Winners, Losers From The Ryder Cup

Checking out the winners and losers from what turned into a spellbinding Ryder Cup:

WINNERS
-- Luke Donald and Ian Poulter. They thrive in the team competition, posting a combined 6-2-0 record. It seemed whenever the European team needed a boost, one of them provided it.

-- Graeme McDowell. If you thought his win at the U.S. Open was a fluke, he showed it wasn’t.

-- Rickie Fowler: It’s rare that a guy can be winless in the Ryder Cup but come out looking better than when he went in. That’s what Fowler did with his four-birdie finish to earn one-half point in Monday’s singles. He showed some serious game when it mattered the most.

-- The 2012 matches at Medinah. Two years away and the anticipation is already building.

LOSERS

-- Television: It was tough enough with the matches being played five hours ahead of East Coast time in Wales but the bad weather, the Monday finish and football season made it a challenge just to keep up with what was – or wasn’t – happening. Too bad. It deserved better.

-- Corey Pavin. The American captain said it before the matches started – players win the cup, captains lose it. His low-key style was the opposite of Colin Montgomerie’s emotional leadership. Fair or not, he didn’t have the same sizzle as Paul Azinger two years ago.

-- Sun Mountain. That’s the company that made the rain suits that leaked so badly that a PGA official bought new suits for the U.S. players in the merchandise tent during play. The leaks were blamed on all the stitching on the suits which included the players’ names on the back. That was a terrible – and tacky -- idea.

-- Phil Mickelson. For whatever reason, he doesn’t get it done enough in the Ryder Cup, going 1-3 this time. His 17 losses are the most in Cup history, surprising for a guy who would seem to thrive in the matches. He said losing his first three matches was the most disappointed he's felt.