Chaska - Olympic champion Justin Rose criticised the setup
of Hazeltine for Sunday's decisive singles matches of the Ryder Cup, saying the
layout had a Pro-Am feel about it.
The United States defeated Europe 17-11 to win the trophy
for the first time since 2008 on a 7 628-yard layout that hosted the 2002 and
2009 PGA Championships, both of which Rose played.
"Setup-wise, this course can be as tough as you want it
to be, there's no doubt about it," Rose said. "If we were all to be
honest about it, I thought the setup was incredibly weak.
"I thought it was very much a Pro-Am feel in terms of
the pin placements. They were all middle of the green."
Rose lost to American Rickie Fowler 1-up, one of four 1-up
triumphs by the US side on a layout US captain Davis Love admitted before the
start was set to try and deliver birdie chances and shotmaking excitement for
spectators.
"I don't quite understand that with world-class players
here and we want to showcase our skills. We want to be tested," Rose said.
"The water holes out there, all the pins were as far away from the water
as possible."
Rose called the pin placement on the par-3 17th "an
absolute joke."
"It's a 9-iron into the middle of the green and you
stiff it," he said. "With a match on the line, you kind of feel like
you want a player to step up a little bit more than they have to."
Of 14 players who reached the 17th on Sunday, there were
eight pars, four birdies and two bogeys. Rose and Fowler each made pars, Fowler
having birdies 16 to go 1-up.
"I just felt coming down the stretch, it was a little
soft," Rose said.
Fowler defended Hazeltine, saying it was more about how they
played than the course.
"The setup, I don't think it was easy by any
means," Fowler said. "Him and I didn't play as well as we would have
liked to. We didn't make many birdies on both sides. I felt like it was an even
match."
The PGA of America's Kerry Haigh handled the details of pin
placements and course conditions, keeping rough to minimal levels rather than
US Open density.
"I thought that the PGA did well all week," Fowler
said. "They did a good job preparing the golf course, getting it in the
right condition and where the hole locations were. It was a good setup.
"It worked out just fine for us."