You knew Michael Jordan wasn't content just watching the Ryder Cup.

Maybe that's why he challenged one of the team's stars -- Keegan Bradley -- to a match. According to Bradley, though, the audition didn't go well.

Bradley, who miraculously transforms into a crazed mongoose once he enters match play, described the experience on The Golf Channel's Morning Drive. Will Gray has the recap:

"He was yapping pretty much the whole day," he claimed of Jordan, who displayed a penchant for trash-talking throughout his NBA playing career.

After birdies by Bradley on each of the final two holes, the match hinged on Jordan's final stroke.

"He had about 6 feet," Bradley explained. "It wouldn't have gone in if it was the size of a basketball hoop."

So you say Jordan missed badly at the last, with the match on the line? Well, maybe he does have the right stuff to make the U.S. side ...

RELATED PHOTOS: Michael Jordan on the golf course

Like any superhero, Ian Poulter sounds sick of what he calls his "day job."

Maybe because, by "night," he exhausts himself by thoroughly savaging American Ryder Cuppers. And, even three weeks on, he says he's still recovering from the experience.

Poulter is still working off his Ryder Cup hangover, according to James Corrigan of the Telegraph. In the wake of the excitement, Poulter is recovering from a cold, a hoarse throat, and a general malaise over the fact that he'll have to wait two years to play in another Ryder Cup.

Poulter is preparing to start his individual schedule next week in Shanghai, and it doesn't sound like he's ready to play just for himself:

“Almost three weeks on and, honestly, I still haven’t completely recovered, either physically or emotionally,” he croaked. “I’ve been drained and am run down, as my voice probably proves. I’ve had the last 10 days off and I’m just trying to take on as much sleep as possible in the next few days before I have to take that 15-four flight to China.”

Even if Poulter can recover physically, in talking to Corrigan, he doesn't seem particularly amped to get back out there:

“This is my day job, and it is a job because that’s what I chose as a path to earn my money to support my family,” he said. “Now, I don’t know what I see the Ryder Cup as, but certainly not as my job. It comes straight from the heart, it’s pride, it’s passion. It has nothing to do with money and, when it hasn’t anything to do with money, for some reason it means a lot more.

“That’s interesting because most of my critics, when they have a go, it’s because they say it’s all about the money with me. Yet the one week when it means nothing in terms of monetary value is the week when I play my best golf. So it kind of turns that theory on its head, doesn’t it?”

Until you see the Ferraris, maybe. Regardless, other golfers should be grateful that Poulter finds typical professional golf mundane. He doesn't lose when he's interested.

When you wish upon a par...

We can hear it now. The Disney theme song to Europe's fairytale Ryder Cup ending. And all because Sergio Garcia wished on Sunday morning that Martin Kaymer would make the clinching putt, according to Reuters.

Here's what Garcia said:

"The night before the singles Olazabal and myself had a very good conversation with Martin," said world number 19 Garcia in a European Tour news release.

"Then on Sunday I was having breakfast with Martin and I said to him if I had a wish it would be for him to hole the putt which meant Europe kept the Ryder Cup."

That's all it took. A little of Sergio's Tinkerbelle magic. And America's spastic fear of the Medinah's 17th hole.

RELATED PHOTOS: SI's best shots from 2012 Ryder Cup

Critics who charged that Tiger Woods doesn't care about the Ryder Cup are running out of fodder.

First, we hear that Tiger couldn't sleep after his team's historic collapse at the Medinah. And now we have this story about a contrite Woods apologizing to teammates for his play at the event, reported by Tim Roseforte on the Golf Channel's Morning Drive:

“Brandt [Snedeker] shared with me (at his fundraiser in Memphis) that Tiger got all the rookies in a room, closed the door and personally apologized to everyone for not doing more, for not getting the points he needed to get to get a U.S. victory," Roseforte said Monday morning. "For people who don’t think Woods really cares, whenever that turn or that pivot occurred in his career, it has fully turned.”

That's right: Tiger Woods personally apologized. Time will tell if contrition can lead to results, though: Woods's 0-3-1 record at Medinah ran his career mark to 13-17-3 in Ryder Cups.

Tiger Woods's Sunday singles match against Francesco Molinari at the Ryder Cup in Medinah ended up not mattering very much because the Europeans clinched the Cup when Martin Kaymer beat Steve Stricker, but Woods took losing the Cup hard, according to The Express UK.

While Europe were partying with the Ryder Cup, Woods confessed the following day to USA captain Davis Love that he had lain awake all night wondering just how a 10-6 lead could have been squandered.

