Europe flourish as Sutton flounders

2004 Season Review/The Ryder Cup: The latest incarnation of professional team golf's greatest sporting extravaganza, the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club commandeered as many headlines for the antics on the other side of the ropes as it did in proclaiming Europe's record 18 ½ -9 ½ victory over the United States.

The golf, while hugely enjoyable from a European perspective, was almost relegated to a sideshow as American captain Hal Sutton took centre stage in the main ring. It was enthralling to watch him vacillate between bullish cheerleader for American hopes to a beleaguered apologist over the three days of hostilities.

His mission statement was to recapture the Ryder Cup, surrendered at the Belfry and to this end he exposed the full force of his personality.

In the preamble to the tournament Sutton was forced to defend one of his key players Phil Mickelson as US Masters champion chose solitary practice, on the second course at Oakland Hills to familiarise himself with new clubs after changing manufacturer a couple of weeks before the Ryder Cup.

The American media was concerned. Sutton wasn't. There were no clouds in the Louisianan's world as he asserted prior to the start: "I think we have got a tremendous team. I think we have the greatest putting team that the USA has ever assembled. I think every tournament that's ever been won is won on the greens."

Sutton and Mickelson were linked by the umbilical cord of selection and ultimately joined together at the hip of failure. When the American captain decided to pair Mickelson and Tiger Woods, he considered it a statement of intent; others viewed it as the ultimate folly.

"I can't think of any other message that we could send any louder than to put the two of you guys out first," Sutton clamoured.

It was a seminal decision and one for which Sutton was castigated at length.

When Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie dusted the American pairing on the Friday morning, it was bad enough but when Mickelson disintegrated so famously, almost blowing his three wood out of town in the afternoon mitigation was a word to be found in the dictionary between misery and myopia.

Woods' face as he watched Mickelson's tee shot strike the boundary fence on Friday afternoon supported the assertion that "a picture is worth a thousand words". He looked disgusted.

The only approbation that Woods would offer subsequently was to question why Mickelson chose the three wood instead of the driver off the tee on the long finishing hole. However, there was a lengthy queue to fillet both Sutton and Mickelson in print.

Pat Caputo of The Sunday Oakland Press newspaper had no problem in finding scapegoats. "Ultimately the finger of blame goes at Sutton. He is the one that put Woods and Mickelson in that position. He said it was because the world demanded it, and Tiger and Mickelson themselves wanted it. That latter part was a lie. It was the last thing either wanted."

Sutton, who'd worn a Stetson as he strode to the first tee on the Friday morning, a gift from the American caddies, had been reduced to American golf 's equivalent of General Custer.

In fairness to Sutton he refused to hide and was to be found at the eye of the media storm that raged around him.

The contrast with his European counterpart Bernhard Langer could not have been more pronounced. The German was foot perfect for the week, a picture of quiet efficiency, mirroring that of his team.

Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood both amassed four and a half points from a possible five while Ireland's Padraig Harrington, first in partnership with Montgomerie and then famously with Paul McGinley - they beat Tiger Woods and Davis Love on the Saturday - chalked up four points.

He also kept intact his unbeaten singles record over three Ryder Cups with a long putt on the home green to see off Jay Haas.

McGinley, the hero of the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in 2002, was an integral part of this success as was Darren Clarke, the latter involved in a pulsating final day singles with Davis Love that eventually ended in a halved match.

Thomas Levet became the first Frenchman to score a point in a Ryder Cup when he beat Fred Funk while the another memory from the final day was Garcia finally breaking his singles duck when coming back from two down to beat the hapless Mickelson.

It was apposite that the winning blow - it may be disputed by Ian Poulter - should be struck by Europe's totem, Montgomerie as he edged out David Toms to guarantee another European success.

It was the prelude to tears, cheers and beers for team Europe.