91Èȱ¬

It was fun while it lasted. But Europe's attempt to win a fourth straight Ryder Cup came up short because they faced a US team playing with the freedom that so often goes with underdog status.

And because astute US captain inspired a new crop of young American stars to energise both the crowd and their more illustrious team-mates.

Players like Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan, Boo Weekley and JB Holmes embraced the stage and took with them the older guard of Phil Mickelson, Kenny Perry, Justin Leonard and Jim Furyk.

"The young guys infused amazing energy into the crowd and also into the team,and won probably the majority of the points on this team," said Furyk.

Europe came second because on a dramatic final day, the breaks went the other way.

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By Rob Hodgetts and Alex Trickett

91Èȱ¬ Sport's Louisville Lip has been out and about all week at Valhalla to fire back assorted anecdotes and tidbits. You can read them here: part one; part two; part three; part four and part five.

But now it's time for some awards for extra special anecdotal acheivement.

Ladies and gentlemen, here are the 37th Ryder Cup Lippys...

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By Rob Hodgetts and Alex Trickett

European song no-contest
If the Ryder Cup was decided by a , Europe would be 10&8 winners.

A full two hours before play got under way in Sunday's singles the European and American fans were engaged in a fierce battle of the ballads in the grandstands surrounding the first tee.

Except as a contest it was a walk over.

The Lip arrived to be greeted by the classic "Twelve years, one cup" taunt from the visitors waving - and wearing - European flags, and with Irish tri-colours, Scottish Saltires and the Union Jack hung over the railings.

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European Ryder Cup fans at Valhalla serenaded their new talisman on Saturday evening and captain Nick Faldo will indeed be in a Poulter wonderland if his controversial wildcard pick helps steer his side to an unlikely victory.

Faldo's men scrapped to stay in touch on a scintillating day at and trail the Americans 9-7 going into the singles matches.

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There are few better ways to spend a Saturday, or any other day for that matter, than watching the Ryder Cup unveil in front of your eyes.

Around Valhalla's par-three (known as Thor's Hammer), at 0920 on the morning of Saturday 20 September, expectant fans have filled the "bleacher" to capacity and are standing six deep inside the ropes behind the green.

The nearest of the foursomes groups is still several holes away and the crowd hums with expectation, savouring the tree-lined spot beside the stream of Floyd's Fork.

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By Rob Hodgetts and Alex Trickett

Shop 'til you drop
After some Ryder Cup-embossed Waterford Crystal or a complete clothing ensemble for your golfing kid? Can we tickle your fancy with an official dog leash?

All of this (and so much more) is available at the 38,400 sq ft gold mine - which doubles as the Valhalla shop - slap bang in the middle of the 12th, 13th and 14th holes.

"We don't give out numbers, but business has been brisk," said the store manager in one of the world's great understatements.

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Nick Faldo rocked the Ryder Cup with his decision to leave out Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia from Saturday morning's foursomes.

With , the omission of their top points-scorers from the last two events will leave the rest of the side with much work to do to get back into the match. And it will expose captain Faldo to further criticism.

The revelation came during Paul Azinger's end-of-day news conference, when the US skipper was handed the sheet which matched up his pairings with those of his opposite number.

Azinger turned to team member Hunter Mahan sat next to him and the pair mouthed simultaneous "wows".

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Ryder Cup pairings are the subject of much debate as the captains try to give their side every advantage.

But just what makes a good pairing? And how important are they anyway?

To find out, we asked three-time European captain to explain.

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A menacing rumble reverberates around the hills in the cool of the early morning. But instead of , this is dawn.

Reaching the top of the rise, the source becomes clear. Stretched out in the bowl around the 1st tee are packed grandstand and swathes of golf fans decked out in their respective patriotic garb.

The noise is competing chants of "USA, USA, USA" for , "Ole, Ole, Ole" for . Even at the early hour of 0730 local time the fans are in good voice.

