Americans in Europe, Again

QUICK, NAME THE last European to win the Tour de France. How about the British Open? What's the matter, no names rolling off your tongue? Perhaps that's because it's been a while. Americans have been dominating the two biggest sporting events (outside soccer) in Europe for about a decade now. The French and Italian press desperately hoped American domination of the Tour de France would end with the retirement of Lance Armstrong. No such luck. Floyd Landis, a Mennonite from Pennsylvania, won this years race in dramatic fashion. Read the JIB account here or get the OLN account here.

Meanwhile, the British have been waiting for one their own to win since 1999 when Scotsman Paul Lawrie won the Claret Jug. Lawrie is the only European to win the Open in nearly 15 years. This Sunday, Tiger Woods put together an emotional four-day win to claim his 3rd Open Title, and second in a row.

Oh, and in case you're still looking for the answer: the last European to win the Tour was Marco Pantani in 1998. The last European to win the Open was the the aforementioned Lawrie. And just to hit home the point: the last time Europeans won both events in the same year was 1992 when Spaniard Miguel Indurain won the Tour and Nick Faldo won the Open.

Boy, Europe must really be getting tired of the United States.