Team Europe staged a historic comeback to beat the USA 14½ to 13½ in Medinah, Illinois. On a remarkable third day, Jose Maria Olazabals men won an amazing eight of the twelve single matches, halving another, and in the process retained the Ryder Cup. For golf fans both new and old, it was a fantastic spectacle and the quality of the golf under such intense pressure was impressive. Starting the day four points behind, Europe knew they needed a good start if they were to stand any chance of achieving the fourteen points needed to bring the Cup home. Ian Poulters remarkable play in the fourballs on Saturday evening had given the side hope and Luke Donald raced into the lead against Bubba Watson. Rory McIlory, having made a dramatic late arrival in a police car after getting his time zones mixed up, was not caught sleeping as he went ahead against Keegan Bradley. Blue, Europes colour, was popping up on the leaderboard but the early play only hinted at the drama that was to follow. Donald fought off a Watson comeback to win 2&1, while Scotlands Paul Lawrie was inspired as he beat FedEx cup winner Brandt Snedeker 5&3. McIlory beat Bradley, while Poulter made it four points from four, making him the events standout player. Europe had clawed their way to level terms and the momentum was with them. Justin Rose, up against four time major winner Phil Mickelsen, sunk some monster putts including the 17th to draw level, and when the American went long with his second shot on the last ad missed the green, Rose held his nerve and won a massive point for Europe. For the first time Europe was in the lead and hope was turning into reality. Coalsaerts and McDowell lost to Dustin and Zach Johnson respectively, but Westwood was up against Matt Kuchar and three other games were still in the balance. Two of those would go to the final green as the tension was ratcheted up a notch. Jim Furyk and Sergio Garcia represent all that is weird and wonderful about golf. The American has an unorthodox swing and has had to work hard to succeed with his perceived limited abilities, while Garcia was a teenage prodigy who has had to battle the yips to return to the fore. Garcia was flying the Spanish flag and as usual was a key part of the show. Level as they walked down the eighteenth, Furyks approach was a good forty feet away from the pin, and a testing second putt went agonisingly close, lipping the hole and handing another valuable point to Europe. Martin Kaymer has not been in the best form this year. However, as so often happens in the Ryder cup, form went out the window. Neither he nor his opponent, Steve Stricker, had won a point all week, nor had Tiger Woods or Francesco Molinari in the final pair. Stricker was the first to feel the pressure, making a mess of his putts on the par-3 seventeen, then hitting his approach on 18 long. Kaymer had found a fairway bunker from the tee but an excellent approach meant he had two putts for the win that would see Europe retain the cup. The German did so and sealed the fourteenth point Europe needed, capping a wonderful fightback. Molinari then halved with Woods to seal the win outright. That ended a wonderful day of golf. The European players, pointing to the name of Seve Ballesteros on their sleeves, enjoyed their celebrations, maybe welling up with emotion, and fans all over Europe marvelled at a tremendous performance by Poulter and company.