Bramwell Speaks Out, by sports editor Neil Bramwell

THERE is one sport in which Great Britain - and now Europe - dominates the world.

And that is whining.

Only one thing sickened me more than our wimpish capitulation on the final day of the Ryder Cup in Brookline.

That was the pathetic excuses made by Mark James and his men for failure.

What on earth did they expect?

Were the American supporters supposed to form orderly singe-file queues to shake Monty by the hand?

Had the stewards been briefed to signal exactly when the galleries were allowed to applaud politely?

Every European player had played in his part during the hype for the event and there was no shortage of war analogies when describing the enormity of the event.

But, when the Americans showed the stomach for the fight, our warriors could only bellyache.

Much of the controversy surrounded the reactions of the Americans on the 17th green, when Justin Leonard sunk that monster put.

Even if Jose Maria Olazabal had responded, which was unlikely because he had given up several holes previously, the US had all but won the trophy at a stroke.

Their reaction was understandable and deserved. It was also the reaction of winners.

I have watched the replays and no-one ran across the line of his Olazabal's putt.

And I also watched the first couple of days' action, when Sergio Garcia was leaping around like a demented jack-in-a-box.

The only player to emerge with much credit was the exceptional Paul Lawrie.

Is it any coincidence that while the world's finest were moaning about the state of the rough for the Open at Carnoustie this summer, Lawrie quietly went about his task of winning the tournament?

In contrast, Colin Montgomerie employed the cunning psychological tool of squealing like a suckling pig whenever someone blinked.

The whole tournament typified the weak British acceptance of second best and (dis)honourable defeat.

Bring back Nick Faldo. All is forgiven.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.