Spieth had gone out first on Sunday during the singles matches at the Ryder Cup, a high honor for a rookie but one that Spieth had absolutely earned over the course of this Ryder Cup. And for nine holes, it seemed the future of American golf had already arrived.
And then, like a teenager's car, Spieth flat-out ran out of gas. From the 10th hole to the 15th, Spieth rattled, shuddered, and faltered, going from three up to two down. Two holes later and it was over, McDowell winning 2&1 and securing Europe's second point on the day and 12th of the tournament.
"It was my wedding anniversary, and so I want to say sorry to my wife for not being home," McDowell said. "We were saying as a team, it doesn't matter if you're four up or four down, try to win the next hole, send a message."
Like so many other matches, and indeed like the Ryder Cup as a whole, the American side started fast but couldn't sustain, and Europe used simple, constant pressure to run down, catch, and pass for the lead. McDowell proved a canny choice for Paul McGinley to lead off Europe, as he didn't let even a seemingly insurmountable lead rattle him in any way.
McDowell thus stands as one of the top performers on the European side, going 3-0-0. Spieth, meanwhile, has established himself as one of America's brightest hopes for the future. He went 2-1-1 this Ryder Cup, and considering how he played on Friday morning, many thought captain Tom Watson should have played him on Friday afternoon as well. How he rebounds from this bitter loss will help define his career as both an individual and as part of Team USA going forward.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Facebook or on Twitter.
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