THE BOTTOM line, folks? The United States did a Europe on Europe: Paul Azinger, a la Seve Ballesteros, zoomed around the hills at Valhalla for three days in his seemingly jet-propelled golf cart - which he called "US One" - and fired up the crowds; Azinger, too, cleverly played up the underdogs tag; and, what really mattered, the American players played the best golf.

Winning 16½ to 11½. Who can argue? The bottom line? Europe's three main players - Pádraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia - turned up but didn't show up. Sure they were there, but they didn't bring their A-games to the golf course; and the simple fact of the matter is that they didn't bring the presence of a Monty or a Clarke in terms of leadership to the team. They're just different types of guys.

When neither Harrington, Westwood nor Garcia managed to win a match, how could Europe be expected to win? Recriminations? Fingers will be pointed at Nick Faldo. Unfairly, perhaps!

Ian Poulter, for one, fully justified Faldo's 'wild card' selection by emerging as the top European player with an impressive four points, while the question marks over Faldo's decision to bench both Garcia and Westwood for the Saturday morning foursomes were well and truly answered by the on-course performance: that was the only session, of five, that the Europeans won.

Faldo can be criticised for being brunt and arrogant. But that's the man. A leopard can't change its spots and, while you can query his decision to top-load and bottom-load the singles orders on Sunday when Europe were chasing the game, that was a team decision made around the table as players contributed to the game plan. It was a gamble, and it didn't come off.

The bottom line? Europe were outplayed. You win some, you lose some, and there's no "I poured my heart and soul into this team for two years, and my team poured their heart and soul into it for one week," remarked Azinger on Sunday night, the Ryder Cup but a matter of inches away from him. "We came in here with a plan, and we stuck to our guns. We just went out there with a one-shot-at-a-time mission, and we did it."

Maybe this is what the Ryder Cup needed, an American win. It's a real contest again; and the USA did it without the world's top player, Tiger Woods, in their midst. Instead, the USA - including six rookies with no baggage - played with a cohesion that, to be honest, reminded us of the teams that Europe put out in 2002 and 2004 and 2006.

Few saw this win coming but hats off to the Americans, they performed. Only Steve Stricker failed to win a match. Who would have picked Hunter Mahan to be the USA's main man? Mahan was undefeated in five matches, emerging with three and a half points - two wins, three halves - while JB Holmes and Boo Weekley each took two and a half points from three matches.

Weekley stole the show. On Sunday, he went off the first tee doing a Happy Gilmore horse-riding impression, provoking a good few laughs but also producing some great golf shots.

"This has always been about the team, not me," said Azinger. "They had faith in themselves, they took confidence to the first tee and they believed. We beat a powerhouse European team, so they deserve all the credit."

But, already, there have been calls in the US for Azinger to be at the helm again for the 2010 match in Celtic Manor.

Europe's captain for that match has yet to be decided. Although there will be a European Tour meeting on the subject at St Andrews next week - during the Dunhill Links - a final decision won't be made until possibly early next year.

Sandy Lyle has signalled his interest, as has Ian Woosnam who captained the team at The K Club. But Jose Maria Olazabal, a vice-captain in Valhalla, is more keen to get back again as a player.

Harrington, who finished a second successive Ryder Cup with just half-a-point to show for his efforts, used the benefit of hindsight to suggest that he should perhaps have undertaken a different schedule in the run-up to the match.

"My preparation wasn't right and it showed up 100 per cent . . . I wasn't sharp and it comes down to my energy levels and fatigue. I tried hard. I hit the ball lovely on Tuesday but as the week went on I got worse. Should I have taken the month off? If I'd known the way I was going to play, yes, I would have taken the month off," he said.

As for the mood in the team room, Harrington claimed it was just as good as he had experienced in previous Ryder Cups. "It was excellent. Everything Nick said during the week in the team room was excellent. I think he was complemented very much by the emotional Olazabal, who was superb."

The bottom line? Europe just got outplayed. There are times you take your punishment and move on.

This was one of them.