From the highest highs to the lowest lows: An A-Z of the Ryder Cup

P is for Postman

Ian Poulter has delivered a showreel of highlights in the Ryder Cup but maybe his finest, and certainly his funniest, moment came ahead of the singles at Celtic Manor.

Tim Barter was working the range when Poulter gave his headphones a rest to tell the Sky man that “I will deliver a point”.

It was all a bit weird so Barter asked him to repeat what he had just said, so he did.

A few hours later he thumped Matt Kuchar 5&4.

 Q is for Qualification

This is always fun, we know the qualifying system all in good time and then we get a load of moans and groans when our favourite players don’t make the team and then get overlooked.

It’s quite simple – play your way onto the team or pipe down.

The whole thing seems to get weirder with every passing match. Now we have the Horschel Rule in the States while people over here seem to think it’s either the European Tour vs. the PGA Tour or whoever has played well in Denmark.

It’s neither.

R is for Riley

After the mess that was the Woods-Mickelson pairing we got to see Tiger paired with rookie Chris Riley the following morning. And we got an American victory against Poulter and Clarke in the fourballs.

But then Riley got benched and captain Hal Sutton let everyone know that his rookie had told him he was tired.

This is how Riley, in an interview with ESPN, explained the situation: “All I know is that at the 13th, Hal asked how I was doing. I told him I was having a blast but was also a little drained. That’s when he told me about how he was a fat man who went five matches in 1999 and I was a flat belly and so on. That was pretty much it. The conversation went fast, maybe 30 seconds. I didn’t mean I didn’t want to play the afternoon. With Tiger or whoever.”

Riley was the poster boy for the thrashing and Tiger played with Davis Love in the afternoon. And lost.

S is for Shush

A Ryder Cup star is born – though not a very popular one. We sometimes forget that Patrick Reed didn’t lose a match in the drubbing at Gleneagles and that it was his debut in the matches.

He wouldn’t dance for the fans on the 1st tee and he the shushed the crowd after making a birdie at the 7th in his singles clash with Henrik Stenson. He might have taken offence by someone shouting out if he had practised his putting.

Jack Nicklaus was astonished: “What in the world is he doing? He’s inciting a riot!”

Reed put it down to having some fun and getting the crowds going, something we’ll probably see more of in France.

T is for Twenty Ten

The course at Celtic Manor was built specifically for the Ryder Cup with an emphasis on drama over the closing holes.

Which is precisely what we got as Graeme McDowell sunk Hunter Mahan on that glorious Monday afternoon.

In truth it was all a bit strange with the weather making a mess of much of it. So we saw all 24 players take part in a session of six foursomes, then a session of two fourballs and four foursomes before finally getting 28 matches to a conclusion.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5