​It's a Tuesday evening, and I'm decompressing after what can best be described as an AMAZING experience at the 2016 Ryder Cup held in my home state of Minnesota at Hazeltine National Golf Course.

My heart beats a little faster, even now, as I'm thinking back on my adventure.  A smile is coming across my face as I type and the experiences on the tips of my fingers are trying to find their way in this story.  It might be a jumbled mess, but one thing's for sure...this is coming from my heart.
A friend had gotten Wednesday practice round tickets in the lottery months ago and when he asked me to go, I was THRILLED!!  I was still sad about receiving multiple rejection emails from the Ryder Cup lottery people so this helped.

The Sunday before the Ryder Cup was going to start I emailed my brother and asked if he could join us on Wednesday as I was pretty sure we could find a ticket somewhere.  Unfortunately he was out of town for work and wouldn't get back until Saturday evening...he wrote back, "how about Sunday Singles?"  The thought of going on Sunday hadn't even crossed my mind!  I figured either the tickets would be rare or the price would be crazy...but I emailed back that I would look around.

At the same time a great friend was wondering if there was any way we could go to the Ryder Cup on Friday....it was really the only day that worked.  So of course I said..."hey, let me see what tickets are out there!'

The adventure of looking for Ryder Cup tickets was a bit of an emotional roller coaster - I checked Stub Hub and Ebay and most of them were above my mental price limit.  I found a pair of Friday tickets, with an hour to go on Ebay any they were only at $75.  I thought that was crazy!!  Checked in with my friend and we decided to bid up to $150 on the pair but willing to go higher.  Put the bid in and the wait began.  

I'm not sure why, but I re-read the listing because this one seemed to good to be true...then I saw it - under the starting time it said 1pm.  I had read somewhere that there were half-day tickets out there that would release at 12:45pm - and those were NOT for us!!  I quickly emailed the seller to confirm but I was pretty sure these were not full day tickets - and we wanted to make a day of it!!  Minutes are ticking away and I'm still the highest bidder at $150...and I don't want them!!  I looked into how I could retract my bid and was able to do so - I never heard back from the seller but I was pretty sure I didn't want these tickets.  Now I was on the hunt again. (sidebar-I looked later and those 2 tickets ended up selling for $275 - I hope for the buyer's sake they were full day!)

My next plan was to check Twitter (you can find me @hopejoygolf) ...while there were hundreds of links to the same tickets I had already seen on Stub Hub, Ebay, and others, I did find a few individuals looking to sell tickets.  First it was Friday tickets - I messaged and asked what they were asking for them and he said $130 each - UM, that's face value!  I'm doing a happy dance in my living room and as I'm about to reply and say HECK YES, he messages back and says sorry, he meant $175 a piece.  Well, SHOOT...I was honest & told him our limit was $150 per ticket and if he could sell them for higher he should.  He agreed to keep me in the loop and if they hadn't sold by Tuesday he would be willing to meet my price.  It was a bit of a gamble, but we both felt this was what we could afford (especially since I was now going to be on the hunt for Sunday tickets!).

Now I was focusing on Sunday.  On an aside, my brother and I have attended 1 day together at both of the PGA's that came to Minnesota, so the possibility of getting to spend Sunday at the Ryder Cup with him was a total Bucket List item for me.  On the search again I found 2 Sunday tickets that might be available.  I messaged the seller to see what the price would be and instead of a price he asked me to make an offer.  OY!  I wrote back to say that I needed to confirm that my brother could actually go so I would need a little time, and he was gracious enough to let me check - of course getting a hold of my brother was a different story and I didn't hear back until the next morning!  

Once again, I just decided that honesty was the best policy, so I messaged back and said my brother CAN go but the most I could afford to pay was $300 for both.  I said I knew he could probably get more, and I would understand if he needed to say no to my offer.  And to my complete and total delight, he accepted my offer!  I was going to the Ryder Cup on Sunday with my brother!!!

I waited until about noon on Tuesday to connect with my potential Friday ticket person to see if they were still available - and they were!!!  He was willing to accept my offer of $150 per ticket and he would make arrangements for his Dad to get them to me on Wednesday!

