This year’s Ryder Cup once again reaffirmed the perception held in European golfing circles that 'team golf' does not really feature in the American sporting psyche.
Yes America played well for the first couple of days but the spirit of a team is not tested until it faces an opponent high on confidence and momentum. America faced a resurgent European outfit on the last day and wilted under the Chicago sun. Once again Tiger Woods' performance put a lie to his current ranking and majors pedigree. Where was the characteristic last day Tiger charge? Where was Tiger's roar?
In contrast, the likes of Europe’s Ian Poulter and Justin Rose, so very much fringe contenders in recent majors, put in titanic performances. They were fueled by the memory of Seve. He gave them the courage to dare to win from a seemingly unassailable 10-6 American lead. Poulter's 5 birdies on the last 5 holes was the catalyst for a truly historic victory for the Europeans.
How will the Americans respond at Gleneagles in 2014? Let us hope with a conviction inspired by their own golfing immortals.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
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