The Ryder Cup has quickly become the most popular worldwide event in golf, especially after the drama created by the 1999 matches. It was then that the United States pulled off the ultimate upset on the final day by winning 11 of 12 matches. Justin Leonard capped off the most amazing day in Ryder Cup history with his winning putt, as well as one of the top days in the history of golf. Exactly when that ball hit the bottom of the cup, the entire American team rushed the 18th green. Their celebration left a bad taste in the mouths of the European team that still resides there to this very day.
The Ryder Cup occurs every two years, and alternates yearly between courses in the U.S. and Europe. The 2001 Ryder Cup never happened due to the terrorist attacks of September 11. The Europeans would have to wait another two years for redemption.
Finally, September 2004 came around. The Ryder Cup matches were held this previous Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomington Hills, Michigan, about 20 miles northwest of Detroit. I just happened to attend the opening round on Friday. I was expecting a sense of patriotism, rivalry and great golf from the best players in the world. What I got both surpassed my expectations, and at the same time came up a bit short.
In terms of the fans, I was beside myself. Basically, it was an even mix of Scottish kilts, people walking around with flags around their bodies, and foreign chants that I had never heard before. And that was just the fans from Europe, which made up about one third of the almost 40,000 in attendance that day (They sold too many tickets, trust me!). As for the home crowd, I have never seen so many ugly American flag shirts in my life.
Then there’s the golf, the main reason I was there. I expected good golf from the US team throughout the weekend, especially Friday while I was in attendance. My wish came true, just not for the Americans. I expected more from the home team, especially with pairings such as Tiger Woods and 2004 Masters champion Phil Mickelson, as well as Kenny “The New Guy” Perry and Davis Love III. However, the mastery of European Colin Montgomerie in terms of match play, along with consistent play from other team members such as Sergio Garcia (who made the putt of the weekend from more than twenty feet) and Irishman Padraig Harrington among others.
Every match is worth a single point, half a point if the match is tied. There were eight matches on Friday. At the end of the day, the score was 6 1/2 to 1 1/2 in favor of the Europeans. It was the largest margin ever after the first day of matches.
Things didn’t get much better for the Americans over the next two days of competition. There were the aforementioned Woods and Mickelson, who couldn’t make a putt if their lives depended on it. Then there were Love III and David Toms who had trouble on the par 3s reaching the green. The final score had Europe defeating the United States 18 1/2 to 9 1/2. The loss that returned the cup to Europe was the worst for the United States in the 77 year history of the Ryder Cup.
I took special interest in seeing how the Europeans would celebrate their dominant victory after Sunday’s matches. I was not surprised to see that revenge wasn’t really on the minds of these players. Yes, there was obvious jubilation and the traditional spray of champagne on the 18th green, but nothing outlandish.
As for my experience, not only did I see a great day of golf on a nice course with the best players on Earth, but I also caught glimpses of both Former President George H.W. Bush and former NBA great Michael Jordan, who followed Tiger around for three days straight. Despite the fact that the matches won’t be as close to campus as they were this year, I would definitely recommend to all golf fans to try and get there, but be prepared to spend.
