North: A riveting Ryder Cup win for USA
I'm doing what some would call a diary of the three days of the Ryder Cup play, but with apologies to Bridget Jones I really didn't write anything down.
I can easily go off my memory, though, because it totally captivated my attention.
First, though, allow me to share a few observations.
The nonsense that 50,000 people on a golf course will all observe proper etiquette is absurd. Fans dress up in costumes, get inebriated and are allowed to cheer at the Ryder Cup and, yes, some make rude remarks. It goes with the territory and it's the nature of the beast.
It is especially challenging for the traveling country and players who are used to being loved and never booed. For guys such as Rory Mcllroy, though, it's a different story — booing seems to make his game better. I love feisty Rory.
The Golf Channel and NBC nailed the telecast, doing an outstanding job.
Now, onto my daily synopsis.
Day one: The early round by USA was won (4-0) because of a good early start and the crowd. I believe the Europeans were stunned and taken out of their game early. Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler scored late to sweep.
After lunch, the Europeans came out in afternoon play and didn't wince as the American fans bellowed their distaste.
It appeared as though Jordan Spieth was taken out of his game early, and he even tried to shush the American fans, which is always a tricky thing to do.
The Europeans came back to seize the afternoon 3-1, so the USA was up 5 points to 3 at the end of the day.
For day two, the European team came out fast, and was paced by Rory Mcllroy, who used the crowd as his catapult and dominated as the his team posted gains in the morning, but were still down 6 ½ to 5 ½ at the break.
That meant the afternoon session would be tense, and it was. Rory came out and carried the European team in the afternoon session, but he was matched by a guy built for the Ryder Cup, Patrick Reed, who played Godlike.
Before that session, I thought Phil Mickelson shouldn't have played, but he was outstanding and the United States won 3 of 4 matches to go into Sunday leading 9 ½ to 6 ½.
Team USA dominated on day three in the singles matches, finally bringing home the Ryder Cup for the first time in eight years.
Mickelson backed up his talk and Patrick Reed was the MVP.
Congratulations to the U.S. team on a job well done!
• Follow Mike North on Twitter @north2north. His column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.