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Ryder Cup 2010: Europe and USA player ratings Lawrence Donegan rates the European and American players after the final-day drama at Celtic ManorEuropeLee WestwoodThe Englishman arrived in Wales insisting he was fully recovered from a long term injury and he proved he was. For the opening two sessions, he carried his partner Martin Kaymer to one and a half points. He lost his singles yesterday but that had more to do with Stricker's brilliance than anything else. BRory McIlroyThe man who suggested the Ryder Cup was an "exhibition" knows better now. Missed a tiddler in the opening fourballs that precipitated a European loss but came back strongly after that. Or at least he did until an awful bunker shot on the 18th almost gave Stewart Cink a point in the singles. C+Luke DonaldEurope's best player. The Celtic Manor golf course suits Donald's accurate iron-play and he came to Wales intent on finally burying his undeserved reputation as a bit of a softie. He succeeded, winning a crucial single contest against Jim Furyk. AMartin KaymerBy far the worst performer on the European side. He left Wales with one and a half points on his Ryder Cup record but that can be considered an early Christmas present from Westwood. Got hammered in the singles by Dustin Johnson. DIan PoulterAnother strong Ryder Cup performance from Poulter, winning three points from a possible four. Fancies himself as the beating heart of the European team and who can blame him after performance like his 5&4 defeat of Matt Kuchar? BRoss FisherA solid player and a solid effort on his Ryder Cup debut. Helped restore Padraig Harrington's spirits when the two were paired together on Saturday and Sunday. Bad luck to be drawn in the singles against the surprisingly brilliant Jeff Overton. CFrancesco MolinariA greater swinger of the golf club, but they don't award style points at the Ryder Cup. This is a tournament where great putters thrive, and unfortunately for the Italian, and his captain, he is not a great putter. Ran into the "old" Tiger Woods in the singles and did not have a chance. CEdoardo MolinariAnother rookie, another solid performance. His swing might not be as pretty as his brother's but he can putt better than just about anyone. A passionate man, he came up with a passionate – and a brilliant – performance to win a point in the singles against Rickie Fowler. BMiguel Angel JimĂ©nezA much underrated player who, not for the first time in his life, did better than many people expected him to. A quiet couple of days to begin with but won a crucial point in the middle of the singles line-up yesterday over Bubba Watson. It did not win the Cup but it all but made a European victory certain. BPeter HansonThe Swede celebrated his birthday yesterday but not out on the golf course, alas. Paired in the singles against Phil Mickelson, he had the chance to record a Hallmark victory against the American. Instead, he ran up two double bogeys on his way to defeat. CPadraig HarringtonThe most controversial of Montgomerie's three picks and at times it looked as if this might turn into an embarrassment for the Irishman and his captain. But an unlikely partnership with Ross Fisher revived his spirits. Hammered by Zach Johnson in the singles but most people would have been. The American was seven-under for their match. CGraeme McDowellConfirmed his place alongside the likes of Westwood and Donald as one of the leaders on the European team. He did a particularly good job in helping McIlroy through his nervous start to the week. Placed 12th in the singles by Montgomerie just in case. Just as well. A Team USASteve StrickerA great effort from a highly underrated player, not least because he formed a perfect partnership with Tiger Woods. Or at least he did until they were hammered by Westwood and Donald in Sunday's foursomes. Got his revenge against Westwood in the singles. BStewart CinkOne of Pavin's four captain's picks and did more than enough to justify his selection. He and Matt Kuchar won an unlikely point against McIlroy and McDowell early on, in large part because Cink holed every putt he looked at. The wand was a little wonky in the singles, which allowed McIlroy to win a vital half point. BJim FurykArrived in Wales having just won $11.3m (ÂŁ7.1m) on one day on the PGA Tour. Might have been exhausted and/or guilty but somehow managed to keep his focus. A gritty competitor with a surprisingly poor Ryder Cup record over the years. No change this year. D+Dustin JohnsonThe American rookie whose debut was most keenly anticipated. A big-hitter with an even bigger reputation, he had the misfortune to be paired alongside Mickelson early on – a partnership truly made in Pavin's nightmares. His good fortune was to meet Kaymer in the singles although, in fairness, he played very well to win 6&4. CMatt KucharThe most consistent player on the PGA Tour this year but it is one thing racking up top-10 finishes in the States, quite another to turn up at the Ryder Cup and make a real impact. Kuchar is a nice player but nice guys don't win Ryder Cup singles matches, especially if they have to play Ian Poulter. DJeff OvertonIdentified before the event by former US captain Paul Azinger as "the player to watch – a great putter with a competitive streak". Azinger was not wrong. Will probably be remembered for his "boom baby" celebration on Sunday but there were plenty of other highlights. ABubba WatsonThe jittery Bubba was a worry for the American camp, with some justification as it turned out. Had the good fortune to be paired with Overton early on but had no one to help him in the singles. Was expected to lose to JimĂ©nez and he did. DTiger WoodsThe great conundrum was simply great yesterday, steam-rollering Francesco Molinari in the singles. He was nine-under par for 15 holes – a stunning performance which suggested he really has found some form under his new swing coach, Sean Foley. B+Rickie FowlerAnother captain's pick who justified his selection, although only just. Won a half-point alongside Furyk in the foursomes, but then had the misfortune to be lumped with Mickelson on Sunday. Started yesterday's single match against Edoardo Molinari with a double bogey but deserves great credit for coming back from four down on the back nine to earn a half on the 18th hole. B+Phil