Phil Mickelson kept hearing the wrong tone of cheers coming from the 18th green, one after another, until he realized the singles match he was on the verge of winning would not prevent Europe from capturing the Ryder Cup.
This was 1995 at Oak Hill, where he went 3-0 in his debut at the most fervent, flag-waving, fanatical three days of golf.
Mickelson never could have imagined what would follow.
That was the start of Europe winning eight out of 10 times, a dominance so pronounced that the mighty Americans were reduced over the years to soul searching, finger pointing and ultimately creating a “Ryder Cup Task Force” to figure out why they usually have the best players but rarely win.
Maybe this time will be different. They seem to think that every two years.