TIM DAHLBERG AP Sports Columnist
STRAFFAN, Ireland - Well, at least that one's out of the way. Happened pretty quick, too. Turns out the Americans can't play singles very well, either.
No big deal. Besides, it was kind of neat to watch how good the Europeans were at chugging Guinness.
Now Phil Mickelson can go back on vacation. And Tiger Woods can jet over to England and win another title, assuming he can dry out the 9-iron his caddie dropped in the water on the seventh hole.
The rest of the team can catch the redeye charter home and probably still make the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
There's money there. Three million bucks, no pressure.
Courtesy cars, nice hotel rooms. People who actually cheer for you.
It might even be dry.
Best of all, you don't have to worry about carrying the weight of your country around on your shoulders.
Life will return to normal - as normal as it gets for the average pampered millionaire PGA Tour pro.
So the United States lost another Ryder Cup. So what.
It has become routine - three in a row if you're counting at home and eight of the last 11.
The only person who couldn't understand that on Sunday was Chris DiMarco, who played the role of arrogant American to the watery end on the 18th hole before even he conceded the agony was finally over.
Instead of matching its biggest singles comeback ever to win the cup, the U.S. team responded with its worst day of Ryder Cup singles ever.
A fitting end to a crummy week. The only bright spot was the Americans didn't have to stick around The K Club to watch the Europeans chug Guinness and spray champagne all over themselves on the clubhouse balcony in front of delighted fans.
"I'm not even sure what to say," U.S. captain Tom Lehman said.
There wasn't a whole lot to be said. The rout was on from the opening better ball on Friday and grew with every roar from the rain-soaked crowd.
Now comes the search for an explanation. Losing is one thing, but being trampled by the same 18 1/2-9 1/2 score two Ryder Cups in a row cries out for some serious self examination.
It does if anyone still really cares, that is.
Woods said he did this time, though the argument still can be made that the best player in the world doesn't focus on this team event anywhere near like he does for the major championships that he tends to dominate.
Mickelson did interrupt his vacation for this, though he might have been better off on holiday at the beach for all the good he did the U.S. team. Mickelson studies golf courses religiously for the majors, but you got the feeling he had to be told where the first tee was at this club.
Mickelson did say his dismal showing - winning just a half point in five matches - would make him work harder on his putting in the offseason. Which had some wondering why he didn't do that in the nearly month off he had before leaving for Ireland.
The team rookies, meanwhile, had to be so shellshocked that they might end up at the Texas Open instead of in Louisville two years from now watching the thing on TV. That's what Chris Riley, one of the scapegoats from the 2004 team, was doing Saturday when he was asked if he had any motivation to make another team.
"You know what? There really isn't," Riley said. "I know that's sad to say, too."
Almost to a man, the U.S. team insisted afterward they were proud to play for their country. They also insisted Lehman did everything right as captain, and everyone was more than ready to play.
The problem, they said, was Europe always seemed to have the momentum.
That, of course, happens when one team's players keep beating up on the other team's players. The Europeans weren't even afraid of Woods and Mickelson, because they seem to have figured out you can be a team even in an individual sport.
The United States is still trying to figure that out, something that used to be a lot easier when it trotted out guys with names such as Hogan, Snead, Palmer and Nicklaus to beat a hapless group of Brits every few years.
Once this became a real competition, though, things got dicey.
"Everyone out there wants answers. What happened, and why," Jim Furyk said. "I don't think there's a guy up here who can give you an answer."
Outside of finding some camaraderie and chemistry in bottles and having them delivered to the locker room at Valhalla, there may not be any.
It's pretty simple, though. The Europeans are better at this because they care more about it and care more about each other.
That won't change in two years. It may never change.
Until it does, expect more routs.
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