meanwhile, back at the 17th, Molinari’s chip rolls 20 feet past the hole, and Tiger lags to two feet. This end of things looks good for  the Americans, but it won’t matter if Stricker loses to Kaymer at the 18th hole.

5:06 pm

            USA 13, Europe 13

            by John Paul Newport

After some discussion, Kaymer will hit first at 18, from the bunker. He hits a good one, onto the green, about 25 feet.  Now the pressure is really on Stricker. He has to birdie because he has to win the hole, and Kaymer seems very likely to make par.  Here he goes, from 164 yards.  Not good.  He’s at the back of the green, 40 feet away.  He’ll have to make a bomb, or Kaymer will have to three-putt, for America to have a chance.

5:02 pm

            USA 13, Europe 13

            by John Paul Newport

If Molinari wins the 17th, Europe will keep the Cup. A win would guarantee Molinari at least a half in the match with Woods, and the best Stricker can do is match in his game with Kaymer.  Two halves equal a point for Europe and 14 points. Molinari overshoots the greeen, but not by much. Woods, meanwhile, hits the green.

5:00 pm

            USA 13, Europe 13

            by John Paul Newport

Now Stricker will have to win the 18th, where birdie painfully eluded him yesterday. He and Woods needed to birdie the holeto halve their match with Garcia and Donald.  Stricker hit a great approach shot to less than 10 feet, maybe eight feet, but didn’t come close to making the putt. Today, Kaymer put his drive on 18 into a bunker on the right, Stricker is in the fairway. So he’s got that going for him.

4:55 pm

            USA 13, Europe 13

            by John Paul Newport

Brutal, brutal stuff. On 17, Stricker chips from above the hole, but too far. He will have a very nervy six feet left. Kaymer has only slightly less ground to cover.
Hard to imagine either has faced putts of this importance. Stricker lips it out! And still has a three-feet comebacker. But it doesn’t matter. Kaymer holes his, to go 1-up.

4:51 pm

            USA 13, Europe 13

            by John Paul Newport

I can hardly stand to watch. Molinari hits safely into the green at 16, as does Woods. Woods is farther away, Molinari’s putt will be only about 15 feet — very makeable.
Two matches left, both all square. Talk about pressure. U.S. has to get one win and a half.  Europe just need to split. Two halves for Europe will do the trick.

4:49 pm

            USA 13, Europe 13

            by John Paul Newport

Kaymer and Stricker make good, nervy par saves at 16, to keep the match all square. Both then hit decent shots into the 17th green. And — good news for Team USA — Hanson bogeys the 18thto lose his match to Dufner. The U.S. gets one of the last three precious points up for grabs, to move to 13-13

4:44 pm

            Europe 13, USA 12

            by John Paul Newport

I don’t know about you, but my stomach is churning. But probably not as much as the stomachs of the European players still on the course. They are there, in the final matches, because they are the weakest links in the European chain. Captain Olazabal puts his big boys out first to get the momentum, a strategy that worked. But now the lesser lights have to carry the day. On balance, despite the unexpectedly poor results today, Americans are still in a slightly better position to take the Cup.

4:40 pm

            Europe 13, USA 12

            by Ian Berry

Tiger hits well short on a chip right on the lip of the green at 15. For Chicago baseball fans, used to heartbreak this time of year, the day is taking a familiar feel. “This is the biggest collapse since the Sox!” says an observer in a White Sox hat.

4:40 pm

Europe 13, USA 12

by John Paul Newport

Molinari has 12-feet for a birdie at 15. A pretty straight putt, uphill, but he misses. Tiger makes his par and the match remains all square, with three to play.

 4:38 pm

 Europe 13, USA 12

  by John Paul Newport

Sergio Garcia follows in the footsteps of Justin Rose and Ian Poulter by winning the last two holes to take his match, 1-up. Jim Furyk misses an 8-foot par putt on the 18th green to lose the match.  He stayed slumped over, hands on knees, for a long, long time after his putt slipped past the hole on the right. Oh, the agony!
For the first time, Europe leads 13-12. There’s no more wiggle room for the Americans. Dufner has to win his match, for their 13thpoint. And Stricker and Woods, who are both 0-3 in these matches, must get at least a win and a half between them.