Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Love hails ‘change of attitude’ after cup win
VICTORIOUS captain Davis Love III hailed a change in attitude after the United States won the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2008 and inflicted Europe’s heaviest defeat for 35 years.
Darren Clarke’s side needed to overturn a three-point deficit in yesterday’s 12 singles matches at Hazeltine to claim an unprecedented fourth straight win in the biennial contest.
However, although they won three of the first five matches convincingly, Patrick Reed edged a highly-charged opening contest against Rory McIlroy to strike a major psychological blow.
Wins for Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Brandt Snedeker and Ryan Moore took the home side over the winning line and the final score of 17-11 was the biggest winning margin for the US since a nine-point success at Walton Heath in 1981.
A sixth defeat in the previous seven contests at Gleneagles in 2014 had prompted the formation of an 11-man ‘task force’ to examine all aspects of the US Ryder Cup process, with Love re-appointed captain despite being in charge when Europe staged the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in 2012.
“We’ve been kicked around for so long and you keep losing so you feel you have to do something different,” Love said. “There was a bit of rebuilding to do and a little bit of a shift in attitude. We are not going to win every one but we are going to go into them with a better attitude.”
Clarke’s selection of Thomas Pieters proved an inspired choice as the 24-year-old set a record for a European rookie by winning four points. However, his other wild cards, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, produced just one point from seven matches.
The decision to split the very successful pairing of Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera Bello on Saturday also backfired but Clarke said: “At the end of the day, the American guys played better than we did.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the guys that I’m surrounded with. They did everything I asked of them.”
Europe’s deficit was down to a single point when Henrik Stenson defeated Jordan Spieth, Pieters beat JB Holmes and Cabrera Bello defeated Jimmy Walker — but Justin Rose lost to Fowler and a miserable week for Danny Willett was completed with a 5&4 defeat at the hands of rookie Koepka.
The honour of securing the win fell to Moore. He was two down with three to play but eagled the 16th, birdied the 17th and then made par on the last to leave Westwood without a point.