Red, White and Beautiful

By John Hawkins
Photo By Donald Miralle September 26, 2008

Some things never change. Other things change and only get worse. Last week in the heart of working man's America, change arrived in overalls and left in a stretch limousine, pulling away from the recent past as if it were a distant memory. In a rear-view mirror with no signs of fear, hindsight and failure soon disappear.

Even before a final score brought closure to the 37th Ryder Cup, the competitive element and emotional exuberance once commonly associated with the best three days in golf had been fully restored. For a United States squad with a half-dozen rookies and full-fledged underdog status, the amount of fight in that dog is what mattered most. You win as a team and lose as a team, but you don't roll over and play dead the minute Europe goes ahead. So something had to change, owing nothing to the premise that everything would.

America's 16½-11½ triumph at Valhalla GC seemed to mark a fresh chapter in Ryder Cup history, a series that began with 50-plus years of U.S. dominance, then crossed the Atlantic in less than half that time. If the official margin of victory in northern Kentucky was misleading, the identity of the better side wasn't. For the first time since 1991 the Yanks held a lead (3-1) after the opening session. By Friday evening that cushion had grown to three points, their largest since 1975.

It was an advantage the U.S. wouldn't relinquish, although the anxiety level rose considerably midway into the Sunday singles matches. Europe had trimmed the deficit to one before Kenny Perry finished off Henrik Stenson and Jim Furyk made his fifth birdie of the afternoon to go 3 up on Miguel Angel Jiménez. J.B. Holmes secured Old Glory's momentum with a birdie at the par-3 14th, and in a 10-minute span, what looked like a down-to-the-wire finish reverted to America's first win over Europe since 1999.

"I knew I had 12 gamers," captain Paul Azinger crowed. "To a man, everyone contributed. I've said it all week -- I didn't come here and try to teach one player how to play this game. I didn't need to hold anyone's hand. All I tried to do is play up the team concept here, and the concept worked."

Holmes' power and Valhalla experience validated Azinger's pick. Photo: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Like any skipper with Sam Ryder's chalice in his hands, Azinger could not have been more right, but no examination of this improbable U.S. success is complete unless it ventures well below the surface. From the loser's perspective, the inability of Europe's top three players -- Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood -- to claim even a single victory amounted to a giant case of cause and defect.

The trio came to Valhalla with a career record of 35-20-7, then went 0-7-5 for Euro chief Nick Faldo. Let the crucifixion of St. Nick begin, but when your horses never leave the gate, blame becomes a trickier game. "We hold the clubs, we hit the shots," Westwood said in his captain's defense. "If you want to talk about me and Sergio [sitting out the Saturday foursomes], that's the [only] session we won, so Nick was right to do that. You tell me if he was right or wrong."

While the jury of public opinion ponders a verdict, it's fair to say Faldo's reign turned into one bumpy ride. As a strategist, he wasn't exactly Tony Jacklin, although the British press wasn't about to revise its opinion on his tactical decisions unless the week ended with a victory. Faldo won six major titles as a player, which is six more than the number of popularity contests he will ever win, and though his players never hung him out in front of a live microphone, it's no secret several prominent team members would have preferred someone else at the helm.