Ian Poulter's scream on the 18th on Saturday evening said it all. Europe were in Medinah not to roll over for their hosts but for the fight of their lives. From the unlikeliest of positions Europe won the 2012 Ryder Cup in Medinah. For one half it was the miracle, for the other it was a meltdown.
America went into the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah desperate to take back the trophy that Europe had won in dramatic circumstances at Celtic Manor two years previously. The hosts, captained by Davis Love III, included Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson and captain's picks Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker.
The European team, led by Jose Maria Olazabal, had Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Paul Lawrie, Graeme McDowell, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer and captain's picks Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts.
Friday morning started with Northern Irish pair Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell pairing up to take on Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker in foursomes which the Europeans would go on to win 1 up. The morning session would finish all level with Mickelson and Bradley winning 4&3 against Donald and Garcia, Dufner and Zach Johnson beating Westwood and Molinari 3&2 but Ian Poulter, along with Justin Rose, continuing his incredible Ryder Cup form as the pair beat Woods and Stricker 2&1.
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However from a level playing field after four matches the next 10 from Friday afternoon's session to half way through the Saturday afternoon session the US dominated. In the first afternoon's four ball session the hosts won 3-1 with only Westwood and Colsaerts able to get a point for Europe adding more misery to Tiger Woods record as he and Stricker lost again.
Rose and Poulter's win on Saturday morning, 1 up against Watson and Simpson, meant Europe had won back-to-back ties but Love's team then won the remaining three matches in that session to take an 8-4 lead. Bradley and Mickelson thrashed Westwood and Donald 7&6 in that session as things looked bleak for Olazabal's team.
When the pairings of Dustin Johnson and Kuchar and Webb and Simpson won the first two fourballs of Saturday's second session it looked terminal for Europe. 10-4 down and two to play, anything short of two European points would make it all but impossible for them to retain the title.
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The team of Garcia and Donald were 4 up on Woods and Stricker at the turn. Woods had been rested on Saturday morning after losing in both sessions on Friday but he started finding his form. Him and his partner came back so well that Stricker had the chance to win the 18th hole and halve the match. Fortunately for his opposition he lipped out and the pair had lost all three of their matches.
If that was drama then Ian Poulter was about to ramp it up!
Mr Ryder Cup had already won his two matches up to this point. Rested on Saturday morning he paired with world number one McIlroy in the afternoon. Their opponents Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson had won 2&1 in the morning and looked good for another point.
The Americans led 2 up on the back nine and knew a win might all but bury Europe. But Poulter was having none of it. He birdied the 14th to halve the hole before birdies on the 15th and 16th put the match all square. A nerveless putt on the 17th left the sides level going into the 18th after he'd hit four birdies in a row.
And then on the 18th Poulter came up with his fifth birdie in a row to win the hole and the match for Europe. 10-4 had become 10-6 in dramatic circumstances and given Europe hope of a remarkable comeback.
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Olazabal's side would need to play on the spirit of Seve Ballesteros who was a close friend of the captains and had tragically died just over a year earlier. The side had the infamous Ballesteros silhouette emblazoned on their golf bags all week and their choice of a pull pullover for the last day was iconic of the great man.
But Europe needed more than just emotion, they needed a great start. So the captain led with former world number one Donald and the dependable Poulter, still buzzing from the night before.
Next came world number one Rory McIlroy but 10 minutes before his tee-off time the Northern Irishman was nowhere to be seen. In one of the more dramatic moments in the competition's history he arrived by police escort with minutes to spare.
However his late arrival didn't seem to ruin anything for McIlroy or Europe. Donald won the first of the days points with a 2&1 victory. The second point also went to Europe as Paul Lawrie, the fifth match on course, battered Snedeker 5&3.
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McIlroy's tardiness cost him nothing as he led from the off to win 2&1 and then Ian Poulter made it all square at 10-10 with his 2up win over Webb Simpson.
Dustin Johnson beat rookie Colsaerts 3&2 to return the lead to the US. In a ding dong battle the fifth pairing out Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson were having one of the great Ryder Cup singles matches. By the seventh though it looked like the American would take it.
'Leftie' was one shot up at the 17th and had a shot for birdie that would leave Rose needing to putt a very difficult shot to halve the hole. What transpired at the green was tense and brilliant:
Rose took the 18th too to make it 11-11 and Europe had won five of the first six points of the day and the first five on course. There was still a long way to go though.
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Zach Johnson put the hosts within 2.5 points of regaining the cup but Westwood's win over Kuchar put the tie back in the balance. The US looked set go back ahead with Furyk 1up with two to play against Garcia. However the veteran American bogeyed the final two holes and, for the first time since the first match on day one, Europe led!
The lead was short lived with Dufner picking up his third point of the weekend in a 2up win over Hanson. 13-13 with two to play. Europe needed one point to retain the trophy and a further half to win the cup. Love's side needed 1.5 points to win but in Stricker and Woods had two golfers without even a half point between them.
For Stricker it would remain that way too. Within minutes of levelling up it was all over for Team USA. Martin Kaymer was the man who sunk the Ryder Cup 'winning' putt. A 1up win for the German saw Europe retain the trophy and spark incredible scenes:
Woods would get himself on the score sheet but it wasn't really good news. Tiger led 1up going into the final hole but after missing a putt for a half, that would have at least given the US a draw in the match, he conceded the hole for the sessions only halved match. The Miracle at Medinah was completed with a 14.5-13.5 win for Europe.
At the end Olazabal was unsurprisingly emotional dedicating the win to his friend:
If Hazeltine this weekend gives us even a quarter of the sporting drama that Medinah served up the last time America hosted the Ryder Cup then we are in for something special when Love once again tries to win the trophy, this time off Darren Clarke's team.
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