2008 Ryder Cup
The 37th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 19–21, 2008, at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Team USA won 16½ - 11½ to end the streak of three successive victories for Team Europe. This was Team USA's largest margin of victory since 1981, and the first time since 1979 the Americans had held the lead after every session of play. Team captains were Nick Faldo for Team Europe and Paul Azinger for Team USA. Faldo's assistant was José María Olazábal, while Raymond Floyd, Dave Stockton and Olin Browne assisted Azinger.
Team USA had been in the lead since the contest began on the Friday. Europe were two points behind going into the Sunday singles matches. They had only previously overturned a deficit once before in 1995. Team USA won the majority of the first matches out and subsequently Jim Furyk defeated Miguel Ángel Jiménez 2 & 1 to win his match and win the Ryder Cup for the USA. Other matches still out on the course would see this margin of victory increase further. Following the deafeat Nick Faldo was heavily criticised for his decision to "bottom load" his best players in the singles when the Americans only needed 5½ points to win which they got before they could have any effect on the overall outcome.
Read more about 2008 Ryder Cup: Format, Teams, Friday Matches, Sunday's Singles Matches
Famous quotes containing the words ryder and/or cup:
“The despot’s heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle-queen of yore,
Maryland! my Maryland!”
—James Ryder Randall (1839–1908)
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?”
—Bible: New Testament, 1 Corinthians 10:16.