by Anton Johan
After a thrilling few days of golf, the Ryder Cup has come to and end and, as bookmakers predicted, Team Europe walked off with the trophy.
However, the win was not an easy one and for the first time since 1991, victory was determined by the final singles match.
Some of Team USA's players had stunningly big wins, while 21 year old Rickie Fowler played exceptional golf. All this put pressure on the Europeans who could not take their victory for granted.
The climax of the golfing event at Celtic Manor was undoubtedly Graeme McDowell's birdie putt that seemed to move towards the hole in slow motion before plonking gently into the cup.
The masterful stroke, performed under such intense pressure by the US Open champions, sealed the victory for Team Europe.
"Graeme McDowell was put there for a good reason, he's full of confidence and that showed," said European captain, Colin Montgomerie. "That birdie on 16 was just quite unbelievable. Quite unbelievable."
Bookmakers have been enjoying a glorious few days since the Ryder Cup kicked off at the weekend.
Despite rainy weather and a couple of events that needed to be put off because of it, it is believed that £50 million was gambled on the Ryder Cup, where Europe were odds-on favourites to beat the United States.
The fact that the Ryder Cup was held in Europe definitely had an impact on the amount of money spent by punters, according to the bookmakers.
"The Ryder Cup on home soil is a massive affiar and we have got taken just over three times the number of bets compared to the Sunday before last time around," said a spokesman for William Hill, Rupert Adams.
