“I’m very proud of them” – Pavin

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October 5, 2010

USA captain Corey Pavin said he was “very proud” of his US team after they lost the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.

United States captain Corey Pavin said he was proud of his beaten side after they lost the Ryder Cup by a single point at Celtic Manor.
The US staged a dramatic final-day fightback from three points behind to leave the tournament still undecided as last singles pair Graham McDowell and Hunter Mahan walked down the 17th fairway.
But with Mahan needing to win the hole the American faltered before conceding the hole to hand the Ryder Cup back to the Europeans.
“I’m incredibly proud. I just had a talk with them. It was a difficult talk, but one from from the heart,” Pavin told Sky Sports 1.
“I’m proud of what they did and how hard they fought all week. We win as a team, and lose as team.
“The talk we just had was very emotional. Took me a while to get back out here to talk to you. It’s a culmination of two years of work and we came close, but we didn’t quite get there.
“The bottom line is I’m very proud of the team and how hard they fought.”
Pavin’s team had looked like they might pull off a remarkable turnaround when Ryder Cup rookie Rickie Fowler birdied the last four holes of his late match with Edoardo Molinari.
The 21-year-old American, who Pavin selected as a wild card, holed a long birdie putt on the last to turn attention to the final pairing, before a nerveless McDowell held on.
“It was amazing. I think he (Fowler) birdied 15-16-17-18,” Pavin added.
“The putt on 18 was incredible, it gave us a lot of hope and from a 21-year-old it was amazing. He’s that type of player.
“I think we’ll see alot of him in Ryder Cups in the future.”
Asked if he regretted any of his decisions, Pavin added: “Absolutely not, no regrets at all. I’m quite content with everything except maybe the result.
“I went with what I thought was best. We went out strong with experience.
“I felt like every player was playing well on the team but I wanted experience up front and at the back – it nearly worked out.”