US captain Corey Pavin and superstars Phil Mickelson and Stewart Cink paid tribute to the people of Wales.

The US team were fulsome in their praise for the Celtic Manor as they addressed the media for the final time, Mickelson in particular extremely prominent as he did a marvellous job of shielding attention from Hunter Mahan.

Mahan, beaten by McDowell in the decisive singles match yesterday, was inconsolable and unable to hold back the tears, exploding the myth that the Americans don’t care as much as the Europeans about the Ryder Cup.

However, despite their defeat, the Welsh public certainly found a place in the hearts of the US team and they were keen to express that.

“I thought the fans were fantastic all week, they were respectful in all of the matches and the players played with great pride on both sides, it was a very, very fair fight,” Pavin said.

America’s best player over the week, Stewart Cink, endorsed that view.

“The atmosphere was awesome, to hear that kind of excitement for golf is really spectacular for us. We don’t get a chance to play in front of crowds that boisterous and spirited.

“Though they were cheering for the Europeans, the fans here are really respectful of all good shots and had a lot of respect for all the American players. It was really great to hear the crowd be so into it, despite the weather. Their team won but they were behind everybody and it was really cool to see that... great for the game of golf.”

Mickelson agreed. “Just throughout, the crowd were very generous to us,” he said, going on to admit that this was his most painful Ryder Cup defeat yet, because it was such a close contest.

“I probably felt more disappointed than I have ever felt, we came here and got so close... it does hurt more than the other Ryder Cup losses.”