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By Rob Hodgetts and Alex Trickett

Sermon on Fourth Street
Hats off to the US Ryder Cup team - they are determined to whip this town into a frenzy.

The Lip was enjoying a beer in Louisville's covered entertainment district called when an Azinger storm blew threw.

There had been chat of a US pep rally and sure enough at 2115 local time, up sprung Captain Azinger, looking like a cross between an over-excited preacher, a disgruntled guest and a jack-in-the-box.

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"If you're ready to rumble in the jungle, we'll be on the tee on Friday morning."

European captain laid down the challenge to opposite number in the opening ceremony for the 37th Ryder Cup on Thursday.

The phoney war is now all-but over, but in the last act before battle commences in earnest, the home side claimed a final PR victory.

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By Rob Hodgetts and Alex Trickett

Watch out, watch out, there's a Harrington about
Late on Wednesday afternoon, as crowds began to disperse, players added the final touches to their short games and autograph hunters scrambled for the last few names in a feeding frenzy around the putting green, one man danced to the beat of his own drum.

Europe's triple major champion and caddie Ronan Flood grabbed a buggy and hared off up the 1st, away from the clamour and hoo-ha around the clubhouse.

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The (sponsored by B&W Trailer Hitches, no less) rodeo riding has become essential bedtime viewing for me this week.

It's got it all - excitement, skill, a bit of machismo, checked shirts and massive cowboy hats.

The bulls are real nasty beasts - bucking, kicking, writhing and snorting. And they've got cool names like Slaughter House, War Zone and Hell Fire. No one got gored last night, but the law of averages says it must happen quite a lot.

My only slight problem with the sport is that it seems, to my untrained eye at least, to be a bit of a lottery as to which bull you draw.

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The Louisville Lip will shoot from the hip and give you the inside track from Valhalla.

From quirky quips to gossipy bits, we'll provide colour and the odd touch of glamour.

(As the original Lip Muhammad Ali may or may not once have rhymed)

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I knew I was in America when I ordered a beer at Chicago airport as we waited for our onward connection and was asked for ID. On my 37th birthday!

And our presence in the US was confirmed when we revved up the Chevy (very cheap, bean counters), cranked up the country music and set out from downtown Louisville, bound for .

Flicking through the morning papers on the freeway, the hot topic was the chaos wreaked by the tail end of , which had caused up to 250,000 homes to lose power.

If omens are to be believed, the was hit by remnants of Hurricane Gordon two years ago. And we all know what happened in that event.

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We've experienced the positive side of the in the last few months.

The buzz of the success of Britain's Olympians and Paralympians in Beijing and the spectacular show put on by the Chinese have boosted the excitement and expectations for London 2012.

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Two years ago Europe was basking in the glory of a third straight Ryder Cup win with just the odd thought for whether Nick Faldo's side could keep the run going in 2008.

Six months ago the idle speculation moved up a gear and in the last few weeks the debate has reached fever pitch.

But this weekend, Europe will take on the US in the in with trans-Atlantic bragging rights once more at stake.

Here's the lowdown:

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Shakespeare's Henry V speech before the Battle of Agincourt could have been written for European Ryder Cup teams of yore. But not any more.

In fact, it could apply to Paul Azinger's at , which, incidentally, was the great hall in Norse mythology where those slain in combat went upon death.

But enough of all that.

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Nick Faldo's first real machinations as captain have sparked outrage, incredulity, even fury.

And some people disagreed with him. The debate that has accompanied his of and to a lesser extent marks the beginning of two weeks of feverish pontificating, speculating and ruminating before the competition kicks off at Valhalla on 19 September.

Faldo has taken some stick for his choice of the colourful Poulter over the more experienced and in-form , or the eight-time Cup legend but fading force .

And it's not just his picks that have caused consternation. The manner of Faldo during his news conference has riled plenty of you, though the six-time major champion has always polarised opinion.

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