Ireland’s Shane Lowry sunk the decisive final putt to secure the vital half-point ensuring Team Europe retained the Ryder Cup with a 15–13 victory in an epic three days at Bethpage Black.
Team Europe dominated the first two days as they entered the Sunday with a commanding 11.5-4.5 lead ahead of the 12 singles matches, the largest lead in European history, only needing 2.5 points to retain the trophy.
Before the matches begun, Norway’s Viktor Hovland pulled out due to a neck injury meaning that his proposed match with Harris English was confirmed as a tie as per Ryder Cup rules, meaning Europe edged closer to their target. But in what was expected to be a routine final day for the Europeans saw Keegan Bradley’s side threaten a monumental comeback.
Cameron Young and Justin Thomas lit the fire for the Americans as they defeated their counterparts Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood to make the best possible start to the final day. The U.S. spirit continued to show with further red appearing on the board thanks to victories for World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in his high-quality matchup against World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele’s dominant win over Jon Rahm as the New York crowd grew in belief. Bryson DeChambeau’s charge against Matt Fitzpatrick was another example of the U.S. surge as Fitzpatrick saw his 5-up lead dwindle on the back nine as DeChambeau salvaged a tie. The Americans won five of the first seven matches as they gained significant ground on the Europeans.
However, Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg held his nerve in his critical match against Patrick Cantlay to earn Europe their first and only full point on the day to put them on the brink. But it was Lowry who crushed U.S. hearts and secured the crucial half-point for Europe in his match against Russell Henley to take his team to the pivotal 14 point mark and ensure that Luke Donald’s side would retain the Ryder Cup.
A draw was the best possible result the U.S. team could now achieve and Ben Griffin’s win over Rasmus Hojgaard late on meant that finish could potentially be on the horizon. But England’s Tyrrell Hatton’s tie against Collin Morikawa signified that Europe were the outright winners as they secured a historic victory away from home, the first for either team since 2012’s ‘Miracle at Medinah’. Scotland’s Robert MacIntrye completed the Sunday singles with his tie against Sam Burns to end the score 15-13.
“I was nervous but I felt like this is where I belong,” an emotional Lowry said following his crucial half-point. “It’s something that I’ll remember forever. My brother had a baby boy today, as well. They will be sitting at home watching this, it’s unbelievable.
“This is the best team in the world. I don’t care what anyone says. This is the best tournament in the world. This is the only thing I want to do for the rest of my life.
“You think back to the Irish greats in the game, they have all holed putts to win the Ryder Cup and I got my moment today. It’s the best day ever.”
Speaking after the conclusion of the final singles match, Team Europe skipper Donald said: “It’s been the most stressful 12 hours in my life. Shout-out to the Americans, Keegan, his captaincy. I knew it would be tough. I didn’t think they would be this tough on Sunday, they fought so hard, and all the respect to them.
“But this means a lot obviously to me and the team. We came here knowing that the task was very difficult. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys and what they have done through, how they have come together, how they are playing for history, how they are playing for the people that came before them, and now there will be talk for generations to come as someone going down in history. Couldn’t be more proud.”
For the Americans, it was a day where they showed fight and courage in what will be a final day to remember as Team USA captain skipper heaped praise on his players.
“The boys really fought today,” Bradley said. “That was incredible. I didn’t expect anything different. These guys are really an incredible group. The way they played the last two days, when we were way down – you wouldn’t have known we were way down.
“They looked like they were battling. Their body language was good. They were pumping up the crowd. They were fighting the whole way, even when things were not looking good, and I didn’t expect anything different today. That was a coin flip there for a second.”
When is the Next Ryder Cup?
The next Ryder Cup will take place between 17-19 September 2027 at Adare Manor in Ireland.