It was victory or nothing, says Tiger after 18th-hole concession

TIGER Woods claimed neither he nor the United States team were interested in salvaging a tie from the 39th Ryder Cup at Medinah.

After Europe produced a stunning fightback to reach the 14 points they required to retain the cup near Chicago, Woods knew heading to the 18th tee he could no longer affect the trophy’s destiny. But by holding on to his one-hole lead in the final match, the former world No 1 could at least have ensured the scoreline finished 14-14.

He had the opportunity to do that but after missing a putt to beat Francesco Molinari, he then conceded the hole to the Italian and handed Europe an outright 14½-13½ win. Woods said: “It was already over. We came here as a team – this is a team event. And the cup was already been retained by Europe, so it was already over.

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“You come here as a team and you win or lose as a team, and it’s pointless to even finish. So 18 was just, hey, get this over with. Congratulations to the European team. They played fantastic [golf] and they deserve the cup.”

That incident rounded off a dismal three days for Woods in which he failed to win a single match. The 36-year-old 14-time major winner lost three times in partnership with Steve Stricker on Friday and Saturday and was even stood down for a match for the first time in his career.