D. Johnson: Ryder Cup win 'wasn't meant to be'

• By Ryan Lavner
• Oct 3, 2012 2:40 PM ET

Memories of the Ryder Cup are all around Dustin Johnson this week at the Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews.

All he needs to do is look at the tee sheet.

Just a few days after the Americans lost in heartbreaking fashion at Medinah, the long-hitting Johnson flew across the Atlantic to play this week’s European Tour event. He will be joined in Scotland by victorious European Ryder Cuppers Peter Hanson, Paul Lawrie and cup-clincher Martin Kaymer.

“It was a tough pill to swallow and it definitely (stinks) to lose,” Johnson told European reporters. “But it was a great week and great for TV. It’s just that the Europeans outplayed us on Sunday. Personally, I had a great week. It was a lot of fun. We went there as a team and we lost as a team. Hopefully, we will get them in two years at Gleneagles.”

Indeed, DJ did play well. He was one of three Americans who won their singles matches Sunday, and Johnson, a captain’s pick, went 3-0 overall.

“We had a 10-6 lead going into Sunday and everything we did I thought was right,” Johnson said. “And Captain Love did a great job, and it was a lot of fun playing for him. When I look back on it, the only thing I can come up with is that it wasn’t meant to be.

“You can't say nobody played bad, and I guess you can't say that anyone on our team panicked or didn't handle the situation. We just had so many chances of the ball going in the hole. There were six or seven of those putts, and if just one of those putts dropped, then it was a totally different outcome.”