While the four major championships are all special, the Ryder Cup is by far the biggest event on the golfing calendar.
The biennial contest between Europe and the United States serves up box office drama every time.
One important aspect is that it’s so difficult to win away, as the home side gets an advantage from the fans and the conditions.
Indeed, the United States have not won the Ryder Cup in Europe since Fred Couples and Payne Stewart were on the team in 1993.
Well, they so nearly ended their losing streak in 2010 when the result came down to the last singles match between Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan.
- READ MORE: How Colin Montgomerie wrote his name into history by leading Europe to the 2004 Ryder Cup
The 2010 Ryder Cup was decided between Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan
The United States held a 6-4 lead over Europe after the first fourballs and foursomes sessions on Friday and Saturday at the 2010 Ryder Cup.
However, Europe went undefeated in the second fourballs and foursomes sessions to go 9.5-6.5 up before the 12 singles matches.
With momentum on their side, many would have expected Europe to cruise to victory on the final day at Celtic Manor.
Instead, the USA responded by winning seven of the first 11 matches and tying the scores at 13.5-13.5 with only McDowell and Mahan’s game remaining.
The Northern Irishman was three holes up within six holes, but Mahan fought back to reduce the deficit to just one with three holes remaining.
McDowell took the driver’s seat with a birdie on the 16th, leaving him one hole away from sealing the Ryder Cup for Europe.
Unfortunately, the contest ended in agony for Mahan as he duffed his chip on the penultimate hole, handing McDowell three putts to seal the victory for Europe.
It’s a shame that the 2010 Ryder Cup will always be remembered for Mahan’s choke under the brightest lights.
Hunter Mahan burst into tears in press conference after 2010 Ryder Cup
The United States press conference after the 2010 Ryder Cup was difficult to watch, as Mahan was devastated by his mistake.
“I’m proud to be part of this team. It’s a close team and…” was all he could say before tearing up. Thankfully, Phil Mickelson intervened and spoke on his behalf.
“We’re all proud to be part of this team,” Mickelson continued. “It’s been a good team, and we’re all disappointed that we didn’t come through.
“We wanted to win over here in Europe awfully bad, and we fought hard today. We put ourselves in a bit of a deficit that we didn’t see ourselves being in after the first two sessions. We came out today, and we all played with a lot of heart.”
Mahan later attempted to answer a different question. “That birdie on 16 after I got it to 1 down was huge, so he played… he just beat me today,” he said before breaking down again.