During all this, it was crazy busy at work and it wasn't until Tuesday about 8pm that I realized - I'm going to the Ryder Cup for 3 days!!!!!!

​Next...Part 2 - Wednesday at the Ryder Cup!!

​As I'm sitting at my desk getting ready to type this (for the 2nd time- UGH!), I can't believe it's been a week, A WEEK, since my first day Ryder Cup adventure to the Wednesday Practice Round at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minnesota.

A few side bars...about a week and a half before I had tweaked my back.  It was about 7 days of feeling awful, not being able to sleep, sit, or stand without pain.  If you know me, you'd know that it takes a lot for me to consider going to the Dr. but after about 5 days of pain I made a desperate call to a great friend who is a nurse and she miraculously got me in that day so I could get some pain relief.  There was no way I wasn't going to the Ryder Cup, but I'll be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the card rides, walking and standing that were in my near future.  This is also a crazy busy time at work for me so I almost didn't have time to even get prepared or excited for what was to come.

But the night before I finally looked online to find out what the day would hold for us.  The gates opened at 7:30am, the first shuttle was at 7:00am, and the players would probably start their practice rounds between 8:30 and 9:30am.  So we figured if I left my house by 3:30am we should be down to the bus area by just before 7:00am.  The drive was good and we didn't really run into any awful traffic until close to our exit to the shuttles.  The car line to get to the exit was about a mile long!  It wasn't until we pulled into the parking lot that I began to appreciate the enormity of this whole event.  There were already hundreds of cars in the lot and it was only Wednesday!  All of the security checks happened here, so while there were lines, the screening went pretty quickly and before you knew it we were on the bus!! ​

 The website said to expect 20-30 minutes on the shuttle buses and they were about right.  Once we pulled in and got off the bus it was a pretty good walk to the main gates.  As we got to the top of the platform and headed down the shute to get to the gate I was having flashbacks to the prior PGA events I had gone to...while I don't think we came in the same place, the walk way with all the player photos was very similar.  I could feel the excitement stirring in me and I don't think I was the only one feeling that in the crowd.  We went up a few stairs, got the bar code on our ticket scanned and we were in!!

A large Ryder Cup trophy greeted you as you came in and I couldn't help but smile.  I was sad that it was still gloomy out, but there was plenty of buzz around to keep my spirits high.  As I looked over to the right I saw it...(insert angelic sounds here)...the heaven on earth for golf shoppers, the Merchandise Tent.  We didn't go in right away, but I can tell you it was never far from my mind all day.

We got a map, gauged ourselves and decided to make our way to the driving range since there was a sign saying the players weren't going to be heading out to their practice rounds until around 9:30...but first I got a $5 Mt. Dew & a $3 blueberry muffin to pep me up a bit.  The range was already full of fans but I made my way over to the left side by the stairs players would come down from the clubhouse area.  The sight line to the range wasn't bad and there was some pretty good chances to get some photos if you timed it right.  It was too bad it was so grey out!

Fans on the hill behind me could see the players coming and it was fun to hear them cheering.  I can't recall which order I saw the players coming but I do remember that Dustin Johnson got the biggest crowd reaction - guys love their bombers!!  I, of course, was waiting to see Matt Kuchar and Steve Stricker.  Steve showed up first and of course I didn't get any great photos (except of his back!)...I then noticed a man standing near me with a really nice camera...I asked him if he could see the guy in the khaki pants and if he could take a picture for me.  He said sure and snapped a couple.  I gave him my email and asked if could sent one to me and he said he would.  
​
​True to his word, I got a couple great pics THE NEXT DAY!!  THANK YOU GREG!!  I love this pic!!

Most of the players acknowledged the fans as they came, but for the most part they seemed pretty focused, which is understandable. Some were at the range longer than others and even a few European players were coming in as Team USA started to make their way back to the course.  We found out that 3 USA groups would start on the back and the other went to #1.  Team Europe would follow behind.
I headed to the 10th tee because it was easier to get to and watched a few of the groups tee off.  It's a neat downhill hole but there were so many people it was hard to see.  I went down by the green and watched for a few minutes while they putted but then decided to make my way through a few more holes on the back.  

