Ryder Cup

I didn't get to see as much of the Ryder Cup as I would have liked. That said the BBC highlights on Monday gave me a flavour of the awe inspiring golf that was served up by both teams. 

First things first, the 2014 event at Gleneagles will be the culmination of my golfing adventure on this blog. Having virtually witnessed this year's match up I'll hopefully be there in person to soak up the atmosphere. Perhaps I'll even save enough cash to play a round on the course in the aftermath of the tournament. 

Back to the present and for me the Ryder Cup was a tale of two players. Ian Poulter is an anathema to some but he showed once again that he is a phenomenal matchplay exponent and brilliant team player. The emotion, drama and euphoria that seemed to permeate every hole he played surely transmitted an electricity around the course giving his team mates an extra buzz. In footballing parlance he'd be an enigmatic, tough tackling midfielder in the Roy Keane mould. 

My other choice may seem like a strange choice but I was impressed with Rickie Fowler. Despite his impressive Walker Cup record there were question marks raised over the pond on his wildcard selection. Certainly, he showed that at times his technique can be found wanting in the pressure cooker of top tournaments. However, at times he showed moments of brilliance, like his holed bunker shot with Mickelson, and sheer grit. 

At one stage on Monday it looked like a European formality. But with Harrington struggling to fulfil Monty's prophecy, Fowler, the third youngest player in cup history, launched a sensational comeback to stun Edoardo Molinari and leave the whole competition balanced on a knife edge. For me it raised the importance of G-Mac's putt on 16 and enhanced the relief and joy as it teetered on the edge of the cup before deciding to drop. 

I think Fowler will never be consistent enough to regularly top leaderboards, but when he's on fire he will provide fantastic entertainment for years to come.