Woods not sulking despite becoming joint record-holder for most defeats by an American as USA close in on victory
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson now have even more unwelcome Ryder Cup history in common after Woods became the joint holder of the record for most defeats by an American in the event’s history.
Woods suffered his third loss of the week in Saturday’s fourballs alongside Steve Stricker — beaten on the 18th by Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald — after being left out of the morning foursomes; something that had never happened before in his Ryder or Presidents Cup career.
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USA’s Tiger Woods lines up a putt on Saturday. Pic/AFP
That was the former world number one’s 17th loss in the biennial event, matching the total of Mickelson, who famously lost twice on the opening day at Oakland Hills in 2004 when paired with Woods by US captain Hal Sutton. Europe won then by a record nine points.
Woods insisted he was “absolutely” fine with current captain Davis Love’s decision to leave him out on Saturday morning, adding: “It was nice to be fresh, no doubt. This is a long grind to go all five. I’ve done it before and it’s hard. I felt great this morning and it was nice to kind of sleep in and get a little bit of rest.”
Asked about his form, Woods added: “I’ve played well the last two afternoons and didn’t get a point. It’s tough. Yesterday I made a bunch of birdies and today I made five on the back nine and it just wasn’t enough.
“I’m feeling good about my game but just unfortunately haven’t got a point. I played terrible in the morning. (I) turned around in the afternoon and unfortunately we ran into a guy (Nicolas Colsaerts) who made more putts than anyone I’ve ever seen.”
USA poised for glory
Davis Love’s men carried a handsome 10-6 lead into the closing 12 singles. That meant that the Americans need just 4 1/2 points to ensure they keep the small golden trophy for the next two years. Jose Maria Olazabal’s team need to win eight out of the 12 matches to reach 14 points which would result in the contest being tied and Europe, as holders, keeping the cup.
McIlroy nearly misses tee-off
Rory McIlroy nearly missed his tee off time in the third Ryder Cup singles matches at Medinah Country Club yesterday following a mixup over times. The World No 1 was seen being driven hastily into the course with 10 minutes to go before he was due to take on Keegan Bradley. US TV reports said that McIlroy in his hotel room had mistaken eastern seaboard time for Chicago time which is one hour later.
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