Woods earned just half a point from his four matches at Medinah –- a career low in a contest in which he has tasted victory just once in seven appearances.

“Tiger did not sleep a wink,” said Love. “It has been tough for all of us. I’m going to Las Vegas to play this week and I’m trying to find a bag without USA written on it!”

This week, Love is playing in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, where he talked about the reaction of the American players to their stunning loss in the Ryder Cup after holding a large lead going into the final day.

Love on Phil Mickelson:

Phil and Amy sat with [indiscernible] and I at the elevator. They were the last ones to leave the ninth floor, and we sat there for a half an hour and I finally realized they just didn't want to leave. They had a big airplane and were going home to see their kids, but didn't want to leave and it to be over. I think that's how most of us felt. It was hard not to get up Monday morning and put your team clothes on and go play again.

Love on Dustin Johnson:

In the end, I think Dustin Johnson said it best.  Everybody is feeling sorry for themselves and he says, Man, it's just golf.  They knocked in a bunch of putts and our lipped out.  There's nothing we can do about it.  You know, that really did sum it up.

Love on his captain's picks:

I'm happy with the decision. Now, I love Rickie Fowler and Bill Haas and Hunter Mahan, Nick Watney. They are the future of the Ryder Cup. Sure, maybe they would have done better, but I love the team I had. They gave it their all. Most importantly, they represented their country on and off the golf course.

We understand why someone would want to be the European Ryder Cup Captain. Pride, honor, yeah, all that. But, honestly, the job doesn't seem all that tough: You do interviews, wait until the inevitable American supernova makes you look like a genius, and then you drink until a Molinari brother goes drag.

So, it's easy to understand why the politicking has already begun across the pond. And, according to Padraig Harrington, a front-runner is already emerging.

"I understand the inside track is that it's going to be Darren Clarke," Harrington told the Irish Independent at the Dunhill Links on Friday.

The Independent also reports that Peter Hanson has thrown his (feather)weight behind Paul McGinley. Which might mean more, if Rory McIlroy didn't already go on the record throwing his support behind Clarke, according to ESPN.co.uk.

We at Rumors are going third party. Colin Montgomerie, 2014. If Monty is captaining, then perhaps we'll get less commentary in the first person plural during the next broadcast...

Martin Kaymer was only 6 when Bernhard Langer missed the six-foot putt at the 1991 Ryder Cup that would have retained the trophy for the European team, but his countryman's most painful moment was still on Kaymer's mind on Sunday. Kaymer, of course, knocked in his putt to beat Steve Stricker and earn Europe's 14th point. On Wednesday at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Kaymer told reporters what he was thinking before he hit the putt.

Q.  Did Langer’s miss cross your mind when you were standing over the putt?
MARTIN KAYMER:  When I was standing behind-- when I went down, I saw a footprint and it crossed my mind maybe four and a half seconds, so it was there, but it didn't have any influence in a positive or in a negative way.  I saw the footprint and I thought, Bernhard, okay, gone.  So it was not really a second. Yes, I did think about it, but it's the past.  It's 21 years ago.  At the end of the day, if you stick to the facts of the putt, it was easiest putt you can have, even though with all of the circumstances, is it was an uphill inside line.  There is no easier putt.  It's true, if you bring it down to the facts and try to forget about The Ryder Cup, we have putt that putt millions of times.

Q.  Is that what you told yourself?
MARTIN KAYMER:  I said, there's no second doubt, inside right, step up, make it.  So very clear thoughts, which was nice.

Q.  Have you spoken to Bernhard since?
MARTIN KAYMER:  Tried to call me twice but I didn't have a chance to call him back unfortunately.  I was texting a little bit with him yesterday and I will call him maybe in an hour or so when I calm down a little bit and get away from the golf course.

After spending much of Ryder Cup week announcing in the first-person plural, Colin Montgomerie had more to say in a Wednesday column published in The Telegraph.

Monty, a 2014 hopeful for the European captaincy, dispensed more of his bountiful knowledge to future American counterparts. Specifically, after watching Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson pair like they were playing in a country club Father-Son outing, Monty thinks Tiger Woods needs a youngin' of his own:

"It is time for Woods to be entrusted to take a young player under his wing," Monty wrote. "It’s a two-way thing, as Mickelson and Bradley showed. In fact, Mickelson was the big-winner in that pairing as Bradley really fired him on to produce his best. I see a Rickie Fowler type doing the same for Tiger."

