It hardly has been the Ryder Cup Tiger Woods envisioned. He was awful in his first match Friday, outstanding in a losing effort in the afternoon. Captain Davis Love III sat him for the morning session Saturday — the first time in his Ryder cup career that he did not play every match — and when Woods did play, he was brilliant.
And yet, he and playing partner Steve Sticker ended the day — a glorious day for the U.S. — as the only players to not secure a point, losing 1 up to Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald.
America leads going into Sunday’s individual matches with a commanding 10-6 lead. And while Woods was happy about that, he was not happy about his ultimate results, despite ringing up five birdies in the last nine holes. It was the front nine where he and Stricker lost it, trailing by four at the turn — a huge deficit to overcome. And yet, they almost did behind Woods’ brilliance.
Just when Woods seemed to be out of it again, he called on the theatrics that he has authored time and again. Down by two, Woods made a birdie on No. 16 t0 send the crowd into a fury and cut the deficit to one. Then, on 17, Woods stuck his tee shot on the par 3 to six feet. Problem was, Donald’s eight-iron was even better, to three feet.
So, they halved the hole with Woods and Donald making birdies, setting up No. 18 as the decider. Needing to win the hole to secure a half-point, Woods bombed his drive down the middle of the fairway. He shot into the green leaked to the right, leaving him about 30 feet for birdie.
He missed, but teammate Stricker was just eight feet left of the hole for a birdie put that would get him and Woods on the scoreboard. But Sticker’s putt was too hard and lipped out, leaving that tandem scoreless for the competition.
Ultimately, losing was not Woods’ fault. He just did not get any help from Stricker.
Still, the United States was in control because of everyone else. Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson destroyed Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari 5-and-4, Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson won and Keegan Bradly and Phil Mickelson executed a record-tying performance. The U.S. won all but one match Saturday morning.
Europe was barely in it because of Ian Poulter, who was out of his mind with five straight birdies to lead a comeback with Rory McIlroy over Jason Duffner and Zach Johnson. But it will take a real collapse by the U.S. to blow the Ryder Cup.
Just as they did Friday, the Americans got their spark from Bradley. He’s got more energy and enthusiasm than a 4-year-old hopped up on Pixie Stix, sprinting out to the first hole a half-hour before his tee time to encourage fans to get louder and rowdier. Finally satisfied, he grinned and sprinted back to the locker room.