My back was getting a little sore so I decided I needed to find a place to park and rest a bit.  Hole #15 seemed like a good place to go and while none of the groups had even gotten there yet, the entire grandstand was full and had been for awhile.  I found a spot by a big tree and was able to lean up against it near a few folks who had brought chairs (genius idea!).  I had a good view of the green and should be somewhat close to the approach shots, too.

It wasn't long before our little area filled up with people and not long after that the first groups came.  Most players seemed pretty relaxed and a few hit a couple extra approach shots from the fairway.  Once they got to the green it was putting mania for awhile.  I was surprised by how many people were with each group...family, friends, media, coaches, etc.  

I'm the first to admit I'm a horrible photographer, but I sure wished I would have brought a regular camera besides my phone, but one good thing, I did put a 32GB SD card in my phone so I didn't have any problem taking dozens of crappy pictures and still get a gem or two.

The groups were coming through pretty steady now and then I realized I hadn't heard from my Friday ticket connection person.  I messaged my contact on Twitter (the son of the guy with the tickets) and it turns out he gave him a wrong number for me!  We finally connected and agreed to meet at the big trophy.  Once there he broke the news that he forgot the tickets in his car and because he was staring a volunteer shift soon he wouldn't have time to get them.  He assured me he would be at the course on Friday and he would meet us at the gate as early as we wanted to.  I totally trusted him but I'd be lying if there wasn't just a tinge of worry in me not to have the tickets in hand before Friday.

Jordan Spieth & Patrick Reed were coming up #2 as we were there so we stayed and watched.  I got one picture that showed how dewy it was - the weather was supposed to break and get warmer but there was definitely moisture in the atmosphere in the morning!   We got stuck at the tee box on #3 because Reed/Spieth were already there so a took a few quick picks before they would let us through (see photo gallery below).

Deb thought #7 would be a great hole to watch on...it's the one right on Lake Hazeltine and it's definitely a risk-reward tee shot with a good chance to make birdie.  Even though it would be awhile until we'd see anyone we'd have to go now if we wanted a chance to get decent views. As we headed up #2 we saw some "interesting" fan outfits - I really do appreciate the Team USA support!!  But that said, there were some awesome Team Europe groups of fans, too.

 I wasn't surprised to see that the small grandstand was already full with a line.  I remembered there was some space on the left side of the grandstand near the green so we took a chance and sure enough we could get right up to the rope.  The only downside to the spot was that it was on a pretty steep hill so my legs and back were going to feel it standing there.

We settled in next to a nice couple from just south of London - Emma and Turbin (sp?) - while clearly Team Europe fans, they couldn't have been nicer!  They had the radios you could buy to listen to the coverage and Emma agreed to give us updates as we waited - it was AWESOME!  We told her that she definitely had a career in broadcasting if she wanted it...turns out she's a lawyer, so I think she's good. ​

Being right up against the ropes was awesome and we soon surrounded with fans about 10 deep around us - we met some other nice people, a guy from Oklahoma and some guys that actually lived not far from Hazeltine.  There was a scoreboard on #7 but our radio friends were keeping us up to date on the action happening behind us.  While still cloudy, and even some fog off Lake Hazeltine, you could sense the groups were getting closer.  We could barely see the tee from where we were but it was easy to see where the tee balls were landing.  ​​

We could hear the cheering by the tee box and we were excited to finally get some action!  The first group to come through was Speith & Reed.  Reed teed off and Spieth put it close for a birdie!  This is when we found out about "the green people" (as we called them).  These were the cell phone police - by the greens they monitored everyone - the rule was you could take pictures until the bags when down or they were getting ready to putt (or chip).  They would often announce to put cell phones down if you weren't sure.

The green people walked with each group, so some were more strict than others.  I can't recall any media reports of distracted camera activity, but I won't lie, I did snap a few after the phones down announcement was made...but true to form, the pics usually weren't any good anyway.  We did have a great spot for taking pictures so I'm glad a got a few memorable ones.

