Ryder Cup Result: Europe produce Miracle at Medinah

Ian Poulter sparked the European comeback

A very proud Mike Norman tells us how Europe produced the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history to win the famous trophy once again...

Before a tee shot was even struck on this ridiculously crazy Sunday, the words Miracle at Medinah were spreading around Twitter like wildfire. People were dreaming of it of course, but did anyone really believe it would happen?

I tip my proverbial hat to anyone who truly believed; but that same hat would have went for a burton the second Martin Kaymer holed his par putt from six-feet on the 18th green to ensure Europe retained the Ryder Cup.

What happened after that - Tiger Woods missing a short par putt on 18 to gift Europe the win - was quite sad because no team deserved to lose. A 14-14 tie would have been befitting of this great event and how it unfolded, there would have been no losers, in fact, there still are no losers, just winners.

Woods demonstrated great sportsmanship on that 18th hole, conceding Francesco Molinari's par putt similar to the length that he had just missed himself.

But the reason Woods missed was because he was a spent-force, the concentration and fight had gone after he'd seen Europe retain the cup 150 yards ahead of him as he stood in the middle of the 18th fairway. Had Molinari been asked to putt, he would have made it such was the mood and feeling of immortality amongst the European team.

Europe trailed USA 10-6 going in to Sunday's Singles, and very few people give them a chance of winning. The Americans had played brilliant for two days, putting like magicians on the perfect Medinah Country Club greens.

But the fight Europe showed when Ian Poulter birdied five holes in a row on Saturday night was carried over to Sunday; Luke Donald leading from the front in similar fashion to what Colin Montgomerie had done in previous years to set the tone for the day.

Donald was followed to victory by Poulter, then Rory McIlroy, then Justin Rose, and also by the unheralded Paul Lawrie who thrashed last week's FedEx Cup winner Brandt Snedeker.

In fact Lawrie was the only man to win with ease, all three of Poulter, McIlroy and Rose did brilliantly to win their games late in the rounds and keep the Miracle at Medinah dream alive.

The USA team fought back in the middle order with the two Johnsons, Dustin and Zach, and Jason Dufner winning their respective games, but their only other score came courtesy of a half point in that final Woods/Molinari game.

Europe were generally available to back at 2.89/5 pre-event, and were matched at a high of 27.026/1 In-Play as the trophy looked to be going across the pond. The only surprising aspect of those latter odds were that they weren't higher, the USA team had never lost when holding at least a two-point advantage since the competition began in 1927.

It's difficult to put into words how most golf fans are feeling right now, but I know this one is a very proud person and delighted that the 39th Ryder Cup was played in a tremendous spirit, and at the same time showing why it's arguably the greatest sporting event in the world. And of course, we got the right result too.