Phil Mickelson insisted the successful USA Ryder Cup team won’t be resting on their laurels after the hosts grabbed the glory for the first time since 2008.
Davis Love III’s men romped to a 17-11 victory at Hazeltine to end Europe’s run of three successive victories in dominant fashion and secure their biggest win in the contest since 1981.
Two years ago at Gleneagles, Mickelson slaughtered US skipper Tom Watson in the immediate aftermath of a damaging defeat but out of the ashes of his criticism came the Task Force charged with improving the American fortunes in the biennial bout.
Mickelson was at the vanguard of that whole process and the 46-year-old multiple Major champion was vindicated over the course of three thrilling days in the Minneapolis suburbs.
Mickelson himself was inspired during Sunday’s sizzling singles and reeled off 10 birdies in a quite thrilling match with Sergio Garcia that fittingly ended all square.
That half point pushed the hosts nearer victory and it was sealed not long after when Ryan Moore, the last man into the 12-strong team as Love’s final wild card, overturned a two hole deficit with three to play against Lee Westwood to win on the 18th.
Mickelson is now looking to the future and the California insisted that the US will keep building on a blueprint for success that they have mapped out.
He said: “We don’t want to jump the gun here. We’ve got work to do. This whole thing has nothing to do with one event. This is something we’re going to build on and we move forward otherwise it will be all for nothing. We have to take this experience and add to it.”
US skipper Love had experienced an agonising defeat as captain in 2012 when Europe mounted a final day singles surge to complete the Miracle of Medinah but his men gave him a sense of redemption as they powered to a purposeful triumph.
He added: “I’m just so proud of these guys. They have had a lot of pressure on them for the last two years. I’ve never seen a team come together like a family like this one. They hung in there all week.”
Love’s counterpart Darren Clarke was gracious in defeat as he became the first European skipper to lose a Ryder Cup since Nick Faldo at Valhalla eight years ago.
He said: “At the end of the day they played better than we did. They holed the putts when they had to. The guys gave it their all and we’re obviously bitterly disappointed but credit to Davis and his team for that performance.”
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