The next group coming up was Mickelson/Fowler.  Fowler teed off in the alternate shot so Phil had the approach which he put comfortably on the green.  The Europeans had some trouble on this hole and ended up in the hazard by the green.  Another birdie for team USA!

Zach Johnson and Jimmy Walker were next - I loved that Zach had on giant mittens.  With the pin in the back of the green most groups were getting it fairly close.  They make it look so easy!  Another birdie by Team USA!

The final group, who of course I was waiting for was Dustin Johnson & Matt Kuchar.  I was hoping for a first day Matt & Phil pairing, so I was a little surprised him being put with DJ, but I could live with it!  

After the groups were through #7 we decided to head over to the back side and find another spot to watch.  We wandered over to 15 and I had hopes to go where we watched on Wednesday, but 15 was packed so we ended up going on the far side of the fairway and ended up by the jumbo screen.  We could see the players and the approach shots and while the green was a ways away we could still see putts.   

And as we know, it was a USA sweep in the morning matches!!  Matt & Dustin didn't even make it to 15, they closed out early!  Once the teams were through 15 Deb and I decided it was time for lunch!  There was a food station close by and we had burgers - I was glad I brought my Callaway beach towel to sit on in the grass.  A lady from Ontario sat by us and told us she ended up coming by herself because her husband couldn't make it - she drove over 20 hours!!  WOW!!  She told us she ended up selling her other set of weekly tickets to a scalper, but didn't say for how much. 

Once lunch was over we decided to head back to #7 again for the afternoon matches - by now there were even more people at the course and when we went back there were already lots of people there - I got us a spot somewhat close to the ropes and we had a decent view.  And I may have forgotten to mention that the sun came out!!   But our excitement from the morning sweep was fading as USA struggled in the afternoon.  Deb and I were both regretting our over/under bet on how many birdies we'd see after the birdie-fest in the morning.  It felt like the jinx was on!

After watching the groups on #7 we decided to head back towards the clubhouse - I was starting to feel my back giving out again and we hadn't been to the merchandise tent yet!!   We got stopped by #9/#10 so we hung out there for a bit but then were able to keep going.  I was able to contain my shopping  (at least compared to Wednesday) and Deb found a few things (clearly she had more will power than I did!!)

We checked the scoreboard and could see the afternoon was not going to be the best - we stopped by the Arnie tribute panels, signed it, and then headed for the buses.  The lines were long but we made it through without too much trouble...but of course we were going to be in the thick of rush hour AND since it was Friday there were a lot people going our way home!  With a relatively short stop to grab a bite to eat, it took me just over 5 hours to get home. UGH.  I definitely needed  sleep and I was going to be back on the road in less than 15 hours for Ryder Cup Sunday!!

But it was hard to sleep right away because it was the BEST DAY!!  
(I'm going to post this first and then add the photo gallery!)
​THANKS for reading!!

​I'm sitting on the sofa where I was a week ago, up to watch the Saturday morning matches and to give my back and neck some TLC as I was going to be hitting the road again soon to head back down to the Sunday final round of the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine.  I had thought about skipping right to Sunday, but Saturday was part of the journey!  
So it's Saturday morning and I'm rotating between a heating pad and ice on my low back, in a blanket cocoon catching up on some work, and checking out what was being said on Twitter about the Ryder Cup while having NBC on my TV (I pride myself on multi-tasking!).

The roller coaster of Friday left USA up 2 (5-3), after a 4-0 sweep in the morning and a fairly unexpected 1-3 in the afternoon matches with the only win coming from Brandt Snedeker and Brooks Koepka.  I really think the Friday morning sweep got my expectations so high that the idea of losing a match or two (or 3) was hard to accept!  So now it's Saturday morning and I'm convinced we're going to have another sweep!  