MickelsonAnother poor Ryder Cup performance from the world No2, although he did manage to win a point for his team with a singles victory over. That was preceded by a lot of bad drives, plenty of missed putts and three successive losses. DZach JohnsonMany suspected Johnson would be one of the stronger players on the US team – he putts brilliantly under pressure and is feistier than a sack of rattlesnakes – and so it proved. Birdied seven of the first 15 holes to open up a five-hole advantage on Harrington. The Irishman didn't have a chance. BHunter MahanA stalwart of the American victory in 2008, he was surprisingly left out of the opening series of foursomes. Presumably Pavin was saving him for bigger things, like the anchor role in the single series - a big job on the biggest day of all. Mahan has a well-earned reputation for playing well under pressure. Unfortunately for him and the USA, so does McDowell. C+Ryder CupGolfLawrence Doneganguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Les Miles pushes all the right buttons as LSU downs Florida Les Miles and No. 12 LSU escaped with another wild victory, this time with the help of a fake field goal in the final minute as the Tigers beat ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Red Bull: Webber and Vettel are equals • Team principal refuses to give preference in F1 title race• Webber 11 points behind leader Alonso, Vettel trails by 25Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner would rather give away another world championship – and with it possibly his career – than give preference to either Mark Webber or Sebastian Vettel, he said yesterday.Red Bull were the dominant cars for much of last season but lost the world title to Jenson Button. And despite having the fastest cars again this year – they have won 14 poles out of 17 – they face the prospect of losing out again, this time to Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, whose victory in the Korean grand prix was his third in four races and his fourth in seven.It gives the Spaniard an 11-pont lead at the top of the table with two races to go. But while Alonso has a "rear gunner" in the shape of Felipe Massa, who is seemingly happy to accept No2 status at the Scuderia, Red Bull's divided loyalties could cost them dear.A historic first world championship for Red Bull would almost certainly transform the team. But Horner sounded adamant yesterday when he said: "I have always said it is wrong to favour one driver over the other because Sebastian, 10 laps from the end, was potentially the championship leader. That makes it wrong to put our backing in one direction or the other."With both Red Bulls failing to finish yesterday Horner faces the most difficult decision of his career. Vettel is now 25 points behind Alonso, while Webber trails by 11. That means that even if Vettel wins the remaining two races, with Webber second and Alonso third, the Spaniard would still win his third world title. But if Webber won them, ahead of Vettel with Alonso third, then the Australian would be champion for the first time.Deep down, Red Bull would prefer the younger and more marketable Vettel to wear the crown. But in the 12 days leading up to the Brazilian grand prix, which is followed by the final race in Abu Dhabi a week later, Horner is likely to face some strong lobbying from Webber, who feels the team should back him.If Alonso does take the title by seven points, or fewer, it will bring back uncomfortable memories of the German grand prix in July, when Ferrari deliberately broke the rules by asking team-mate Massa to make way, though the World Motor Sport Council opted not to punish the Italian team for their transgression.When asked about that yesterday, Horner replied: "We will deal with that if it happens. Our focus is on getting back ahead of Fernando and I believe we can do it. We just need fewer days like today and more like Japan where we were dominant. When people look into the history books, they won't look into the details. It's about who wins at the end of the year. We have chosen not to go racing that way. Both drivers are still in this championship and I believe it will go right down to the last lap in Abu Dhabi."Team orders during a race, of course, remain illegal – notionally, at least. But that would not prevent Horner from telling Vettel, before the race, that he must do what is in the best interests of the team.When Lewis Hamilton was asked what he thought about the seven points issue yesterday he replied: "I have no idea really. You could say that what defined the championship for me was Monza and Singapore. It's not something to focus on at the moment. I've got to focus on the next two races. This is a real positive for me. A massive positive. I'm 21 points behind but that is not too far away."McLaren, like Red Bull, face a dilemma over team orders because the world champion Jenson Button, who now trails by 42 points, no longer has a realistic chance of retaining his title.When the McLaren team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, was asked whether Button would now be asked to support Lewis, he said: "We will think about that. We've had a disappointing day with Jenson, Lewis is clearly very much in the hunt and mathematically it's still not impossible for Jenson but it looks quite tough. It looks very difficult for him. We'll talk about that before we get to Brazil."If ever there was a race that you could look at and say anything could happen in the championship this is the one. From the championship point of view this is a great result. Jenson had a really bad afternoon for a whole range of reasons and was really unlucky so it's looking pretty tricky for him but you've got to say the other four guys are very much in the hunt and anything can happen."In the race if he hadn't taken to the grass at one point he would have had a Force India on top of him. By his high standards it was a very difficult afternoon. For me I was disappointed when a win was possible. It was winnable and we didn't. Nevertheless we go away here still very much in contention with Lewis and two really interesting races ahead. This race demonstrated anything can happen in the championship. It's still wide open."Red BullMark WebberSebastian VettelFormula OneMotor sportPaul Weaverguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |