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<\/p>\nIf God had to invent a sports format, it would be the Ryder Cup\u2026 on TV <\/p>\n
, The Times<\/p>\n
I know you were stressed. I know you started to gaze at your iPhone to distract yourself from what looked like impending disaster. I know your heart was beating faster than if you\u2019d just downed a quadruple espresso as Cameron Young and Justin Thomas made superb pressure putts on the 18th to defeat Tommy Fleetwood (folk hero, lovely chap) and Justin Rose (indomitable, classy) and what seemed so certain was suddenly up in the air.<\/p>\n
There was a moment \u2014 I can\u2019t remember when, precisely, because I was struggling to keep track of time \u2014 when the board seemed all red, except for Ludvig Aberg (what a performance by him on the final day, by the way), like a kind of chromatic premonition of European doom. Sepp Straka was reeling. Russell Henley was flying. The much mocked Bryson DeChambeau was roaring back against Matt Fitzpatrick, an impressive golfer whose technique was giving way in those closing holes, like a minor sinkhole in suburbia.<\/p>\n
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McIlroy, who suffered abuse throughout the tournament, is sprayed with champagne by Europe team-mate Lowry<\/p>\n
CARL RECINE\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
But isn\u2019t this what sport is all about: the jeopardy, the unexpected delirium, the procession that turns \u2014 against all expectation \u2014 into a cliffhanger? Richard Scudamore described the Premier League as \u201cunscripted drama\u201d but the three days of a Ryder Cup are \u2014 for me, and perhaps for you too \u2014 somehow more cumulative, more intense, more emotionally fraught than the 90 minutes of a footie match. Indeed, as Brentford were defeating Man U on Saturday, John and Rhian at the end of my row at the Gtech were keeping us all up to speed with events from New York, oohs and aahs all along the way.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying that the Ryder Cup is inherently superior to a football match (a subjective issue, after all) but suggest that the variegated nature of the action (foursomes, four-balls, singles) offers greater scope for narrative intricacy, for shifts in momentum, for that beguiling sense that you are witnessing a tapestry of different storylines, personalities, quirks and controversies, all building to the denouement late on a Sunday evening when emotional rapture rises up like a tidal wave.<\/p>\n
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Team USA\u2019s stirring comeback attempt made for truly unmissable sports viewing on Sunday night<\/p>\n
SHUTTERSTOCK EDITORIAL<\/p>\n
Perhaps what I\u2019m saying is that if God were to invent a sports format, he\u2019d invent the Ryder Cup. It\u2019s a particularly majestic TV spectacle (for my money, much better than in person, and not just because you can mute the \u201cgeddin the hole\u201d tomfoolery). From the sofa, you can \u2014 like an air traffic controller on a busy afternoon at Heathrow \u2014 keep track of everything in real time: every shot, every twitch, every moment of indecision, all in HD. If you\u2019ve remembered to stock up on nachos, dips (M&S multi-flavour selection) and a few bottles of Erdinger, it\u2019s heaven. Sky Sports did a superb job throughout, I felt, not least the inimitable Wayne Riley out on the course.<\/p>\n
There are too many European heroes to pick out but I doubt we\u2019ll quickly forget Rose\u2019s putting, Fleetwood\u2019s mettle (four points in the opening two days), Rahm\u2019s stature (he seemed like a giant at times) or Rory McIlroy\u2019s resilience. And what about the captaincy of Luke Donald (next time I\u2019m feeling frantic about something, I\u2019ll look at a photo of Donald for its calming effect), the statistical wizardry of Edoardo Molinari and the all-round contribution of the caddies; heroes all. Perhaps the difference, ultimately, is that the Europeans played as a cohesive team; the Americans as a group of individuals.<\/p>\n
A couple of other observations. A lot has been said about the putt of Shane Lowry at the 18th to retain the cup, hands trembling ever so slightly, brow greased with perspiration. A lot has been written, too, about the glorious jig afterwards as the Europeans \u2014 and fans across a continent \u2014 jumped to their feet (I thought of Wordsworth\u2019s line: \u201cMy heart leaps when I behold a rainbow in the sky\u201d). Yet I couldn\u2019t help thinking that the shot of the afternoon, perhaps the week, was Lowry\u2019s iron to that final green, a shot \u2014 when you consider the context \u2014 of beguiling calibration and poise.<\/p>\n
A lot has also been written about the American fans: the abuse meted out not just to the European players but their families too. It perhaps goes without saying that I wholeheartedly agree with every word of condemnation. But I can\u2019t help mentioning the number of Americans (including hardcore golf fans) who have got in touch with me to say: we are appalled too. I sensed in the tenor of their messages the fear that all American golf fans will be tarred by the same brush, perhaps even all Americans. I\u2019m guessing many English football fans \u2013 disgusted by the hooligan element they are so often tarnished by \u2013 will understand the point.<\/p>\n
As the contest ended on Sunday night, I found myself reflecting on how sad it is that we\u2019ll have to wait another two years for the next showdown, this time at Adare Manor, but of course this event benefits from its rarity value. Make Donald captain again, I say, and let him attempt a hat-trick of victories as captain, coming on top of his four as a player. Above all, though, let European fans show something that transcends golf and, indeed, sport. Love of one\u2019s own team should never shade into hatred of the other. <\/p>\n
Ryder Cup | Tom Kershaw<\/p>\n September 26 2025, 11.45pm<\/p>\n Ryder Cup<\/p>\n September 29 2025, 1.05am<\/p>\n ryder cup<\/p>\n September 25 2025, 10.00pm<\/p>\n China Open<\/p>\n September 29 2025, 12.15pm<\/p>\n September 29 2025, 8.30pm<\/p>\n Unseen gallery<\/p>\n September 30 2025, 9.00am<\/p>\n![\"Ryder](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/\/2cfe5652-fcf0-41b8-96f4-3544b934f401.jpg\")
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