 | |||||
| Dates | September 28–30,2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Medinah Country Club Course No. 3 | ||||
| Location | Medinah, Illinois | ||||
| Captains |
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| Europe wins theRyder Cup | |||||
The39th Ryder Cup was held September 28–30, 2012, in theUnited States at theMedinah Country Club inMedinah, Illinois, a suburb northwest ofChicago.[1] This was the first time that theRyder Cup was held inIllinois. Europe went into the competition as the cup holders, having won in2010 to regain it.[2] The team captains wereDavis Love III for the U.S.[3] andJosé María Olazábal for Europe.[4]
At the start of the final day's play, the U.S. led 10–6 and required 41⁄2 points to win; Europe required 8 points to retain the cup and 81⁄2 to win it outright. Europe achieved one of the greatest comebacks in Ryder Cup history by winning eight and tying one of the 12 singles matches.Martin Kaymer's five-foot putt on the 18th hole to defeatSteve Stricker took the score to 14–13, allowing Europe to retain the cup with one match still in progress.Tiger Woods missed a putt on the final green and conceded the hole toFrancesco Molinari, halving the final point and securing outright victory for the European team, 141⁄2–131⁄2. It was named by European media covering the event as the "Miracle at Medinah", and is widely regarded as one of the best sporting comebacks of all time and the greatest in Ryder Cup history.[5][6][7][8]
The victory was Europe's second consecutive and fifth in the last six contests.[9] European captain Olazábal dedicated the victory to his countrymanSeve Ballesteros. The five-time major champion, who had scored 221⁄2 points in 37 matches and been part of four victorious European sides before captaining them to victory on home soil at Valderrama in1997, had died of brain cancer in May 2011 at the age of 54, and in his memory, Team Europe wore navy blue and white garments – his traditional Sunday colors – on the final day.[10] Additionally, the team's kit also bore the silhouette of Ballesteros famously celebrating his win at the1984 Open Championship at theOld Course at St Andrews.[11][12]
The Ryder Cup is amatch play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format was:[13]
On the first two days there were 4 foursome matches and 4 fourball matches, with the home captain choosing which were played in the morning and which in the afternoon.
With a total of 28 points available, 141⁄2 points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes.
As part of its 2012 preparations, Medinah commissioned a $1.5 million greens renovation project on their Course No. 3, led by golf course architectRees Jones. The project included a dramatic redesign of the 15th hole.[14]
The redesigned 15th offers players with a 'risk-reward' opportunity with a driveable par-four by reducing its length by 100 yards and adding a two-acre lake that borders the right side of the fairway and green. The forward tee allows the hole to be set up as short as 280 yards. The original tee area of 392 yards from the championship tees will be preserved to provide the club with flexibility in course set-up.
Jones, who has overseen all architectural design aspects of Medinah's three golf courses since 2000, moved the 15th green to the left (south), which made way for the creation of a new back tee for the 16th hole. The tree-lined par-four now measures 15 yards longer – playing approximately 470 yards from the championship tees.
The major greens renovation took place on eleven of Course No. 3's original 18 greens and its main putting green, which was rebuilt toUSGA specifications. Course No. 3's other six greens were re-grassed and the 15th green rebuilt.[1]
Medinah's Course No. 3 has hosted multiplemajor championships. TheU.S. Open has been held at the course three times:1949 (won byCary Middlecoff),1975 (Lou Graham), and1990 (Hale Irwin).Tiger Woods has won bothPGA Championships held at the course (1999 and2006).Gary Player won theU.S. Senior Open in1988.
