You want evidence of the brilliance of the American team’s performance at the 2008 Ryder Cup? Tiger Woods was barely missed. In three full broadcast days, Woods’ name went virtually unmentioned.

We were treated to a Michael Jordan interview during which he expressed his passion for this event; Muhammad Ali even stopped by to lend his support to the American team.

But the world’s top sportsman was elsewhere. And his absence only seemed to galvanize a U.S. team that went into the event looking for a spark and found it from some unlikely sources.

Boo Weekley. J.B. Holmes. Hunter Mahan. Anthony Kim. This weekend unveiled the future of American golf, and a bright future it is.

Throw in a couple of motivated veterans like Kenny Perry, Justin Leonard and Jim Furyk, and a U.S. team that was an overwhelming underdog, playing without the world’s best player, produced a performance for the ages.

“Today was an incredible day,” said U.S. Captain Paul Azinger after the U.S. had clinched a stunning 16½ to 11½ win over the Europeans. “The crowds were beautiful and they were well-behaved, and the European team and players, I’m proud of them. They really showed a lot of class in defeat. I’m just so honored that I was able to be here and do this.”

The 2010 matches are set for Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales. Azinger may or may not be the captain when the next matches roll around. But he and the members of the 2008 Ryder Cup team will savor their sweet vindication at Valhalla for a long time.

“I’m not going to think about it,” Azinger said of 2010. “I’m just going to stay up all night and party with my boys.”

No doubt that a large number of the 40,000 fans in attendance kept the party going well into the night. The American fans, desperate for a win, rewarded each well-struck shot and holed putt with roars worthy of the back nine at Augusta.

“We created the 13th man and I’m real proud of these people,” Azinger said. “They made a big difference and kept our guys energized, and our guys bought into the concept and they bonded. We just went out there with a one-shot-at-a-time mission, and we did it.”

Rookie Report

Much was made going in of the American team’s lack of experience. You can’t win a Ryder Cup with four rookies — or so went the conventional wisdom. But these weren’t your conventional rookies.

Ben Curtis, J.B. Holmes, Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker and Boo Weekley combined for nine wins, four losses and eight halves. Perhaps just as important, they proved to be the emotional catalysts for Paul Azinger’s close-knit team. The rookies’ 4–1–1 match record in Sunday singles rocked the partisan crowd and carried the U.S. team to its first Cup win since 1999.

Weekley flew his redneck flag proudly all weekend, but he backed up his antics with brilliant shotmaking. “This Ryder Cup is pretty awesome,” said Weekley, who was 2–0–1 for the match, including a singles win over Oliver Wilson. “I think we actually became a family and that’s something we’ve been missing in the past, a little bit of laughter and cutting up, and Paul has made it real easy for us. He gave us ping-pong and he gave us foosball and he gave us every opportunity to have fun, and if we couldn’t take advantage of it, it was our own damned fault, you know what I mean?”

Kim had the time of his young life, dispatching Sergio Garcia in a tone-setting opening singles match with a ruthless display of golf and gamesmanship. Holmes thrilled the home fans with his 2 ½ points and his prodigious length off the tee. Mahan provided the match’s Justin Leonard moment, draining a bomb on 17 that clinched an important half-point in his match with Paul Casey. Curtis and Stricker scored a valuable half-point in a critical Saturday match with Garcia and Casey.

Nick Faldo’s four rookies — Soren Hansen, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose and Oliver Wilson — played well, compiling a match record of 6–5–2, but they were snowed under by the American rookie onslaught.

“I wouldn’t trade this for $10 million,” said Kim. “This has been an experience of a lifetime. I’m going to draw back on things that happened this week and the friendships I've made. It was all in all a great experience.

“This is the most exciting day I’ve ever had. I’m so excited to be here in Kentucky and winning the Ryder Cup. … Best day of my golfing life so far.”

Captain’s Log

The respective Ryder Cup captains, Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo, knew the occupational hazards of Cup captaincy — specifically, the second-guessing and backbiting in the event of a loss. Of course, they also knew that victory would bring an exaggerated celebration of the winning captain’s genius. So, let the Monday-morning quarterbacking begin.

Azinger was quick to credit his players for seizing their opportunities, but he clearly pushed all the right buttons and saw virtually all of his moves pay dividends. He pushed to get four captain’s picks, then saw his four selections play some brilliant golf. Chad Campbell, J.B. Holmes, Hunter Mahan and Steve Stricker combined for a match record of six wins, three losses and five halves, for a total of 8½ decisive points. Azinger wanted Holmes to excite his home-state fans, and Holmes responded with 2½ points, including a decisive singles win over Soren Hansen that featured the shot of the match, an approach to two feet on 17 that gave him a 2 and 1 win.

The course setup at Valhalla, with significant input from Azinger, was virtually perfect for the match play format and yielded just the right mix of rewards for good shots and penalties for poor ones. He found chemistry with his pairings, and he created a loose atmosphere, encouraging emotional displays from players like Boo Weekley that seemed to relax his players while revving up the home crowd.

Faldo, meanwhile, is already being skewered in the British press, but his team didn’t lose because of him. Faldo’s captain’s picks largely vindicated his decision-making, especially the controversial selection of Ian Poulter, who led all players with four points. He’s getting heat for backloading his singles lineup after the U.S. onslaught rendered the late matches meaningless. But those key players who went out late — Padraig Harrington and Lee Westood — lost their matches.

No, Faldo was the losing captain because his best players failed him. Harrington, Westwood and Sergio Garcia combined for two points and zero match wins. No amount of clever pairings and energetic cheerleading can overcome that lack of production from your leaders.

Elias Says…

A couple of tidbits from the folks at Elias Sports Bureau that indicate the level of play from the Americans on Sunday:

• In his singles match, Kenny Perry played the third through the seventh holes at 5-under par. Only one other time in his PGA Tour career has Perry put together a similar stretch this early in a round.

• During his 5 and 4 demolition of Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim posted four straight 3s, the second-longest streak of 3s in his Tour career. Kim also was 5-under through seven holes, his lowest score relative to par through seven holes of his PGA Tour career.

Quote of the Day

“I don’t know what this really means, who was watching today. We have wars going on right now, the stock market is in terrible shape and people are worrying. There’s a lot going on. But I hoped people watched us today and enjoyed seeing us win, enjoyed seeing that the American spirit is alive and well.” — Paul Azinger

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