Date:25/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/25/stories/2006092509651900.htm

Sport - Golf

Europeans reign supreme

STRAFFAN (Ireland): Favourites or underdogs in the Ryder Cup, it doesn't matter to the Europeans.

They boasted of having their best team ever, then backed it up in dominant fashion by turning the Ryder Cup into another rout Sunday to win for an unprecedented third straight time.

Luke Donald holed a 10-foot par putt that gave Europe 14 points, all it needed to keep the shiny gold trophy. Moments later, Henrik Stenson closed out his match to give his team an outright victory, and the celebration was on.

The tears flowed, too.

Darren Clarke wasn't sure he should play in this Ryder Cup after his wife, Heather, died of cancer on Aug. 13. He went nearly two months without playing as he tried to cope with such a loss, leaving him a single father of two young boys.

But he agreed to be a captain's pick and then won every match he played.

After beating Zach Johnson on the 16th hole, Clarke broke down in tears as dropped his head on caddie Billy Foster's shoulder, then walked into the arms of captain Ian Woosnam, sobbing amid cheers and songs.

``It's done a lot for me for people to show me how much they care,'' Clarke said. ``And it's done a lot to show how much they cared about Heather, and that means a lot to me. It's been a difficult week. From the minute I got here, I was determined to get myself ready, and I was. I played the way Woosie wanted me to.''

He had plenty of help from the rest of the Europeans.

Montgomerie show

Colin Montgomerie won his opening match and tied a Ryder Cup record with his sixth singles victory. Sergio Garcia failed to become the first European to go 5-0 at the Ryder Cup, losing to Stewart Cink. But his perfect record in team matches staked them to an insurmountable lead.

The Americans countered with Tiger Woods, who had his first winning record in a Ryder Cup, but that wasn't nearly enough.

It was the first time in the 79-year history of the Ryder Cup that Europe won outright three straight times. Going for three in a row in 1989, they settled for tie to retain the cup. Not this time.

Europe was so dominant it won all five sessions for the first time in history, and it was headed toward its biggest rout ever in Sunday singles, the format the Americans once owned.

``We weren't just trying to get to 14 1/2, we were trying to get as much as we can,'' Donald said after holing the cup-clinching putt, giving him a 3-0 record this week. — AP