Golf: Europe Wins The Ryder Cup Behind A Star And A Rookie

The tone was set by Rory McIlroy, the best player in the world. The winning shot came from Jamie Donaldson, a Ryder Cup rookie.

Europe added another layer to its Ryder Cup dominance on Sunday by leaving no doubt who had the best team, if not the best players. Behind two early comebacks that showed its resolve, Europe clinched the cup with four matches still on the course.

With a 16½-11½ victory, Europe kept that gold trophy for the eighth time in the last 10 tries.

McIlroy played some of his best golf this year - even for a guy who won the last two majors - by trouncing Rickie Fowler to put the first point on the board. Donaldson finished off the Americans with a 9-iron that settled 18 inches from the cup on the 15th hole at Gleneagles and set off the celebration.

Read more: Europe Wins The Ryder Cup Behind A Star And A Rookie : NPR

Europe ain't dead yet...A win at the golf shows Europe a whole-in-one

Amid all the headlines about Spanish riots and the rise of Greek fascists, there was one news event this week that might suggest "Eurogeddon" is not as inevitable as we are constantly being tol.

This rare piece of good news was covered in the sports pages rather than the business section.
It was the excitement over Europe's comeback victory over the US in the Ryder Cup that should make commentators and think tanks a little slower to issue their relentless declarations that the euro is within months of collapse.

The fact that Jose Maria Olazabal and his fellow golfers won their biennial match against the US was not the point. A few nerveless putts are not going to lift anybody's spirits enough to somehow boost consumer confidence or stimulate new economic growth.

The significant thing is that when the winners were hugging, spraying champagne around and being congratulated for having a better team spirit than the Americans, they were doing all this under the European flag.

Read more: A win at the golf shows Europe a whole-in-one | The Australian