2012 Ryder Cup

The 39th Ryder Cup was held September 28–30, 2012, in the United States at the Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. This was the first time that the Ryder Cup was held in Illinois. Europe went into the competition as the cup holders, having won in 2010 to regain it. The team captains were Davis Love III for the U.S. and José María Olazábal for Europe. At the start of the final day's play, the U.S. led 10–6 and required 41⁄2 points to win; Europe required 8 points to retain the cup and 81⁄2 to win it outright. Europe achieved one of the greatest comebacks in Ryder Cup history by winning eight and tying one of the 12 singles matches. Martin Kaymer's five-foot putt on the 18th hole to defeat Steve Stricker took the score to 14–13, allowing Europe to retain the cup with one match still in progress. Tiger Woods missed a putt on the final green and conceded the hole to Francesco Molinari, halving the final point and securing outright victory for the European team, 141⁄2–131⁄2. It was named by European media covering the event as the "Miracle at Medinah", and is widely regarded as one of the best sporting comebacks of all time and the greatest in Ryder Cup history. The victory was Europe's second consecutive and fifth in the last six contests. European captain Olazábal dedicated the victory to his countryman Seve Ballesteros. The five-time major champion, who had scored 221⁄2 points in 37 matches and been part of four victorious European sides before captaining them to victory on home soil at Valderrama in 1997, had died of brain cancer in May 2011 at the age of 54, and in his memory, Team Europe wore navy blue and white garments – his traditional Sunday colors – on the final day. Additionally, the team's kit also bore the silhouette of Ballesteros famously celebrating his win at the 1984 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews.