Clutch birdie by Donald holds off Woods, Stricker
After not making it past the 15th hole in his first two Ryder Cup matches — a pair of morning-round thumpings at the hands of the red-hot pairing of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley — Northwestern product Luke Donald found his form, and the 18th green, late Saturday evening.
Buoyed by a clutch tee shot to about 3 feet on the Par 3 17th that led to a birdie, Donald and Sergio Garcia held off a late charge by Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker to earn a must-win point for the Europeans in one of the most exciting matches of the day.
“I felt really calm all day. I don’t know why, but I just did,” Donald said. “And I kind of went back to 2006 (PGA at Medinah), where I hit a 6 iron to the pin to about that distance. I just thought, ‘just do the same.’
“I knew we had to make birdies coming in. You never give up against Tiger and Stricker; they are a formidable pairing and they played great on the back nine.”
Roar of the day:An already-raucous Medinah Country Club somehow took it up a notch when Dustin Johnson nailed a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to give himself and Matt Kuchar a 1-up lead they would hold onto in defeating Paul Lawrie and Nicolas Colsaerts.#147;That was probably the loudest roar I#146;ve ever heard,#148; Johnson said. #147;I was so jacked up walking to the 18th tee; I had goosebumps.#148;After further review:Remember the headlines generated by Jim Furyk#146;s remarks in Atlanta recently, calling Rory McIlroy a marked man at the Ryder Cup?Turns out something was lost in translation.#147;I#146;m pretty sure if you review the tape, I did not say that,#148; Furyk said. #147;What I said was that in the FedExCup, he was the marked man because he was the best player in the world and he was No. 1 in the FedExCup points.#147;The next day the headlines were that I said he was a marked man. I promise you, I#146;m not one to incite the other team #151; just let the sleeping giants lay and not bother them too much.#148; Going for the cycle:For the third straight day, an errant shot by Tiger Woods hit a spectator.Saturday afternoon, Woods#146; ball hit a woman on the seventh hole and the BBC reported that, in return for her pain, she received a signed glove and a hug from Woods. Fun with fans #133; mostly:Bubba Watson has been having a great time this weekend playing it up to the crowds at Medinah.But there#146;s a line Watson doesn#146;t like to see crossed #151; and that would be fans touching him, like at least one did Saturday afternoon.#147;I#146;m really claustrophobic; I don#146;t like big crowds and I don#146;t like people touching me,#148; he said. #147;It#146;s something that happened to me at the Masters; a couple people hit me in the back, and not slapped me in the back, hit me in the back. I don#146;t really like that.#148;Chip-ins: Among the VIP#146;s in the house Saturday were President George W. Bush and his father, President George H.W. Bush. #133; The PGA of America has invited fans to participate in a #147;Red Out#148; in support of the U.S. Ryder Cup team Sunday on the final day of action.He said it:#147;I feel really good about my game #133; it hurts even more when you just want to get out and play.#148;#151; Sweden#146;s Peter Hanson, who only played one match over the first two days of Ryder Cup competition. 11321093Dustin Johnson reacts after sinking a birdie putt on the 17th hole Saturday afternoon on Day 2 of the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club. The roar from the crowd was the loudest of the day and swept across Medinah.Jeff Knox/jknox@dailyherald.com