The Europeans demoralized the Americans at the Ryder Cup by topping clutch U.S. shots with better ones of their own -- with one exception
Courtesy of NBC
By Peter Krause
One of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers
There is nothing more devastating in match play than having an excellent shot topped by an even better one by your opponent. That's what sealed the U.S.'s fate in the Ryder Cup during Sunday's crucial singles matches. After Phil Mickelson knocked it stiff at the 6th hole, Phillip Price hit it inside of him from an awkward stance on the edge of a hazard and won the hole when Mickelson gagged his three-foot putt. Following Jim Furyk's near hole-out from the green-side bunker on 18, Paul McGinley coolly sank a pressure-packed 10-footer to clinch the Cup. Only Paul Azinger's miracle bunker shot on 18 (above) was not answered by a European, but it wasn't enough.
O-VER-RA-TED Mickelson's pivotal 3 and 2 singles loss to Price, ranked 118th in the world, only strengthened my belief that Mickelson is not the second-best player in the game. How can you be ranked No. 2 when you've won only once outside the U.S., at the Perrier Open in Paris, on the European Challenge tour, way back in 1993, and have never been victorious at a major championship? Mickelson's balky putter always seems to cripple him at inopportune times, and, sure enough, a series of blown putts on the front nine on Sunday is what doomed him against Price. Mickelson had a golden opportunity to change the perception of him as a player, and it's unfortunate that he didn't.
CAPTAIN AMERICA As a member of the PGA of America I don't get to vote on the next Ryder Cup captain, but I feel there are two strong candidates for 2004 -- Mark O'Meara and Hal Sutton. Both Ryder Cup warriors have reached the twilight of their Tour careers, so the job would not be a burden to their games, yet they still play enough to have a feel for the men who would be on their team.
Peter Krause is the director of instruction at the Peter Krause Golf Academy in Coon Rapids, Minn., and one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 teachers.
Courtesy of NBC
