Dustin Johnson reflects on Europe

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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Dustin Johnson can't escape Europe's celebration in winning the Ryder Cup.

Johnson left Medinah for the Dunhill Links Championship that starts Thursday, where the field includes Peter Hanson, Paul Lawrie and Martin Kaymer, whose 6-foot par putt clinched the Ryder Cup for Europe.

Johnson went 3-0 for the Americans, which was a small consolation.

"It was a tough pill to swallow and it definitely (stinks) to lose," Johnson said. "But it was a great week and great for TV. It's just that the Europeans outplayed us on Sunday. Personally, I had a great week. It was a lot of fun. We went there as a team and we lost as a team. Hopefully, we will get them in two years at Gleneagles."

Johnson, Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner were the only Americans to win their singles matches Sunday as Europe rallied from a 10-6 deficit to win the cup.

Johnson said he doesn't know what U.S. captain Davis Love III could have done better.

"We had a 10-6 lead going into Sunday and everything we did I thought was right," he said. "And Captain Love just did a great job, and it was a lot of fun playing for him. When I look back on it, the only thing I can come up with is that it wasn't meant to be. ... You can't say nobody played bad, and I guess you can't say that anyone on our team panicked or didn't handle the situation. We just had so many chances of the ball going in the hole. There were six or seven of those putts, and if just one of those putts dropped, then it was a totally different outcome.

"As I said, it seemed that it just wasn't meant to be."

The Dunhill Links Championship is a pro-am format held at St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

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