What an excellent time to be a European golf fan! Team Europe edged out Team USA in this year’s Ryder Cup, barely a week after the females clinched the Solheim Cup. In the heated three-day event at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, northeast of Rome, the Europeans held their own to outsmart the Americans 16½-11½.
The tournament was one of a kind, with the top thirteen players in the OWGR gracing the event, the first time for the entire top ten to achieve this feat since the ranking’s inauguration in 1986. Luke Donald and his team proved too hot to handle on Friday and Saturday, requiring only a little effort to sail through on Sunday.
Daily Review
Friday
On Friday, there were four foursomes in the morning and four fourball matches in the afternoon.
During the morning foursomes, Team Europe launched their fangs with a clean sweep, jumping into a 4-0 lead. Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm scooped the first point after winning, 4&3, against Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler. First-timer Ludvig Åberg partnered with Viktor Hovland for the second point, beating Brian Harman and Max Homa 4&3.
The third European point came when debutant Sepp Straka paired with Shane Lowry beat Collin Morikawa and Ricki Fowler 2&1. The European team then marked the first time it had a 4-0 lead after the first session when Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy won, 2&1, against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
The afternoon fourballs saw Team USA attempt to regain their footing in the tournament, but their morning loss proved too tough to undo. Only the fourth overall match provided a whole point in favor of Team Europe, with Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick making eight birdies and an eagle to dominate their match 5&3. All three other fourballs were halved, with the day ending 6½–1½ in Europe’s favor.
Saturday
Similarly, on Saturday, there were four foursome matches in the morning and four fourballs in the afternoon.
There was a glimpse of hope for the Americans when Max Homa and Brian Harman won one of the morning foursomes, but with Donald’s squad winning the remaining three, the European lead extended to 9½–2½.
A notable foursome win for Team Europe was the second match where Åberg and Hovland recorded the biggest victory in an 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history by thrashing Scheffler and Koepka 9&7.
The afternoon fourballs saw Team USA cut the deficit to 5 points after winning their first session, with the day ending 10½–5½ in favor of the Europeans.
The result meant that Team Europe jumped into Sunday only needing four points to clinch the title, requiring 14½ points total to win.
Sunday
Twelve singles matches were scheduled on the event’s last day.
Victor Hovland netted the first point for Europe after beating Collin Morikawa, while Jon Rahm contributed half a point after tying with Scottie Scheffler. After winning their matches, Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton coughed up a point each, bringing the Europeans only half a point short of lifting the cup.
Team USA then showed some metal after staging what would have been a historic comeback by painting the scoreboard red on consecutive games giving the Europeans something to think about. Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, and Xander Schauffele posted back-to-back wins to fill the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club with tension and anticipation that a comeback could be on the cards.
However, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood relinquished all that talk after edging out American Rickie Fowler, 2&1, with a birdie on the 16th and a tee shot into the par-three 17th, getting Team Europe past the 14.5 points they needed to win. However, their game attracted much attention and online buzz when Rickie Fowler conceded a putt to Tommy Fleetwood, effectively ‘handing him the win’ in the ultimate show of sportsmanship.
Robert MacIntyre’s win over Wyndham Clark and Shane Lowry’s tie against Jordan Spieth saw Team Europe finish the race strong at 16½–11½.