The Europeans broke the Ryder Cup duck. Never expecting to shake off the bizarre distraction of a squeaky duck toy.
Never imagining the Americans would make them fight so hard on the final day in New York.
What had been shaping up to be a record-breaking win instead turned into a desperate scrap to avoid throwing it all away.
So ultimately, everything the American crowd did to antagonise the visitors backfired.
A raucous crowd is the Ryder Cup‘s appeal. Why no away team has won the biennial since 2012 – until now.
But the bitterness and toxicity were off the scale at Bethpage Black. Europe overcame it to win the 45th edition of golf’s most prestigious team prize.
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After the putt that retained the trophy and a roar of relief, Ireland’s Shane Lowry said: “I’ve been so lucky to experience amazing things in this game.
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“That was the hardest couple of hours of my life.”
It was tighter, tenser, and far more stressful than anyone imagined after Europe began Sunday’s singles session with a 12-5 lead.
Humiliation was avoided for the Americans after Donald Trump became their first sitting president to attend the Ryder Cup on Friday.
POTUS saw Europe start to build a commanding lead.
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Maybe that’s why the home crowd was so riled and rattled by Saturday. It wasn’t just rowdy. This became the most abusive Ryder Cup in almost a century of matches.
There is firing up the home crowd and what unfolded at the first tee – a course announcer hurling a vulgarity at Rory McIlroy.
The tone was set for spectators goading the Northern Irishman with abuse about his private life and performances.
“Guys, shut up,” he eventually told hecklers.
It was an understatement when he later described conditions as “really challenging”.
So by the time Day 3 began, and the foul-mouthed announcer had apologised and stepped down, maybe it was no coincidence Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” was the morning soundtrack in the grandstand.
But there was a new tactic to disturb and antagonise – the ducks given out with cherry fairway fizz drinks.
Repeatedly squeaked as Europeans took their shots, McIlroy finally complained.
The insults had crossed the line.
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But eventually, as the hosts fought back, reeling off wins in the singles to put more red on the board, Europe made it over the line, scraping over the line with a salvage job.
“It’s been one of the hardest days I’ve ever experienced on a golf course,” said Tyrrell Hatton after drawing the penultimate match to secure the win.
“Those last five, six, seven holes were horrible.”
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Instead of a record victory margin, 15-13 was the tightest since Europe won by a point at Medinah, Illinois, in 2012.
The weekend produced more drama, more discord, and disturbances in New York than imagined by Luke Donald, the first captain since fellow Englishman Tony Jacklin to win back-to-back editions since the 1980s.
“It’s got to be the most stressful 12 hours of my life,” he said. “We knew they’d be tough, we didn’t think they’d be this tough.”
