Ryder Cup 2014: Final Results and Fallout After United States' Loss

The Ryder Cup, golf's most patriotic event, pits a team from the United States and a European team against each other every two years, forming one of the sport's most captivating events. However, after the Americans suffered a brutal loss in 2014, tensions between the team's players and captain escalated quickly.

Tom Watson assumed control of the United States team, and, after several questionable decisions, he found himself under fire by onlookers, media and even his own team. Whether his decisions ultimately led to the demise of the Americans is up for debate; however, the fallout has been substantial.

Let's take a look at the final results from the entire tournament, and focus on its aftermath following a loss for the United States.

Day	Format	USA	Europe	Winner
Day	Format	USA	Europe	Winner
Day	Format	USA	Europe	Winner
1	Fourball	Watson/Simpson	Rose/Stenson	EUR, 5&4
1	Fourball	Fowler/Walker	Bjorn/Kaymer	Halved
1	Fourball	Spieth/Reed	Gallacher/Poulter	USA, 5&4
1	Fourball	Bradley/Mickelson	Garcia/McIlroy	USA, 1-up
1	Foursomes	Furyk/Kaymer	Donaldson/Westwood	EUR, 2-up
1	Foursomes	Mahan/Johnson	Rose/Stenson	EUR, 2&1
1	Foursomes	Walker/Fowler	McIlroy/Garcia	Halved
1	Foursomes	Mickelson/Bradley	Dubuisson/McDowell	EUR, 3&2
2	Fourball	Watson/Kuchar	Rose/Stenson	EUR, 3&2
2	Fourball	Furyk/Mahan	Donaldson/Westwood	USA, 4&3
2	Fourball	Reed/Spieth	Bjorn/Kaymer	USA, 5&3
2	Fourball	Walker/Fowler	McIlroy/Poulter	Halved
2	Foursomes	Johnson/Kuchar	Donaldson/Westwood	EUR, 2&1
2	Foursomes	Furyk/Mahan	Garcia/McIlroy	EUR, 3&2
2	Foursomes	Spieth/Reed	Kaymer/Rose	Halved
2	Foursomes	Walker/Fowler	Dubuisson/McDowell	EUR, 5&4
3	Singles	Spieth	McDowell	EUR, 2&1
3	Singles	Reed	Stenson	USA, 1-up
3	Singles	Fowler	McIlroy	EUR, 5&4
3	Singles	Mahan	Rose	Halved
3	Singles	Mickelson	Gallacher	USA, 3&1
3	Singles	Watson	Kaymer	EUR, 4&2
3	Singles	Kuchar	Bjorn	USA, 4&3
3	Singles	Furyk	Garcia	EUR, 1-up
3	Singles	Simpson	Poulter	Halved
3	Singles	Bradley	Donaldson	EUR, 4&3
3	Singles	Walker	Westwood	USA, 3&2
3	Singles	Johnson	Dubuisson	Halved

Results courtesy of RyderCup.com.

The Fallout

Scott Heppell/Associated Press

The press conference following the Ryder Cup was chock-full of awkward moments and obvious tension between members of the United States team. It was easy to tell how things fell apart due to Phil Mickelson—presumably Watson's most coveted player heading to Scotland—sitting five chairs away from his captain.

Mickelson followed this up with a comment that seemed directed right at Watson, via Karen Crouse of The New York Times.

Said Lefty, "So we were invested in the process. Unfortunately, we have strayed from a winning formula in 2008 for the last three Ryder Cups, and we need to consider maybe getting back to that formula that helped us play our best."

The Golf Channel's Jason Sobel quickly took to Twitter and gave his take on the comments:

Things only got worse from there.

After some icy comments from both Mickelson and Watson, Jim Furyk entered the mix with his opinion of both men.

Said Furyk, "I think that I have a lot of respect for both gentlemen. I've known Phil my entire life. Since I was 16, I've competed against him. He’s one of my dearest friends on the PGA Tour. And I have a lot of respect for our captain. I know he put his heart and soul in it for two years."

Clearly, there was dissension in the ranks.

So, what led to all of this tension? Well, there were two calls by Watson that led to plenty of scrutiny.

On Day 1 of the tournament, rookies Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed dominated the pairing of Stephen Gallacher and Ian Poulter in the morning fourball format, notching the United States' biggest win to that point.

For reasons of his own, Watson decided to keep the duo out of the afternoon matches despite their brilliance earlier in the day. Allan Shipnuck of Sports Illustrated shared an opinion with many onlookers:

Watson later admitted to his mistake, via Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel:

Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the last time the captain faltered.

The pairing of Mickelson and Keegan Bradley earned one of the two United States victories on Day 1 of the competition. Despite that fact, Watson decided to sit Lefty for not one, but both sessions on Day 2—the first time Mickelson ever sat out a full day in his Ryder Cup history.

Again, that may have proved to be a costly decision, as Mickelson defeated Gallacher in his singles match on Sunday.

Sure, everything can be interpreted differently in hindsight. While Watson's decisions appeared to play a part in the team's loss, one fact rings true more than anything: The American players simply didn't perform well enough to win.

Finger pointing may continue, and we may see some golfers play the blame game in the near future, but it takes a full team to lose a tournament—not just one man.