Love: Europeans Sore Losers
Still glowing over a Ryder Cup victory, Davis Love III isn't about to let European complaints of the 17th green celebration or boorish behavior by the Boston gallery spoil America's great comeback.
"We didn't cry when we lost two in a row," said Love, one of four Ryder Cup players at Callaway Gardens for the Buick Challenge.
Love on Wednesday also accused the European team of purposely playing slowly to rattle the Americans, and said the excessive partisanship was no different from what was heard at Valderrama in Spain two years ago or at The Belfry in England in 1993.
"They were poking umbrellas through the ropes trying to trip people going from tee to green," Love said. "And how long have they been calling our wives 'flight attendants' and 'bimbos'? They act like we're the only ones who do it."
One fan last weekend spit on the wife of European captain Mark James, and others profanely heckled Colin Montgomerie, prompting his father to leave the course after seven holes.
Wednesday, the American caddie for European Ryder Cup star Sergio Garcia said he was attacked in a hotel bar after the tournament and had to go to a hospital with a head wound. Jerry Higginbotham said several men taunted him because he was an American working with the European team.
The heavily favored Americans trailed 10-6 after two days, but won 8½ points from the 12 singles matches Sunday to complete the greatest comeback in the 72-year history of the Ryder Cup.
Love said the fact America won with such a dramatic rally only fueled the complaints.
"If it had been even the whole way and one of us eked it out at the end, then maybe they wouldn't be feeling so bad," he said. "But they just got pounded into the ground on Sunday, and they're embarrassed by it -- as we were at Oak Hill."
The U.S. team led 9-7 at Oak Hill in 1995 but was outscored 7½-4½ in singles and lost the cup. Europe celebrated on the 18th green, but only after the hole was over.
"They beat us into the ground there, but we didn't complain about all the celebrating," he said. "That's been going on a long time. For them to say it all of a sudden happened on Sunday, or it all of a sudden happened this week ... it didn't just start."
Love's comments are sure to stoke the controversy over whether the United States went to an extreme to win back the Ryder Cup -- whether it was the crowd spitting and screaming insults, or the players and their wives jumping for joy on the 17th green after Justin Leonard made his 45-foot birdie putt that ultimately secured the victory.
Jose Maria Olazabal still had a 25-footer that would have halved the hole and kept the match tied going to the final hole. Europeans have complained that Americans walked -- and jumped and jigged -- in the line of Olazabal's putt, which he missed.
While Love conceded the celebratio was "a little out of control," he immediately took issue with what he considered slow play by Europe.
In the match ahead of Leonard, Padraig Harrington walked from the fairway to the green to step off his shot and get a look at the pin position.
"You never heard Mark O'Meara complain that Padraig took 10 minutes to hit second shot on 17," Love said. "I'll bet you $1 million that their strategy was to play slow, because they knew it would frustrate us. They played as slow as they possibly could all week and we never complained about it. We are now, obviously."
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| Davis Love III: 'We didn't cry when we lost two in a row.'(AP) |
Love noted that Montgomerie spoke harshly of some U.S. players before the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama. Among other things, the Scotsman said Brad Faxon might not play well because he was going through a divorce, and Scott Hoch showed in the 1989 Masters that he did not respond well to pressure.
"We accepted Colin's apology at Valderrama for how bad he ripped our whole team, and we've kept being friends," Love said. "They should be able to accept our apology for the 17th green."
The next Ryder Cup is scheduled for The Belfry in 2001. At this rate, what began in 1927 as friendly matches once every two years could really get nasty.
"I don't know what this will do," Leonard said. "I hope most of the criticism is from European writers, and they're not getting this stuff directly from the players. If grudges are held, there's nothing I can do."
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