Tiger Woods today claimed neither he nor the United States team were interested in salvaging a tie last night.
After Europe produced a stunning fightback to secure the 14 points they required to retain the Cup, Woods knew that the trophy was out of reach as he waited to play his second shot on the 18th.
But by holding on to his one-hole lead in the final match, the former world No1 could, at least, have ensured the scoreline finished 14-14.
He had the opportunity to do that but after missing a putt to beat Francesco Molinari, he conceded the hole to the Italian and handed Europe an outright 14½-13½ win.
Woods said: “It was already over. We came here as a team — this is a team event — and the Cup had already been retained by Europe, so it was already over. It’s pointless to even finish.
“So 18 was just, hey, get this over with. Congratulations to the European team. They played fantastic and they deserve the Cup.”
That incident rounded off a dismal three days for Woods in which he was axed for the Saturday morning foursomes and failed to win a single match.
Despite throwing away a commanding lead, US captain Davis Love insisted he was happy with how he led his team.
“I wouldn’t have done anything different, they played great,” Love said today.
“They did everything we asked them to do. It was certainly a difficult loss. I think any Ryder Cup loss is difficult.”
