- Despite a strong Sunday performance, the U.S. team lost the 45th Ryder Cup to Europe, 15-13.
- The American team mounted a significant comeback in the Sunday singles matches, earning 8.5 points.
- Europe’s victory marked the first time a team has won the Ryder Cup on foreign soil since 2012.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The roars started just after 4:10 p.m. local time from the grandstand that straddled the first tee and 18th green at Bethpage Black.
The first match of the day – all singles – had gone the Americans’ way, as Cameron Young held off Justin Rose, who was unconscious with a putter in his hands all weekend. That was one point.
Matt Fitzpatrick missed his par putt on No. 17 to enter the final hole tied with Bryson DeChambeau, who lost five of the first seven holes but climbed back with ferocity. They went on to halve their match for .5 apiece.
Xander Schauffele put the finishing touches on his beatdown of Jon Rahm, 4&3.
Then it was Justin Thomas’ turn, who overcame a two-hole deficit on the back nine and sunk a birdie putt to put down Tommy Fleetwood, previously undefeated at this Ryder Cup. Scottie Scheffler held off Rory McIlroy after McIlroy bogeyed No. 14. By 4:45 p.m., it was 13.5-9.5 (14.5 points needed to win).
For the first time in three days, there was a lot of red on the board. Something was brewing.
But it wasn’t enough for the home team. Europe won the 45th Ryder Cup, 15-13, and became the first team to win on foreign soil since 2012.
With 8.5 points Sunday, the Americans tied the record for most points in a Ryder Cup singles matches session. Patrick Cantlay lost the lone match for the U.S. side to Ludvig Åberg.
“You think about the odds of something like that happening, just on a coin flip would be incredible,” U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said. “But when you go out in sports and you’re battling your butt off to win, it just shows you just how proud these guys are and how much they want this and how much this means to them, and to watch them go out all week and hold their heads high and then go out there (Sunday) and do what they did is close to a miracle.”
The dream ended for the U.S. when Shane Lowry birdied No. 18 to tie Russell Henley, who hit a fantastic shot out of a fairway bunker to give himself a birdie look that he couldn’t convert. Instead of remaining one-up, the pair tied and the half-point guaranteed Europe would at worst “retain” the Ryder Cup. Ben Griffin took down Rasmus Højgaard to keep hopes of an unofficial tie alive, but Tyrrell Hatton and Collin Morikawa, as well as Sam Burns and Robert MacIntyre, also halved their matches to account for the final score.
Regardless, the atmosphere in the afternoon of the Sunday session was unlike any other point on Long Island this week. Griffin said there were far less ‘Olé, Olé, Olé’ chants compared to any other day.
Thomas was about to putt on No. 17 when the first roars from Young’s victory made him think winning wasn’t totally far-fetched.
“I heard a roar and I backed off,” Thomas said. “And then to see that he had won his match and then it was like, OK, you know, it just is one of those things like yeah, we all – we all, deep down, I’m sure we felt like we could.”
When Bradley addressed his team, facing an 11.5-4.5 deficit, on Saturday night he saw belief in their eyes. There was purpose in their body language when they showed up Sunday.
“They were ready to go out and win and play their hardest,” Bradley said, “and they did that.”
DeChambeau channeled Dory from “Finding Nemo” – “my thought process was to just keep swimming,” he said – but lamented not earning a full point.
“Just keep moving and keep fighting back,” he said. “I fought my (expletive) off today for this team, for this country, and we all fought hard today. You can see, it reflects in the leaderboard and what we did today. We’re not quitters. We’re not people that go down easy. So, so proud to be a part of this team.”
As he – and the other 11 Americans – should. Most Ryder Cups end in blowouts. This was the first one since 2012 that ended within a five-point margin. The boys in red, white and blue could have rolled over.
They didn’t. They didn’t win, either. But they showed heart, and by doing so, created a magical hour at Bethpage that reminded golf fans – sports fans, rather – why it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