Before the 2012 Ryder Cup, Europe playersLee Westwood andSergio García criticised the course, particularly for its lack of rough, trees and other hazards. García said: "There's not a lot of thinking when you get on the tee. You can pretty much hit it nice and hard and, even if you miss, pretty much every time you'll have a shot."[15]
The course measures 7,657 yards (7,002 m) off the 'gold' tees.[16]
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards | 433 | 192 | 412 | 463 | 536 | 509 | 617 | 201 | 432 | 3,795 | 578 | 440 | 476 | 245 | 609 | 390 | 482 | 193 | 449 | 3,862 | 7,657 |
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
All matches were covered live in the United States.ESPN handled Friday coverage.Mike Tirico andPaul Azinger hosted from the 18th tower, withCurtis Strange andSean McDonough calling holes, and on-course reportersAndy North andBilly Kratzert.Scott Van Pelt hosted recaps during coverage. On Saturday,Golf Channel covered the first half-hour of the morning matches withKelly Tilghman,Brandel Chamblee andNick Faldo.NBC covered the remainder of the weekend action, withDan Hicks andJohnny Miller hosting from the 18th tower,Gary Koch andPeter Jacobsen calling holes, and on-course reportersMark Rolfing,Roger Maltbie, andDottie Pepper. To bring a European perspective to the telecasts, former European Ryder Cup playerColin Montgomerie was utilized as a guest analyst by NBC on Saturday. NBC had previously used guest analysts for the Ryder Cup in1999,2002, and2006
The matches were covered live in Europe bySky Sports, with theBBC screening highlights later.
The United States qualification rules remained the same as for 2010 and the team consisted of:[17]
The leading players on the US Ryder Cup points list were:[19]
| Position | Name | 2011 Majors | 2012 Majors | Regular events | Alternate events | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiger Woods (Q) | 330.667 | 1452.717 | 4230.800 | 0 | 6014.184 |
| 2 | Bubba Watson (Q) | 153.617 | 3286.659 | 2374.778 | 0 | 5815.054 |
| 3 | Jason Dufner (Q) | 865.000 | 892.530 | 3939.772 | 0 | 5697.302 |
| 4 | Keegan Bradley (Q) | 1445.000 | 999.095 | 3107.111 | 0 | 5551.206 |
| 5 | Webb Simpson (Q) | 219.868 | 2932.800 | 1482.832 | 0 | 4635.500 |
| 6 | Zach Johnson (Q) | 156.821 | 446.878 | 3887.845 | 0 | 4491.544 |
| 7 | Matt Kuchar (Q) | 265.131 | 1154.572 | 3029.239 | 0 | 4448.942 |
| 8 | Phil Mickelson (Q) | 847.143 | 874.686 | 2511.279 | 0 | 4233.108 |
| 9 | Hunter Mahan | 81.214 | 560.441 | 3440.573 | 0 | 4082.228 |
| 10 | Steve Stricker (P) | 541.075 | 855.146 | 2618.848 | 0 | 4015.069 |
| 11 | Jim Furyk (P) | 0 | 3369.616 | |||
| 12 | Rickie Fowler | 0 | 3313.338 | |||
| 13 | Brandt Snedeker (P) | 0 | 3176.787 | |||
| 14 | Bo Van Pelt | 0 | 3152.315 | |||
| 15 | Dustin Johnson (P) | 0 | 3040.020 |
The European team qualification rules changed after the 2010 contest. The European Points List took precedence over the World Points List, while the captain's picks were reduced from 3 to 2 with the top 5 players in the World Points List now qualifying rather than the top 4.The team consisted of:[20][21]
Only members of the European Tour could earn points in the above two lists. They could be full or affiliate members and must have also satisfied (or to be planning to satisfy) their membership obligations.Martin Laird did not become an affiliate member until 2012 and so his performances in 2011 were not counted.[22]Carl Pettersson was not a member of the European Tour and was therefore not considered.[23]
The leading players in the European Ryder Cup points lists were:[21]
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The captains wereDavis Love III for team USA andJosé María Olazábal for Europe.
Each captain selected four vice-captains to assist him during the tournament.
Love named the first two USA vice-captains in June 2012 and announced the other two after thePGA Championship.[24]
Olazábal named three of his vice-captains on August 16.[25] The fourth vice-captain was announced on August 25.[26]
 Team USA | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Age | Points rank | World ranking | Previous Ryder Cups | Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage |
| Tiger Woods | 36 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 29 | 13–14–2 | 48.28 |
| Bubba Watson | 33 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1–3–0 | 25.00 |
| Jason Dufner | 35 | 3 | 9 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Keegan Bradley | 26 | 4 | 14 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Webb Simpson | 27 | 5 | 8 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Zach Johnson | 36 | 6 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 3–3–1 | 50.00 |
| Matt Kuchar | 34 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 1–1–2 | 50.00 |
| Phil Mickelson | 42 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 34 | 11–17–6 | 41.18 |
| Steve Stricker | 45 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 3–3–1 | 50.00 |
| Jim Furyk | 42 | 11 | 23 | 7 | 27 | 8–15–4 | 37.04 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 31 | 13 | 10 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Dustin Johnson | 28 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 1–3–0 | 25.00 |
Captains picks are shown in yellow; theworld rankings and records are at the start of the 2012 Ryder Cup.
