Europe's triumph on and off fairways

Ryder Cup: If there are occasions when the golfing gods choose to mock, this 36th Ryder Cup, the first to be held on Irish soil, was not one of them.

This was sacred, immune from ridicule and scandal; and, if the outcome was far from preordained, Europe - who had carried the weight of favouritism - accomplished the task of winning by a record-equalling 18 ½ to 9 ½ margin over the United States with a superiority that has manifested itself only in the recent history of this august team event.

Inside and outside the ropes, this match at The K Club was a triumph for Europe. Outside the ropes, the crowds, whether in heavy rain or glorious sunshine, in grandstands or on muddy banks, were magnificent.

Inside the ropes, the players, with a sense of purpose and an awareness of destiny, finished the job they had started two days previously. Yesterday, there would be only one winner, a home winner.

All in all, it was a hugely impressive victory for Europe, the one-time whipping boys of this contest, in what Stewart Cink - who was on the losing team, remember - claimed was "the greatest Ryder Cup ever". Europe's supremacy in the singles reflected that shown over the previous two days of competition in the fourballs and the foursomes. Having won each of the previous sessions by 2 ½ to 1 ½ points, Ian Woosnam's team made it a clean sweep of all five sessions by emphatically taking the singles 8 ½ to 3 ½, with Sweden's Henrik Stenson having the honour of claiming the decisive win - over Vaughn Taylor - that took Europe across the line.

It was, indeed, an epic win for Europe, an unprecedented third successive victory in the competition following on from the Belfry, near Birmingham, in 2002, and Oakland Hills, in Detroit, in 2004.

The result, another lopsided one in favour of the Europeans, equalling that of two years ago, was also a tribute to Woosnam's captaincy. The Welshman won't be retaining the reins for the next match at Valhalla, Kentucky, in two years' time; Nick Faldo has already been named captain.

On a day when consistent, heavy morning rain again left the course playing extremely long, each singles match was sent on its way with the endorsement of the throng of spectators gathered around the first tee. If they were to win, the US team needed to establish an early momentum similar to the domino effect generated by an early surge at Brookline in 1999, the last time they won. It was not to be on this occasion, however.

While Sergio Garcia, the European talisman, was taken out by Stewart Cink in the second singles match, and Robert Karlsson lost out to the world number one, Tiger Woods, the overriding momentum, as it had been since Friday morning's fourballs, remained with Europe.

Back in 2004, Colin Montgomerie had defeated David Toms by one hole to secure Europe's victory. This time, a similar winning margin for Montgomerie over Toms gave Europe its first point of the singles and was to be followed by wins for Paul Casey, Luke Donald and, then, Stenson that ensured the most prized trophy in team golf would remain on this side of the Atlantic.

The blue tide of European victories continued almost unabated with Darren Clarke, David Howell, Jose Maria Olazabal and Lee Westwood all winning their singles.

Paul McGinley finished with a halved match, but a moral victory. The Dubliner was all square with JJ Henry playing the 18th and had nothing more than a tap-in left for birdie while his opponent faced a 25-footer. Rather than make Henry hole out, McGinley, aware Europe's victory was secure, conceded him the putt for what was the only halved match of the 12 singles.

"I felt it was the right thing to do," said McGinley.

In the last singles match, Padraig Harrington, despite being three under for 15 holes, lost out to Scott Verplank by 4 and 3, the American including a hole-in-one on the 14th in his win.

By then, though, Europe had long since retained the trophy and ensured a party atmosphere prevailed along the banks of the River Liffey. A fifth win in six for Europe, a third in succession, and a first in Ireland. It was a win well worth the celebrating.

US captain Tom Lehman, despite having the top three players in the world rankings on his team, was not one for making excuses. Of Europe's win he said, "They were a very strong team, from top to bottom. They played inspired golf but, very simply, around the greens they were magical. I was just amazed at their short game."

In truth, though, it was more than simply about the short-game virtues of the European players. As if to confirm that strength in depth of this team that Woosnam brought here, every one of the 12 players contributed to the points total amassed over the three days of competition, Westwood and Garcia emerging as the top scorers with four points each.

Certainly, Woosie's "wild card" picks were more than vindicated, with Westwood taking four points and Clarke emerging with a 100-per-cent record, three points from three.

Yesterday's singles win over Johnson was the first in five Ryder Cup singles matches by the Ulsterman, and the poignancy of the team's overall victory is that captain Woosnam dedicated this latest success to Clarke's late wife, Heather.