2004 Ryder Cup

Infobox Ryder Cup
year = 2004

dates = September 17–19
venue = Oakland Hills Country Club
location = Bloomfield Township, Michigan
home = US
away = EU
homecaptain = Hal Sutton
awaycaptain = Bernhard Langer
homescore = 9½
awayscore = 18½
result = Europe retainsThe 35th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 17–19 at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Michigan.The European team won the competition by a margin of 18½ to 9½ points, the winning putt being made by Colin Montgomerie, [Montgomerie is widely credited as having holed the winning putt, although Ian Poulter birdied on the 15th hole of his match to guarantee a half point and so mathematically win the Ryder Cup seconds before Montgomerie. This was commentated on by course commentators and Radio Five, whose Golf correspondent Ian Coulter recalled in the "News of the World": "My editor said Poulter was three up seconds before Monty hit his putt. Then Colin's putt went in - you can imagine the situation. To have over-ruled his achievement would have been like trying to deny Alan Shearer a goal that went in off a defender." "This man won us Ryder Cup - not Monty" "News of the World" (London); Sep 26, 2004; Geoff Sweet; p. 75. Frank Keating of "The Guardian" also noted this chain of events, writing "radio logged the fact that it was not Montgomerie's putt which actually clinched the cup but Poulter's, a matter of seconds before and a few holes behind." "Golf, Cricket: Notes from the touchline" "The Guardian" (Manchester); Sep 24, 2004; Frank Keating; p. 34] who maintained his record of never losing in any of his seven Ryder Cup singles matches. The victory margin was the largest by a European team in the history of the event, and the largest by either side since 1981, when Team USA defeated Team Europe by the same score. It was also the largest margin of defeat for the USA on home soil.

Format

The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format changed slightly from used from that used from 1991 to 2002, with the order of play swapped on the second day:
*Day 1 (Friday) — 4 four-ball (better ball) matches in a morning session and 4 foursome (alternate shot) matches in an afternoon session
*Day 2 (Saturday) — 4 four-ball matches in a morning session and 4 foursome matches in an afternoon session
*Day 3 (Sunday) — 12 singles matchesWith a total of 28 points, 14½ points were required to win the Cup, and 14 points were required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

Teams

Afternoon foursomes

The afternoon alternate-shot session was almost as good for Team Europe as the morning session. Mickelson and Woods lost an early lead in their match, leaving Woods winless in the first day of his last three Ryder Cups. Team USA picked up its first full point, but Europe ended the day with a 6½–1½ lead, its largest lead after the first day in Ryder Cup history.

unday's singles matches

References

*cite web |url=http://www.rydercup.com/2004/ |title=Ryder Cup 2004 / The Official Site of the 35th Ryder Cup Matches |publisher=The PGA of America, Ryder Cup Limited, and Turner Sports Interactive |accessdate=2007-03-14
*cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/ryder_cup/default.stm |title=Ryder Cup |publisher=BBC Sport |accessdate=2007-03-14