The lead group of Phil and Rickie were off to a slow start so my idea of a sweep quickly left my head and now it felt like we (and when I say "we" I mean Team USA and all of us!) were in survival mode (sounds a little melodramatic now,  but I was feeling the pressure for a good Saturday!)...and we were still in lead!  But I was able to calm my anxiety a little because Snedeker and Koepka were up early and so were Reed and Spieth.  Zach Johnson and Jimmy Walker were hanging in at all square and so I felt at the very worst we'd keep our 2 up lead going into the afternoon.

I had to nap a little because I was short on sleep and feeling crummy so any recovery I could come up with before heading out again seemed like a good idea.  After waking up I went to Twitter.  If you are in the Twitter world you know how emotions play out on there...it's all about speed sometimes and at times some thoughtless, silly, mean, or just stupid posts can come out, along with the usual witty, hysterical, and smart ones that I love.  For as much as we loved and had passion for Team USA, there were some not nice things posted while it looked like our morning fate was coming together, Team USA was only going to get 1 1/2 points and going into the afternoon.

Then the campaign started to have Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka paired together in the afternoon.  I mean, why wouldn't we want the two bombers together??!!  And all that came into my mind was the wise advice my high school golf coach would always say (and you know what's coming!!)  Drive for Show and Putt for Dough.  So while I'm sure it would be FUN to see Brooks & DJ together, in my head I'm thinking, does that really make sense?

Then it happens, the afternoon pairings are posted and Twitter goes nuts.  I'm surprised to see that DJ and Brooks are actually paired together!!  The thought crossed my mind...are they reading Twitter?  The Tweets about it were clever and funny, so I guess for that alone it was worth it.  The second thing that happens is that there is the realization that Snedeker is on the bench (who has played great so far with Brooks) and Phil is going back out, this time being paired with Matt Kuchar.

Twitter can be a mean place and I'm not sure I read one positive tweet about Phil in those 20 or 30 minutes.  Now I know there is a huge Phil fan base out there, including me, so I know I couldn't be the only one wanting to post a line or two about getting behind our team AND Phil for the afternoon matches.  And if I had to be honest I was feeling a little protective of Matt, too.  I can't argue about Snedeker being out of the afternoon matches, but if you watched post-final round press conference Snedeker addressed it beautifully.

I got on the road a little later than I had hoped I would but was grateful to have PGA Tour radio in the car.  My brother was going to record the last part of golf for us to watch when I got there, but I just couldn't help but follow along in real time.  About the only thing I remember was when they were describing Matt Kuchar's putt on #13 and then he drains it!!  I was cheering & clapping like crazy!  (I did get to see the Shimmy Shake move Matt & Phil did after the putt later at my brother's).

A few times I thought about my Sunday ticket connection, Greg, who was there with this father in law...I can't imagine how much fun he must have been having in those afternoon matches. He sent the picture on the left to me - I'd say he had a pretty good spot to watch in the morning!

About half way to the Twin Cities I realized I left my tennis shoes at home.  I knew I couldn't wear my FootJoy flip flops all day Sunday so I was going to need to stop somewhere and buy some...my Minnesota friends probably already knew that it would be North Branch and 20 minutes later I had a new pair of Sketchers (in honor of Matt of course!) [sidebar:  I wouldn't recommend new shoes for walking golf tournaments, even if they are Sketchers with memory foam!]  

I really enjoyed listening to the PGA Tour Radio coverage of the Saturday Four Ball - they were great at describing the action and I appreciated their emotions.  The only thing that bugged me was the (in my opinion) the complete over reaction to the VERY few unruly spectators - I can't remember which commentator (Mark Carnevale??) but with 50,000 people there and maybe a handful of agitators, I'd hardly call that a huge problem.  Thankfully, USA had a great afternoon rebound to celebrate.

It was awesome to see the highlights and finish of the Saturday Four Ball on TV.  3-1 in the afternoon - YES!!!  With the only loss being DJ and Koepka to McIlroy and Pieters.  It's now 9 1/s to 6 1/2 with the USA needing 5 points to claim the cup.  I knew Saturday night, as I was getting ready for bed that Sunday was going to be an amazing day.

Amazing not just because it was the Ryder Cup, and not just because there was real potential to win this, in the USA, IN MINNESOTA, but because I would get to spend Sunday Singles day at the Ryder Cup with my brother. 

