GOLF 12BET sports

* German sinks putt that wins for Europe

* Langer's miss 21 years ago inspires Kaymer

* Cup win more special than PGA championship (Adds details, quotes)

MEDINAH, Illinois, Sept 30 (Reuters) - An ecstatic Martin Kaymer said he had discovered the true meaning of the Ryder Cup after sinking the decisive putt to cap a sensational comeback victory for Europe over the United States on Sunday.

The German held his nerve to make a five-foot par putt on the final hole of his singles match with Steve Stricker to ensure that Europe retained the trophy they won in Wales two years ago.


He raised his arms high, pumped his fists and then ran into the fairway and jumped into the arms of Europe captain Jose Maria Olazabal.

"It's a feeling I never had before," said Kaymer, a former world number one and major winner, who later gave special thanks to compatriot Bernhard Langer.

Kaymer had been out of form before his final day win over Stricker and had sought some advice from Langer, who missed a deciding six-foot putt at the Ryder Cup 21 years ago at Kiawah Island.

"On Friday I sat down with Bernhard and talked to him a little bit about the Ryder Cup because my attitude wasn't the right one," Kaymer said.

Kaymer lost the only match he played on Friday's opening day and was passed over by Olazabal when he decided the line-ups for Saturday's matches.

The German said he felt hurt about being dropped but was determined to show his captain he could play.

"To be honest it was very difficult yesterday. You want to prove that you can do better than what I showed on Friday, because on Friday I didn't show good golf.

"And then I took the possibility to talk to Bernhard a little bit yesterday," said Kaymer.

"I asked him if we could sit down on Saturday morning and talk about the Ryder Cup, because I felt like my attitude...was not as inspired as I should be."

On Sunday, all 12 players on both teams compete in singles, and the German stepped up to the challenge. He said he thought about Langer when he faced the critical putt at 18th.

Had Kaymer missed it, Tiger Woods would have had the chance to win the Cup for the U.S. in his match with Italy's Francesco Molinari, who he led one up after 17 holes in the final match.

"I did think about him, especially when I walked around the hole and read the putt from the other side. And to be honest, there was a footprint in my line, but it was not that bad," said Kaymer, referring to a spike mark that hampered Langer in 1991.

"So I thought, OK, it's not going to happen again, it's not going to happen again. And to be honest with you, I didn't really think about missing. There was only one choice you have. You have to make it.

"When it went in, I was just very happy, and that is something that I will remember probably for the rest of my life and hopefully I can talk about when I have some grandchildren one day."

Kaymer won the 2010 PGA Championship in dramatic style, beating Bubba Watson in a three-hole playoff but said winning the Ryder Cup was more special.

"The major was just for myself, but I can see the guys behind me, my brother was here and my father was here," Kaymer said.

"Sergio (Garcia) ran onto the green. It's so much more behind me. Now I know how it really feels to win the Ryder Cup." (Editing by Julian Linden)

article source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-golf-ryderkaymer-update-1-tv-pixl3e8l11g8-20120930,0,6736203.story

Let's be honest, we're all incredibly busy. Nobody has time to sit down and watch four rounds of golf coverage -- unless, of course, you watch TV for a living, and if that's the case, please email us your number. So in an effort to condense the tournament coverage for you into a few quick hits, here are five things we learned from The Barclays.

Nick Watney's now relevant on multiple fronts — It's hard to believe Watney's entire 2012 outlook changed in the span of just 24 hours, but his win at The Barclays couldn't have come at a better time. A non-factor in the FedExCup standings -- he was 49th to start the week -- and a Ryder Cup outsider, Watney found a way to become relevant on both fronts with one win. His success at The Barclays doesn't necessarily mean he's going to win $10 million and make the Ryder Cup team, but if we've learned anything from watching the playoffs and the Ryder Cup over the years, it's that having a hot hand late in the year is the way to go -- especially when you're trying to impress the Ryder Cup captain. Davis Love III will make his four captain's picks on September 4th, so the Deutsche Bank Championship is Watney's last shot to prove he's worthy of a spot on the American team.

Aug 5 (Reuters) - PGA Tour veteran Jim Furyk knows better than most how cruel professional golf can be, and he was on the receiving end of a bitter reversal of fortune at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday.

Having led the elite World Golf Championships (WGC) event from the opening round at Firestone Country Club, Furyk stayed in control until the 72nd hole where he wound up with a double-bogey to lose the title by one shot.

While his playing partner Keegan Bradley savoured unexpected ecstasy after sinking a 15-foot par putt at the last to win the tournament, Furyk had to deal with the agony of a squandered chance at landing a 17th PGA Tour title.
"Right now I'm just a little bit in shock with the way I finished up," Furyk told reporters after his one-stroke lead coming down the par-four last had been wiped out with an ugly six, having missed a five-foot putt for bogey.

"I turned a five into a six and lost the golf tournament on the last hole. There's no way I should have made double bogey.

"I've lost some tournaments in some pretty poor fashions, but I don't think I've let one ever slip nearly as bad as this one. This was my worst effort to finish off an event."
Furyk, who had tumbled out of a tie for the lead with three holes to play at the U.S. Open in June, played good golf for virtually the entire final round on a Firestone layout softened by overnight and early morning rain.
He birdied the first three holes and initially resisted a stirring Bradley charge after the turn with rock-solid pars and an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-five 16th.

