The U.S. led 10 to 6 at yesterday’s close, after all the matches with two players from each team.
Today, in the singles matches the U.S. won just three more while the Europeans won eight, giving the Europeans a 14 to 13 lead, before the close of the last match - Tiger Woods vs F. Molinari.
Before the 18th hole, Tiger was “1 Up” over Molinari. Molinari won the 18th hole, and so each was awarded “1/2”, making the final team scores 14 1/2 for Europe and 13 1/2 for the U.S.
What I don’t understand about the rules was they kept repeating (the TV nnoucners), that even if Tiger managed to win the 18th hole, making the U.S. team score of 14 wins, that the rules would still reward the cup to Europe.
Maybe someone can tell me why the outcome would not have been different if Tiger had won the 8th hole in the last match, converting his “1 up” score to “2 up” and a clear win of his match with Molinari. I’m guessing there are no “tie breakers” in the Ryder Cup, and whoever gets the magic 14+ wins first is the winner?
Does anyone know why Europe had won the cup, once they had 14 wins, and whether not a win by Tiger would have made it 14 wins for the U.S.?
The Europeans are the current holders of the cup. In the case of a tie, they retain it. You have to beat the cup holder outright to take it away.
Defending champ only needs 14.