My other posts:
Part 1 - The Plan  http://bit.ly/2dlzMDI
Part 2 - Wednesday http://bit.ly/2dG52R2
Part 3 - Friday http://bit.ly/2dlzMDI

Will be updating my photo galleries, too!
​Thanks for reading!!

​​I've been thinking about Sunday at the Ryder Cup all week...I wish I would have had time right after to get all of my blog posts done, but honestly, I was tired and had to get back to work and other projects waiting for me.  I'm smiling right now at the opportunity to remember such a great day.

I headed back to the Twin Cities (for the 3rd time in a week!) on Saturday afternoon to stay with my brother so we could go to the final Sunday Singles matches at the Ryder Cup being held at Hazeltine.  I spent the evening before watching what happened during the Saturday matches on Golf Channel and spent some quality time with my nieces & nephew.

Sunday morning came quickly!  The matches were not starting until 11:10am, so we headed out to catch the bus around 9:30am.  We decided to use the Southwest Metro shuttles this time because they were closer than going to Canterbury and we had a drop off and pick up crew (Thanks Kim!!).  There were quite a few people there when we arrived, but the line moved fairly quickly - they were filling the buses and had stand up riders in the aisle.  It was $5 per person, but it was worth it.

I've been thinking about Sunday at the Ryder Cup all week...I wish I would have had time right after to get all of my blog posts done, but honestly, I was tired and had to get back to work and other projects waiting for me.  I'm smiling right now at the opportunity to remember such a great day.

I headed back to the Twin Cities (for the 3rd time in a week!) on Saturday afternoon to stay with my brother so we could go to the final Sunday Singles matches at the Ryder Cup being held at Hazeltine.  I spent the evening before watching what happened during the Saturday matches on Golf Channel and spent some quality time with my nieces & nephew.

It was a beautiful morning in Chaska and I took off my pullover almost right away.  Like Friday, when we arrived we could already hear the crowds....it was electric!!  USA needed 5 points to capture the cup and while it seems more than plausible, singles matches were a whole different animal.

We stopped at the trophy and had to take a picture - at the bottom are the two photos...I think it's safe to say who was the better photographer was!! (it's a miracle!)

The first group out was going to be Reed vs. McIlroy - I was already excited!!  We looked at the rest of the pairings and I was sad to see Matt Kuchar was the 11th group - knowing that we'd have to make strategic moves around the golf course to see the groups, chances were we weren't going to be staying for all 12 groups to come through.

Hazeltine was completely packed with people and JP and I made an initial plan.  We decided to head to #2 green since #1 was already packed.  We made our way up the left side and found a spot about pin high.  As we were finding a spot we ran into a golf friend and former school connection!  I laughed because the same thing happened at the PGA at Hazeltine years ago!!    I couldn't see the hole due to the undulation of the green, but I figured the crowd would tell me all I needed to know.  We met 2 nice ladies who were sitting on the rope line and we were able to get next to them.  I loved that they were committed to their spot and they asked if we would hold their spots while the went over in the shade for a bit before the groups came through.  Several of us assured them we would keep their spot.

We met some other nice folks on the other side of us - from Connecticut, Texas, and the Twin Cities area.  The sun was already making it warm and both JP and I realized this could be a potential sunburn day - our new friend from CT offered his sunscreen and we gratefully accepted.

It woudln't be long before we saw some golf and we though about our next move after #2...our first choice was #7, but i could tell by watching all the people going past us that we probably wouldn't find a great spot to watch, but that would be our first try once we decided when we'd make our move.

We could see the  players in the fairway on 2 and pretty soon approach shots were hitting the green.  Reed & McIlroy had similar length putts but both missed and halved for par.  Not surprisingly there were A LOT of people following this group, including media.  The "green people" were out in full force to monitor cell phones, too.

Folks with radios were keeping us updated on what was happening on the first hole and there was a small score board we could follow, too.

