It’s always one of the more lively press conferences in golf, writes Nick Rodger. Left giddy by a heady cocktail of adrenaline, triumphant gulps of bubbly and sheer physical exhaustion, the gathering of the winning Ryder Cup team in the media centre after the closing ceremony can be broadly equivalent to a chimps tea party. Only marginally more chaotic.
Amid the giggling, the joking and the mutual back-slapping, the graceful Justin Rose shone a light on some of the secrets of this particular success. The champagne corks that popped were a reward for the organisation, discipline and unity of a European team that faced one of the strongest teams the USA had ever assembled . . . and gave them a right good going over. Those celebrations were richly deserved.
“What you see along this line right now is a bunch of guys who are elated and you see a bunch of guys enjoying the situation and you see a bunch of guys having drinks to celebrate,” said Rose, whose 3&2 defeat to Webb Simpson in the singles did not matter in the final analysis.
“But what this team did was not drop their guard until this moment right here. This team was relentless in its pursuit of excellence. We ticked every box we could control all week long, whether it be recovery, nutrition, practice rounds, whatever. Our focus was unbelievable this week.
“Thomas [Bjorn] didn’t fill our week with pointless team meetings. He trusted us to be 12 players that would come together, and today trusted us to be 12 individuals but 12 individuals working towards the same common goal. And that was his strength this week. The discipline that we showed got us to this point where we can now let our hair down and really drop our guard hard.”
For Francesco Molinari, it was probably easier for him to drop his guard than it was to drop a point. The Italian was simply superb during an unbeaten weekend which was illuminated by a wonderful partnership with Tommy Fleetwood in the pairs and a clinical, composed performance of unwavering authority in the singles.
His victory over Phil Mickelson in the man-to-man pushed the hosts over the winning line and made him the first European player – and the first on both sides since Larry Nelson in 1979 – to compile a perfect five-out-five record.
Molinari was on two previous winning sides, at Celtic Manor in 2010 and at Medinah two years later, but he had never actually won a full point during those campaigns. Over a magical three days in Paris, the Open champion became a Ryder Cup great with his five-star show.
“I’ve been part of another two winning teams where I didn’t bring full points, and I’m glad after I’ve been carried on the shoulders by some of these guys to give something back,” said Molinari with his usual modesty.
“But it’s about every one of these guys, the vice captains, it’s just the best team I’ve ever been part of by miles.
“It’s been intense, but the adrenaline is so much that you could keep going. Today it was hard. Th ere wasn’t much energy, but it’s not about individuals, it’s about the other guys on the team and the atmosphere that we created.
“I honestly don’t feel any difference bringing five points or one point or half a point like I did in Wales or in Medinah. I said it on Saturday when they were asking me and Tommy about winning four out of four, it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win the cup.
“That’s what this team is about, and I think honestly, that’s what makes the difference at the end of the week. It means so much, more than majors, more than anything. It’s hard not to get emotional.”
Sergio Garcia was certainly emotional after beating Rickie Fowler to become the event’s record points scorer. After a trying year, in which his form had slumped and many had questioned his wild card inclusion, this was a moment to savour.
“I think that a lot of people thought that the Ryder Cup was over before it was played and I guess they picked the wrong team,” he said as Europe went from underdogs to top dogs.
Bjorn certainly picked the right team. “He wasn’t bad was he?” said the European skipper of Garcia as his decisions were justified in triumphant style.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here