2012 Ryder Cup
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| Dates | September 28–30, 2012 | ||||
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| Venue |
Medinah Country Club Course No. 3 |
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| Location | Medinah, Illinois | ||||
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| Europe wins the Ryder Cup | |||||
The 39th Ryder Cup was held September 28–30, 2012, in the United States at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. This was the first time that the Ryder Cup was held in Illinois. Europe went into the competition as the cup holders, having won in 2010 to regain it. The team captains were Davis Love III for the U.S. and José María Olazábal for Europe.
At the start of the final day's play, the U.S. led 10–6 and required 4½ points to win; Europe required 8 points to retain the cup and 8½ to win it outright. Europe achieved one of if not the greatest comebacks in Ryder Cup history by winning eight and tying one of the 12 singles matches. Martin Kaymer's five-foot putt on the 18th hole to defeat Steve Stricker took the score to 14–13, allowing Europe to retain the cup with one match still in progress. Tiger Woods missed a putt on the final green and conceded the hole to Francesco Molinari, halving the final point and securing outright victory for the European team, 14½–13½. It was named by European media covering the event as the Miracle at Medinah and is widely regarded as one of the best sporting comebacks of all time and the greatest in Ryder Cup history.
The victory was Europe's second consecutive and fifth in the last six contests. The European captain Olazábal dedicated the victory to the late Seve Ballesteros.
The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. The competition format was:
On the first two days there were 4 foursome matches and 4 fourball matches, with the home captain choosing which were played in the morning and which in the afternoon.
With a total of 28 points available, 14½ points are required to win the Cup, and 14 points are required for the defending champion to retain the Cup. All matches are played to a maximum of 18 holes.
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