JB Holmes was the first birdie of the day and he went 2 up on Thomas Pieters after 2.  I asked my brother if we could stay until Phil and Sergio go there (Group 5) and he agreed.  As we were waiting for them to reach their drives I looked over at my brother and behind him there was a guy that looked a whole lot like Kurt Russell.  They were right behind the two older ladies and it was awesome when one of them said to him...save our place I'll be right back!  The other guy with him was right next to my brother and when he put his hand on the rope he had a big ring with a NY in diamonds...I had no idea who he was but when I looked over my brother's shoulder he was looking at me and I just smiled...and he smiled back as if he knew I knew who he was.  The guy behind me also looked at me and gave me the nod like, yep, that's him!  If only I had asked!!  

Phil and Sergio were coming so it was time to focus!  And they did not disappoint - both put their approach shots close and both birdied - who knew what an epic battle they would have the rest of the day!

We decided to head out (and so do Kurt Russell & mystery guy) and we made our way over to #7.  Groups were already coming through so again we stayed until Phil and Sergio came through.  Phil made birdie and went 1 up there.  The crowd was awesome!  We decided to make our move again and this time we were going to head to #16.  Right behind #7 green was the 11th tee box and there was Spieth & Stenson.  We watched them tee off and then found a fairway crossing.  It was looking like they weren't going to open it at first (and I wasn't really excited about the thought of working our way all the way around 11 on the outside) and then they did - YES!  We booked it across and moved over towards the middle of the course.  The 3 tee box was abandoned, but we could hear cheers so Zach Johnson must have been on #4.  

We wandered around a bit and then found our way to the right side of #16 and found that the entire side was lined with people.  We found a spot where some people had moved a picnic table right up to the rope.  I asked if I could sit for a minute (since none of the groups had gotten there yet) and they were kind enough to let me.  We met some more really nice folks and we were able to have some decent views  of the green.

There were also 2 jumbo screens where we could see what was happening on the other holes...the scoreboard was looking promising!!  Five points, it was all we needed!  The bottom half of the groups were looking Red, but they had quite a few holes to go and I think everyone was thinking that the Reed/McIlory match was going to set the tone for the day.  When they arrived at #16 Reed was one up and a birdie four to McIlory's par left him dormie going into the par-3 17th.  (Dormie is my favorite word in golf!!)

Spieth/Stenson were here next and we saw a ball go into the water and it was Jordan.  The crowd went nuts when he took off his shoes and rolled up his pants, heading down into the pond.  Spieth was 2 down coming into par-5 16th so and with Stenson on the green in 2 he was going to need some heroics to keep the match going, so in the water he went.  From where we were we didn't know what was really going on but we saw a rules official some gesturing and then before we knew it he was shaking Stenson's hand... we found out from the radio people that when he stepped in the ball moved which was a penalty.

After the hot start by JB that we saw on #2, he was 2 down to Pieters coming into the 16th and this match also went to Team Europe after a birdie by Pieters.

Next up was Fowler and Rose...tight match, all squire coming into the Par-5 the crowd went nuts when Fowler's birdie was enough to win the hole and go 1 up!

I should note here that as each player was walking up to the green the gallery sectioned off and yelled Red (us on the right side)   White (the grandstand)   Blue (left side over by the pond) - it was maybe one of my favorite parts of the whole day - it was AWESOME!!

The Walker/Cabrera Bello group was next...Walked yanked his second shot left of the pond into the gallery (we never even saw the shot).  It took them awhile to get thing situated and was able to get it on the green, but Walker ended up bogeying and he lost 3 &2.

At this time I think we figured it was 11 1/2- 9 1/2 USA but Brooks Koepka was about to close his match 5&4 and Zach Johnson was looking good, too!  We could feel the excitement!!  Phil and Sergio were next...again, unbeknownst to us, this match had been a battle all day - Phil was 1 up coming to 16, but he wasn't able to convert his birdie and Sergio did so they were all square going into 17.  

Ryan Moore and Lee Westwood were next and Westwood had just won the last 2 holes to go 2 up...Moore needed to dig deep and he put it on the green in 2 for a chance at eagle...coming down the rough line by us was Patrick Reed (who won his match against McIlory 1 up on the last hole!) to offer up some support - and then it happened - EAGLE!!  Crowd = crazy!!  USA USA USA!!

