Mahan: 'It's a great learning experience'
With apologies to Hunter Mahan -- who in no way should be taking the blame -- the thrilling ending to the Ryder Cup on Monday is exactly what draws us to it.
And in a big picture sense, the outcome is really how this biennial competition should go down, a closely played match separated by the thinnest of margins with the home team prevailing.
Certainly having the home crowd must be worth at least one point -- which turned out to be the difference in the 14½-13½ outcome for Europe.
When you consider that the United States had four of the top five players in the world and seven of the top 20 compared to six of the top 20 for Europe, the competition should be the nail-biter it became Monday.
Mahan need not feel ashamed for the finish, although his gutted reaction afterward speaks to the pressure and intensity of a Ryder Cup. No individual event, even a major championship, has the same feeling, especially since a player's mistakes are celebrated so vociferously at the Ryder Cup.
Phil Mickelson and Stewart Cink admirably stuck up for Mahan when it became clear that the three-time PGA Tour winner was having difficulty answering questions in the aftermath.
This is a guy who has played with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line and prospered but could manage just one birdie Monday and came up woefully short of the par-3 17th green when he needed the shot of his life to continue his singles match with Graeme McDowell.
That he then chunked his chip shot was the unfortunate fallout from the pressure -- did anyone really expect him to hole it? -- and no doubt it was brutal to feel the ground tremble around him as the European team and its fans celebrated at his expense.
"The Ryder Cup brings stuff out of you that you don't know you had, from an emotional sense, from a golf sense,'' Mahan said Monday night. "I don't think people give us credit for how much we actually care about it. It's not fun to lose in this event. It's not fun to watch them parade around and get a victory in their home place.
"It is one of the best events in the world, because it's different than what you usually do and what you're playing for.''
Over the years, American players have been criticized for their perceived indifference to the event, especially when they were getting hammered in consecutive Ryder Cups in 2004 and 2006.
Monday's tears from Mahan showed a different side. So did Mickelson taking the blame, acknowledging his losses in his first three matches proved to be a huge difference in the competition. And then there was Jim Furyk, who came up one hole short against Luke Donald.
"It's always been my favorite event,'' he said. "Rarely have I ever been as happy after winning; I've never cried after losing other than at the Ryder Cup.
"We know what it means to us. Whatever you all thought in the past, whatever you've all written in the past, it's your observations, the way you feel. But we know what it means.''
Fair enough. The American comeback was every bit the story as the European victory. When you considered that 10 of the 28 matches over four days got to the 18th hole, it is easy to see that the half-point separating a European celebration or an American party was minuscule.
As for Mahan, perhaps he can draw some inspiration from Bernhard Langer, whose pain at the 1991 Ryder Cup was even more severe.
The entire match came down to his putt on the 18th hole. Make it and Europe keeps the cup. Miss and it is an American victory.
Langer missed the 6-footer in his match against Hale Irwin, and the Americans celebrated at Kiawah Island.
While devastated, the German was not down for long. He won the following week on the European Tour, captured the 1993 Masters and was a victorious European captain.
"It's a great learning experience,'' Mahan said. "I take a lot for myself. I'm disappointed now, but it's not something I'm going to be disappointed with for long.''
Birdies And Bogeys
BIRDIES
1. Graeme McDowell. That approach shot and birdie putt at the 16th hole Monday at the Ryder Cup -- with the world watching -- is about as clutch as it gets.
2. Tiger Woods. For all the talk about his poor Ryder Cup record, Woods is 6-3 in his last two appearances. And that was some beatdown of Francesco Molinari in singles, where Woods was 9 under for 15 holes.
3. Rickie Fowler. As clutch as it gets -- four straight birdies to end his match against Edoardo Molinari and put all of Europe on the brink.
BOGEYS
1. Phil Mickelson. Lefty lost all three of his team matches at the Ryder Cup before his singles victory. And he dropped to third in the world this week.
2. Stewart Cink. He admirably took up for Hunter Mahan and was the only American without a loss, but he let a victory slip away against Rory McIlroy, one that would have meant the U.S. would have retained the Cup.
3. Bernard Gallacher. The former European Ryder Cup captain, working for BBC Radio and following the Ross Fisher-Jeff Overton match, accused the American of gamesmanship on the air and muttered "typical Americans'' because Overton questioned a ruling given Fisher.
McGladrey Classic picks
Horse for the Course. Lucas Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, is one of many frequent players of the Sea Island layout and is coming into the tournament rested.
Birdie Buster. Zach Johnson. A key player in the U.S. comeback Monday, he put it to Padraig Harrington in singles.
Super Sleeper. Davis Love. The tournament host and Sea Island resident, Love hasn't been working on his game much lately as an assistant U.S. Ryder Cup captain. Perhaps he will take some inspiration from all the fine golf he witnessed.
Winner. Robert Allenby. The Australian competed in all four FedEx playoff events, so his game is in reasonable shape after a week off. He is seeking his first PGA Tour victory in nine years.
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