 Team Europe | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Country | Age | Points rank (European) | Points rank (World) | World ranking | Previous Ryder Cups | Matches | W–L–H | Winning percentage |
| Rory McIlroy |  Northern Ireland | 23 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1–1–2 | 50.00 |
| Justin Rose |  England | 32 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3–1–0 | 75.00 |
| Paul Lawrie |  Scotland | 43 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 3–1–1 | 70.00 |
| Graeme McDowell | Northern Ireland | 33 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 4–2–2 | 62.50 |
| Francesco Molinari |  Italy | 29 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0–2–1 | 16.67 |
| Luke Donald | England | 34 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 8–2–1 | 77.27 |
| Lee Westwood | England | 39 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 33 | 16–11–6 | 57.58 |
| Sergio García |  Spain | 32 | 13 | 7 | 19 | 5 | 24 | 14–6–4 | 66.67 |
| Peter Hanson |  Sweden | 34 | 6 | 9 | 25 | 1 | 3 | 1–2–0 | 33.33 |
| Martin Kaymer |  Germany | 27 | 8 | 10 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 2–1–1 | 62.50 |
| Nicolas Colsaerts |  Belgium | 29 | 9 | 12 | 35 | 0 | Rookie | ||
| Ian Poulter | England | 36 | 17 | 11 | 26 | 3 | 11 | 8–3–0 | 72.73 |
Captains picks are shown in yellow; theworld rankings and records are at the start of the 2012 Ryder Cup.
| Results | |
|---|---|---|
| McIlroy/McDowell |  1 up | Furyk/Snedeker |
| Donald/García |  4 & 3 | Mickelson/Bradley |
| Westwood/Molinari | 3 & 2 | Dufner/Z. Johnson |
| Poulter/Rose | 2 & 1 | Stricker/Woods |
| 2 | Session | 2 |
| 2 | Overall | 2 |
Match 3 (Rose/Kaymer v. D. Johnson/Kuchar) started after Match 4 (Westwood/Colsaerts v. Woods/Stricker). The table below reflects the official order.
| Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Lawrie/Hanson | 5 & 4 | Watson/Simpson |
| McIlroy/McDowell | 2 & 1 | Mickelson/Bradley |
| Rose/Kaymer | 3 & 2 | D. Johnson/Kuchar |
| Westwood/Colsaerts | 1 up | Woods/Stricker |
| 1 | Session | 3 |
| 3 | Overall | 5 |
| Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Rose/Poulter | 1 up | Watson/Simpson |
| Westwood/Donald | 7 & 6 | Bradley/Mickelson |
| Colsaerts/García | 2 & 1 | Dufner/Z. Johnson |
| McIlroy/McDowell | 1 up | Furyk/Snedeker |
| 1 | Session | 3 |
| 4 | Overall | 8 |
Match 1 (Colsaerts/Lawrie v. D. Johnson/Kuchar) started after Match 2 (Rose/Molinari v. Watson/Simpson). The table below reflects the official order.
| Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Colsaerts/Lawrie | 1 up | D. Johnson/Kuchar |
| Rose/Molinari | 5 & 4 | Watson/Simpson |
| García/Donald | 1 up | Woods/Stricker |
| McIlroy/Poulter | 1 up | Dufner/Z. Johnson |
| 2 | Session | 2 |
| 6 | Overall | 10 |
| Results | | Timetable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Donald | 2 & 1 | Bubba Watson | 1st:7 – 10 |
| Ian Poulter | 2 up | Webb Simpson | 4th:10 – 10 |
| Rory McIlroy | 2 & 1 | Keegan Bradley | 3rd:9 – 10 |
| Justin Rose | 1 up | Phil Mickelson | 6th:11 – 11 |
| Paul Lawrie | 5 & 3 | Brandt Snedeker | 2nd:8 – 10 |
| Nicolas Colsaerts | 3 & 2 | Dustin Johnson | 5th: 10 –11 |
| Graeme McDowell | 2 & 1 | Zach Johnson | 7th: 11 –12 |
| Sergio García | 1 up | Jim Furyk | 9th:13 – 12 |
| Peter Hanson | 2 up | Jason Dufner | 10th: 13 –13 |
| Lee Westwood | 3 & 2 | Matt Kuchar | 8th:12 – 12 |
| Martin Kaymer | 1 up | Steve Stricker | 11th:14 – 13 |
| Francesco Molinari | halved | Tiger Woods | 12th: 141⁄2 – 131⁄2 |
| 81⁄2 | Session | 31⁄2 | |
| 141⁄2 | Overall | 131⁄2 |
Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.
Source:[30]
| Player | Points | Overall | Singles | Foursomes | Fourballs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keegan Bradley | 3 | 3–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
| Jason Dufner | 3 | 3–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Jim Furyk | 1 | 1–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Dustin Johnson | 3 | 3–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–0–0 |
| Zach Johnson | 3 | 3–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Matt Kuchar | 2 | 2–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 2–0–0 |
| Phil Mickelson | 3 | 3–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
| Webb Simpson | 2 | 2–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 2–0–0 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 1 | 1–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 | 0–0–0 |
| Steve Stricker | 0 | 0–4–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–2–0 |
| Bubba Watson | 2 | 2–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 2–0–0 |
| Tiger Woods | 0.5 | 0–3–1 | 0–0–1 | 0–1–0 | 0–2–0 |
| Player | Points | Overall | Singles | Foursomes | Fourballs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolas Colsaerts | 1 | 1–3–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Luke Donald | 2 | 2–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–0–0 |
| Sergio García | 2 | 2–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–0–0 |
| Peter Hanson | 0 | 0–2–0 | 0–1–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Martin Kaymer | 1 | 1–1–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Paul Lawrie | 1 | 1–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–0–0 | 0–2–0 |
| Graeme McDowell | 1 | 1–3–0 | 0–1–0 | 1–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Rory McIlroy | 3 | 3–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 1–1–0 | 1–1–0 |
| Francesco Molinari | 0.5 | 0–2–1 | 0–0–1 | 0–1–0 | 0–1–0 |
| Ian Poulter | 4 | 4–0–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 1–0–0 |
| Justin Rose | 3 | 3–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 2–0–0 | 0–2–0 |
| Lee Westwood | 2 | 2–2–0 | 1–0–0 | 0–2–0 | 1–0–0 |
In the United States,The Wall Street Journal asked how could "an extremely talented American Ryder Cup team blow a final-day lead as large as any ever blown in 85 years of Ryder Cup history", whileChicago Tribune sportswriterDavid Haugh described the defeat as "inexcusable" having led 10–4 at one point on Saturday afternoon.[31] CaptainDavis Love III came under scrutiny for his player selections, andUSA Today centered its criticism onTiger Woods, calling him a player the U.S. "could not rely on" and "who at times appeared to be barely here". Some American newspapers elected not to dedicate back-page columns to the event.[32]
The European victory was met with elation across the continent. Spain's daily sport newspaperMarca ran the headline: "This one is for you,Seve". Britain'sDaily Telegraph wrote that after an unprecedented summer of sporting achievements, including theOlympic Games in London,Bradley Wiggins' victory in theTour de France andAndy Murray's first tennis major at theUS Open, the Ryder Cup was incapable of "dullness, one-sidedness, and hollow drama" despite the looming anti-climax at the start of the singles matches on the final day. In a reference to the economic crisis on the continent,The Irish Times said that GermanMartin Kaymer had given Europe "a massive bailout that contributed to the most unlikeliest comeback in Ryder Cup history".[33]
41°57′58″N88°02′53″W / 41.966°N 88.048°W /41.966; -88.048