Now all of us in our group in the gallery are trying to figure out where we are...

Snedeker was playing against Andy Sullivan (who we never really heard about all week!) and he was 2 up coming to 16 - they both birded, but Sneds was able to birdie #17 to win his match!

The Ryder Cup math was telling us that we only need 1 more point to win now - Dustin was coming down 16 2-up for a chance to win it...Moore was now on 18 all square with Westwood after winning 17 with a birdie, and Zach Johnson was back on 14 3-up - all of them with the chance to get the 15th point and capture the cup!!

DJ was on the green and I was video taping it on my phone - with my brother being commentator - with Team USA winning the cup here if Dustin makes his putt...and then he didn't.  The collective groan escaped from many of us, but DJ was still 1 up heading to 17.

The jumbo screen put Moore up for us on #18 and he had 2 putts to win the hole and the match - he left it a bit short, but Westwood gave Moore the putt and that was it - we had done it!!!  USA just won the Ryder Cup!!!
We all burst out into USA USA USA...and then I realized Matt Kuchar was coming!!

While we could have started to head out, JP knew I had waited all day for this and we were able to get right up on the rope to see him hit - Kuchar had of course figured out that USA had won so I'm not sure what impact that had on his match with Martin Kaymer.  After being 3-up early, Kuchar was now 1 down coming into 16.  He stuffed one close (he laid up) but wasn't able to win another hole and lost 1 down.

And since Zach was able to close out his match on 15, after Matt, it was done on 16.
There were cheers still coming from other parts of the golf course and my brother and I took a second to cheer ourselves - we hugged because we won and we hugged because we got to be a part of it all!!

As we figured out how to get back to the Merchandise tent we both knew we wanted to get something to drink.  We found a beverage station and, interestingly, they had stopped selling alcohol...I'm not sure why...but needless to say there were some unhappy people who wanted to celebrate!!

We made it back but found out the merchandise tent was temporarily closed as they were reloading some items.  The natives were getting restless!!  We finally got in, and because I was returning something I got an express checkout to do an exchange - it was awesome!!  Of course I spent more than my exchange, but it was great!  I wish I would have gotten one of the USA hats, but we didn't see them.

Since I made it through the line faster than JP I got to hear some of the closing ceremonies - I couldn't believe all the people who stayed!  Very cool.  But it had been a day, A WEEK, and I think both of us were ready for a little rest.

After our journey through the tent we headed to the buses - come to find out EVERYONE was going to the same drop off station as we were!  The signage wasn't great for us, but we eventually got there.  Once again we met some nice people in the bus line and Chad from Buffalo gave me 2 Ryder Cup tees!!  Thanks Chad!!  

I think I smiled the entire time on the bus - even though we ended up being some of the "standers" - I will say a very nice man offered to give me his seat, but I figured I could make it.  We won the Ryder Cup!!

Kim and the kids were there within about 2 minutes of us getting there so we were on the road back home in no time.  We cheered USA in the car, too!!  I had never been so excited to take my shoes off when we got home and then I came to the realization that I felt awful.  My original plan of driving home that night was not going to happen.  Kim came through for me with a heating pad (and a great dinner!), and after some pain relievers I was ready for bed.

As I laid there, my brain was still in overdrive!!  There was still so much to think about!  But overall, my gratefulness for it all - the plan, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, and even Saturday - just washed all over me.

THANK YOU Team USA and Team Europe!!!  It was more than I could have ever imagined!!
THANK YOU to the fans, bus line friends, merchandise line friends,, and everyone who was "the 13th man"!!!
THANK YOU to Jeff, Deb, John, Kim & the kids - it was amazing!!
THANK YOU Hazeltine, the bus drivers, the volunteers, and all of my friends who followed along with me!!
THANK YOU to Greg from WI for the Steve Stricker Photos  - to Nate & Rick for the Friday Tickets - to Greg for the Sunday tickets!!
​
Thanks for reading!!