FINAL-HOLE NIGHTMARE

His final-hole nightmare began when his second shot ended up in the rough on the edge of a greenside bunker from where he had an awkward stance.

From there, he chunked his chip to just short of the fringe, then chipped from a poor lie to five feet short of the hole before missing a five-foot bogey putt to gift the title to Bradley.

"If I wanted one shot over, I guess it would be the third especially as I had the ball sitting high in the rough," 2003 U.S. Open champion Furyk said. "I got too steep. I got the ball real high in the face.
"That's why it came out kind of dead, didn't have any power to it, and I kind of dumped it short there. The third shot was the one that probably is the thorn in my side.

"I've known it's a cruel game for a long time. I go back to the U.S. Open and the chances I had there, coming in tied with three holes to play, and I played poorly the last three holes."

At Firestone, however, Furyk had been in complete control since firing a dazzling 63 in the opening round and his failure to finish the job was a bitter pill for him to swallow.

"I led the golf tournament the entire way and lost it on the very last hole," said the 42-year-old, who is renowned for his rock-steady play and unorthodox looping swing.

"To get that close and to know that I played more than good enough to win the golf tournament and not close the door is disappointing." (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

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COMMENTARY | If your golf-watching time is limited this last week of June, forget about the AT&T National at Congressional, the course Rory McIlroy dismantled in winning the 2011 U.S. Open.
Instead, tune in or DVR the European Tour coverage on Golf Channel (9 a.m. EDT Thursday/Friday; 8:30 a.m. Saturday/Sunday). The tournament is the Irish Open, and the venue is the Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush -- one of the most challenging and entertaining links on the planet.
The field includes McIlroy -- who opted to support his home championship rather than return to the scene of his 8-shot U.S. Open victory -- and nine other major winners, including Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington and John Daly.
A fat European Tour payday and Race to Dubai points aren't the only things at stake at the Irish Open. This is Northern Ireland's audition for a reprise of the British Open Championship, last held there 61 years ago.
On the heels of U.S. Open victories by McDowell and McIlroy, and Darren Clarke's improbable British Open win last year -- all three are from Northern Ireland -- there's been a great clamor for golf's oldest major to return to the Emerald Isle.
Royal Portrush is the leading candidate to play host. No one disputes it would present a worthy challenge to the world's best golfers, but the R&A, which runs the championship, is unconvinced that there's enough hotel space nearby or the infrastructure in place to accommodate corporate hospitality, the on-site "tented village" retail area, and vehicular traffic.
That's the official line. Yet Royal St. George's, the 2011 Open venue in rural eastern England, was equally lacking of infrastructure and access. It did just fine.
The real impediment for Portrush is the history of political violence in Northern Ireland, which flared as recently as last July, despite a drawn out peace process that produced the Belfast Agreement of 1998 and the Provisional Irish Republican Army decommissioning its arsenal in 2005. Royal Portrush is about 60 miles northwest of Belfast, in County Antrim.
The Open Championship has been scheduled through 2016. This year's venue is Royal Lytham and St. Annes (England), followed by Muirfield (Scotland), Royal Liverpool (England), St. Andrews (Scotland) and Royal Troon (Scotland). If Portrush proves it can handle the massive crowds expected for the Irish Open, the R&A will face even more pressure to bring the Dunluce Course back into the "rota" of British Open sites.
Meanwhile, contestants in this year's Irish Open must contend with a diabolical links and dodgy weather. The forecast for Portrush calls for wind as strong as 19 mph, rain every day, and steadily falling temperatures after a high of 63 on Thursday.
There's been a golf club at Portrush since 1888, and the Dunluce Course, designed by renowned architect Harry S. Colt, came into being in 1929. Bernard Darwin, the most heralded golf writer of the 20th century, penned one of his most prescient lines in an assessment of Portrush, saying Colt had "built himself a monument more enduring than brass." Indeed, Colt's layout is essentially intact, except for the 1st and 18th holes, which fell victim to erosion in the mid-1940s, prompting a reconfiguration of the course and new 8th and 9th holes built further inland among the dunes. The North Atlantic continues to pummel Royal Portrush, leaving the 5th green and 6th tee particularly vulnerable.
It would be a huge loss to golf should the 5th green ever succumb. Looking out from the elevated tee, the golfer sees not only a 411-yard par-4 that doglegs right toward the ocean, but also the remains of the 13th century Dunluce Castle. Just as memorable is the 210-yard 14th, where the tee shot to a small green must carry a chasm of no return -- thus earning this daunting par-3 hole the sobriquet of "Calamity Corner."
Max Faulkner of England won the '51 British Open at Portrush, shooting 71-70-70-74-285 to beat Antonio Cerda of Argentina by three shots. Before 1966, the Open was played over three days, with 36 holes on the last. The luck of the draw favored Faulkner in Round Two; he played early in the morning, avoiding the howling wind and rain that took a toll on many of his rivals. This also was an era when few Americans took the trouble to play overseas. There were only three Yanks in the field of 98, including the low amateur, Frank Stranahan, who tied for 12th.
Royal Portrush has a long history of championship golf, including the inaugural Irish Open Amateur in 1892 (on the Dunluce predecessor); eight British Ladies' Championships; the Irish Open in 1930, '37 and '47; the 1993 British Amateur; and six British Senior Opens, the last in 2004.
If you're a golf aficionado who appreciates the links game, check out the Irish Open. You'll be rewarded with a far more engaging contest at Portrush than the typical PGA Tour target practice at Congressional.