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As much as Casual Friday roots for the Americans to win the Ryder Cup every two years -- that falls under the second of patriotic duty, doesn't it? -- partying with the European team after their wins must be a real hoot.

Earlier this week, Darren Clarke was talking about his Ryder Cup hangover -- literally.

"I spent Tuesday and Wednesday sobering up," he said.

But it was a well-earned harbinger.

"It's a long, difficult week, but you're trying to focus and work as hard as you can all week for your teammates, and certainly the week after you feel very tired," he said. "I don't know how the guys managed to go and play at all last week."

Clarke wasn't alone. The bubbly popped the moment after the Europeans posted an 18.5-9.5 victory. The Euros carried that party well into the night. As Paul McGinley said, it was not all about hoisting toasts, but about bonding.

"It was just a wonderful night the first night," he said. "We were all a little bit worse for the wear when we got on the flight, but it was great. We all joined together. Everybody had a ball. We actually ate dinner together that night, which is nice. It wasn't the case of everybody going off and getting drunk. We had a couple of beers, had dinner, and then a couple of guys went to the Irish bar, I think most of us. A couple of guys did their own thing in the team room. As I say, it was that camaraderie, that spirit. We didn't need anybody else. We were so happy in our own environment, and then when we went to the Irish bar all the fans were there and they went crazy and that was wonderful, too."

Can anyone really imagine the Americans doing that? It's hard to imagine the Americans letting their hair down like the pony-tailed Miguel Angel Jimenez. Seriously, the thought of Tiger Woods and Kenny Perry idling up to the bar? C'mon.

There are a lot of observers who want to say the Ryder Cup was won and lost on the grounds of Oakland Hills Country Club, but it appears that it might have been decided once the last putt was dropped each day.


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The 36th Ryder Cup matches will be held Sept. 22-24, 2006, but why wait? Get a jump on a monster gathering to enjoy one of sports' best events.