The war of words over the unsavoury events at the Ryder Cup last Sunday continued yesterday - American Davis Love accused the Europeans of being sore losers while Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez responded by saying the US team's win-at-all-costs attitude had cost them their dignity and "any respect we might feel for them".

Jimenez, who fired a first-round six-under-par 66 to share the lead at the rain-affected Linde German Masters in Cologne yesterday, pulled no punches when he learned of Love's comments. "We definitely were not bad losers," he said. "To me, the Americans were not winners anyway in the way they behaved.

"They wanted to win at all costs and the cost was their dignity and any respect we might feel for them. I don't feel like we lost the match because they didn't deserve it after what happened on the final day.

"If the Ryder Cup has to be like this in the future - with players acting like professional ice hockey or football players instead of golfers - then I don't want to play in it any more.

"The tradition of the Ryder Cup is very important and it was nice to be there and to be involved, but what happened in Brookline is not what it is about."

Love was scathing in his criticism. "It's sad that they're whining so much. We didn't cry when we lost two in a row," said Love, who insisted the excessive partisanship at the event was no worse than what was heard at Valderrama in 1997, or at The Belfry in England in 1993.

"They were poking umbrellas through the ropes trying to trip people going from tee to green," Love said.

"And how long have they been calling our wives `flight attendants' and `bimbos'? They act like we're the only ones who do it."

"If it had been even the whole way and one of us eked it out at the end, then maybe they wouldn't be feeling so bad," he said.

"But they just got pounded into the ground on Sunday, and they're embarrassed by it - as we were at Oak Hill."

Lanny Wadkins' American team led 9-7 at Oak Hill in 1995, but were outscored 7-4 in the singles and lost the cup. Europe did celebrate on the 18th green, but only after the hole was over.

"They beat us into the ground there, but we didn't complain about all the celebrating," he said. "That's been going on a long time. For them to say it all of a sudden happened on Sunday, or it all of a sudden happened this week . . . it didn't just start."

Love also singled out Padraig Harrington for criticism in arguing that the European team intentionally played slowly in an attempt to disrupt the Americans.

"You never heard Mark O'Meara complain that Padraig took 10 minutes to hit his second shot on 17," Love said.

"I'll bet you a million dollars that their strategy was to play slow, because they knew it would frustrate us. They played as slow as they possibly could all week and we never complained about it. We are now, obviously."

Jose Maria Olazabal, who joined Jimenez and Germany's Alex Cejka at the top of the leaderboard at six under after 11 holes, before heavy rain curtailed play for the day with half the field still on the course, also responded to Love's comments.

"They can say what they like because everyone saw their attitude on the course," said Olazabal, at the centre of the controversy on the 17th green on Sunday when American players, caddies and officials ran across the green after Justin Leonard had holed a 45-foot birdie putt.

"The bottom line is that the whole world saw what happened and the whole world is going to judge what their behaviour was like. All we ask is respect from our opponents."

Spanish star Sergio Garcia, who fired an opening 68, stopped short of endorsing Jimenez's views but added: "What happened last week is bad for the Ryder Cup.

Greg Turner is a shot behind the leaders on 67 while defending champion Colin Montgomerie, who suffered most in Boston, had to settle for a two under par 70 with 16 pars and just two birdies.

Montgomerie refused to be drawn into the further controversy saying only: "I'm flabbergasted at Davis Love saying something like that. But I'll keep out of it now and leave it to Mark James and Sam Torrance to reply to that."