There you have it. The Ryder Cup swami has spoken. Next time, bring on Rickie Woods and Keegan Mickelson. Sorry, Strick.

One detail lost in the shuffle of the Europeans' big comeback on Sunday was the way the final match ended. With 14 points and the Cup in the bag, some thought it would have been a nice gesture for Francesco Molinari to concede the 18th hole to Tiger Woods.

Even Molinari thought about giving Tiger the match, but he was overruled by the team's captain, Jose Maria Olazabal. "I thought about giving him the halve on the fairway, but then the captain was there, the chairman was the there, they told me, it's not the same, winning or halving, so get focused and do your best, and that's what I did," Molinari said. "So I just tried to win the hole, to win the tournament, basically."

Sports Illustrated's Alan Shipnuck shared his thoughts on the issue via Twitter:

I’ve been thinking a lot about the end of the Tiger-Franky match. There’s a lot to deconstruct. So here goes.

-Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) October 1, 2012

It was Olley who told Molinari in the 18th fairway to win the last half point and seize the Ryder Cup rather than settle for a tie.

— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) October 1, 2012

It’s worth noting that Franky said his initial inclination was to concede the hole from the fairway. That was before conferring w/Olley.

— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) October 1, 2012

As for Tiger’s concession, was it magnanimous, or petulant? He admits he basically stopped trying as soon as Kaymer’s putt dropped.

— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) October 1, 2012

Bottom line, I don’t think anybody was in the wrong here. It was an interesting situation that revealed something about all 3 men.

— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck) October 1, 2012

Francesco Molinari also told his story:

I thought it was more respectful to make him hit his putt. No intention to disrespect anyone, we both fought hard for 17 holes

-Francesco Molinari (@F_Molinari) October 2, 2012

My view: either we half the hole on the fairway or we play for it. My putt was shorter than his and it wasn't conceded at that point

-Francesco Molinari (@F_Molinari) October 2, 2012

What do you think? Should Molinari have conceded? Did Olazabal do the right thing? Share your comments in the space below.

When Rory McIlroy emerged from the back of a police car at Medinah Country Club minutes before his Ryder Cup Sunday match against Keegan Bradley, legendary golf writer Dan Jenkins tweeted, "The only thing that would have made Rory's late entrance better: if his cop-car escort had been driven by Jake and Elwood Blues."

Michael Sneed of the Chicago Sun-Times tracked down McIlroy's Sunday driver, Patrick Rollins, the deputy police chief of Lombard, Ill. He wasn't on a "mission from God" like the Blues Brothers, but Rollins was aware of his great responsibility as he raced McIlroy from the European team hotel to the golf course.

“I was just doing my duty,” said Rollins, whose fast thinking and deft driving Sunday is being credited with getting tardy golf ace McIlroy to the Medinah Club in time to snatch the cup from Team USA.

“The Ryder Cup was won on the golf course and not on the road,” chuckled Rollins. “But I am getting a lot of ribbing for not driving to the wrong golf course or getting a flat tire,” Rollins [said].

“But believe me, I would have done it for the American players if they had wound up being accidentally late like McIlroy.”

The Sun-Times' also describes the scene on Sunday morning around the Westin Hotel in Lombard, where the European players were staying. Deputy Chief Rollins said that Lombard officials who were coordinating travel to the course started wondering about McIlroy, who thought his tee time for his singles match against Keegan Bradley was at 12:25 p.m. The actual tee time was 11:25 a.m., and when McIlroy realized what was happening, he only had about a half-hour to get to the course.

According to Google Maps, the drive from the Westin in Lombard to Medinah takes 20 minutes in no traffic, forget about during a sporting event attended by tens of thousands.

Exiting the hotel, McIlroy jumped into the front seat of an unmarked squad car. Rollins was at the wheel.

“He looked stunned, anxious and looked like a lot was going through his mind like I would have been,” said Rollins. “So I asked him if he’d be okay with me driving because of the possibility of motion sickness.”

McIlroy said: “No, just get me there. Get me there.”

Quoth Rollins: “He was very composed, but I kept reassuring him we’d get to the course on time. I believe it was 11 a.m. when he got in the car and we must have gotten to the club in 30 minutes. It’s hard to gauge.”

Rollins radioed ahead to traffic posts, used his sirens to bust-up traffic at one juncture and got McIlroy to the golf course in the nick of time.

The rest is history.

Rory later tweeted a picture with the officer:

Me with my chauffeur who drove me to the course yesterday!! #betterlatethannever say.ly/Dbq4hSV

— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) October 1, 2012