MEDINAH, Ill. — Luke Donald put the hammer down on Bubba Watson. Rory McIlroy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stifled Keegan Bradley. Paul Lawrie — 13 years after his prior Ryder Cup appearance — took down the FedEx Cup champion.
Ian Poulter and Justin Rose ripped points from U.S. hands. The European train gathered steam.
And the Americans didn’t have enough to stop the momentum.
When the decision came, Martin Kaymer jumped into the arms of his teammates, the singsong “Ole, ole, ole, ole” echoed across Medinah Country Club, and the Ryder Cup headed back across the Atlantic.
The final score was 141/2-131/2, matching the largest Sunday comeback in Ryder Cup history.
It was a comeback that would have stirred the heart of the late Seve Ballesteros, the catalyst behind Europe’s Ryder Cup rise in the 1980s.
“We are in shock,” Rose said after the Europeans completed their comeback from a 10-6 deficit. “We wanted to believe. We really did want to believe, but we had no illusions of how hard that day was going to be — four (points) against a team that’s played so well all week.”
Kaymer, who has struggled since reaching world No. 1 just 18 months ago, provided the clinching point by finishing off with a 1-up victory over Steve Stricker. After leaving himself a 6-foot par save at No. 18, the German’s putt dropped into the heart of the cup.
“I’m so, so happy,” Kaymer said. “On 18 I was a little too aggressive (with my first putt), but I wanted to make it. I’m just so happy. I’m happy for (European captain Jose Maria) Olazabal as well.”
Ballesteros, the Hall of Famer who teamed with Olazabal to form the indomitable “Spanish Armada” that keyed so many Ryder Cup victories in the 1980s and early ’90s, died in May 2011 after a long battle with brain cancer.
Olazabal kept his composure until his countryman’s name came up.
“The boys did an unbelievable job,” Olazabal said. “I’ve got a few thoughts for my friend Seve.”
Then Olazabal leaned his head back, pulled his white cap over his eyes and cried: “This one is for him!”
Europe paid tribute to Ballesteros by wearing his traditional Sunday attire — a white shirt with navy slacks and a sweater. One sleeve featured a silhouette of the Spaniard, taken from his joyous celebration after he won the 1984 British Open.
“I have no doubt in my mind that he was with me today, all day,” said Sergio Garcia, who flipped a 1-down deficit with two holes remaining against Jim Furyk into a victory. “There’s no chance I would have won my match if he wasn’t there.”
Rose also stole a point from Phil Mickelson with a birdie-birdie finish for a 1-up triumph. Poulter and Kaymer were even in their matches until moving in front at Medinah’s par-3 17th hole.
“The U.S. played so poorly on 17 and 18,” NBC analyst Johnny Miller said. “They earned the loss.”
All told, Europe won eight of the 12 singles matches and got a split from Francesco Molinari in the anchor match against Tiger Woods. It matched the legendary 1999 U.S. rally at The Country Club at Brookline, Mass., for biggest Sunday comeback in Ryder Cup history.
“We’re all kind of stunned,” said U.S. captain Davis Love III, a member of that ’99 squad. “We know what it feels like now. … We just got a couple of matches flipped there in the middle that cost us.”
Europe’s victory made people forget what could have been a costly gaffe by McIlroy, the world No. 1 who showed up at Medinah not more than 10 minutes before his match after confusion about his tee time.
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