What a Match - 18.09.04 |
Lee Westwood and yours truly have every right to feel proud of ourselves after what I can only describe as the best Ryder Cup match victory of my career. Beating anybody from three down is an outstanding achievement, but to do it against Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson makes it extra special. It helped us make history at Oakland Hills because after the first day Europe led by 6½ to 1½ - the biggest first-day lead ever recorded by either side. If anybody had said to us at the start of the day that we would end it with such a lead, we would have looked at them in a strange manner, but little did we know how the ball was going to run for all of us. We were three down very quickly, but never lost hope against the players ranked second and fourth in the world. Nobody intimidates us and I have never felt more relaxed. I can’t give enough credit to Captain Langer. His pairings have been inspirational and much of what happened on the first day was down to him. He is so thorough and organised and his experience has shown through this week. Now we must build on our advantage because we know the Americans will come back at us at some stage. Hopefully when they do it will be too late, but we are not celebrating anything just yet. | |