They came, they swore, they conquered. It had seemed nothing at this Ryder Cup could top the sight of Rory McIlroy remonstrating and ranting at an American caddie in a car park. Then, the US threatened to produce one of the most famous sporting comebacks in living memory. European palms sweated in the searing Rome sun.
Europe, guided superbly by Luke Donald and roared on by an inspired McIlroy, withstood what was thrown at them. A 16½-11½ victory comfortably erases the pain caused at Whistling Straits in 2021, when the US were supposedly set for a decade or more of Ryder Cup dominance.
Zach Johnson arrived in Rome with the world No 1, the US PGA champion, the Open champion and the US Open champion yet still proved unable to cure travel sickness dating back to 1993. Europe outplayed, outfought and outthought their opposition.
Donald’s methodical captaincy will be celebrated. He was part of a meeting the day after the Whistling Straits debacle, seeking to ensure nothing like it ever happened again. Donald completed the circle here. A typically unemotional figure, he was close to tears as the cup was won. It strengthens the case for him leading Europe again in 2025. A lack of obvious alternatives renders that a serious possibility.
To his credit, Johnson refused to cite the massive bias towards home teams winning Ryder Cups as problematic. Privately, he may instead rue the loss of his namesake, Dustin, who was a star in 2021 but made a subsequent switch to LIV Golf which derailed his chances of making the US side. That the bulk of Johnson’s playing contingent did not strike a competitive ball between the Tour Championship in late August and landing in Italy always looked like it could prove costly.
The US never adequately recovered from a 4-0 opening session loss. Jordan Spieth alluded to a lack of sharpness during post-tournament media duties. The entire European team, in contrast, finished prominently at the PGA Championship which concluded at Wentworth on 17 September.
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McIlroy was overdue a strong Ryder Cup. He got one, courtesy of four points out of five. By close of play, the Northern Irishman was quoting inspiration from a Roman emperor and leading the galleries in celebratory song. McIlroy won the 1st against Sam Burns, was three up after seven and later secured a 3&1 victory. McIlroy had the last laugh over Joe LaCava, the American caddie whose bizarre antics as play wound down on Saturday sent the Belfast Boy into an almighty tizz. Poking the beast is never a particularly wise idea where McIlroy is concerned. “I have had faith in this team for a long time,” said McIlroy. “Everyone contributed.” Statistically, this was undeniable.
Euphoria belied earlier worry. Jon Rahm was behind to Scottie Scheffler. Patrick Cantlay was leading Justin Rose. Max Homa – or Max Roma, the American star of this event – overturned Matt Fitzpatrick’s lead. Brooks Koepka hit the front early against Ludvig Åberg, Justin Thomas did likewise against Sepp Straka, Xander Schauffele was looking strong against Nicolai Højgaard and Spieth raced to three up when playing Shane Lowry. The US started day three needing eight and a half points to retain the Ryder Cup; for a period in the afternoon, it appeared feasible. “At one point I was looking at the board, wondering how we get to 14½ points,” Donald later admitted.
Rahm settled European nerves by winning the final hole to halve his match. Viktor Hovland breezed past Collin Morikawa, 4&3. Donald could breathe. Cantlay excelled in defeating Rose and Homa notched a 1up win over Fitzpatrick but Tyrrell Hatton placed more blue on the board with his 3&2 success against Brian Harman. Koepka, Thomas and Schauffele responded manfully for the US but Europe were now within touching distance.
Fittingly, the reclaiming of the cup was confirmed on the terrific 16th hole. The finest drama of the week all transpired there. Rickie Fowler, who didn’t strike a ball in either session on Saturday, carved his tee shot into the pond at the risk-and-reward par four. Fowler was already one down to Tommy Fleetwood.
With a brave, bold drive, Fleetwood found the putting surface. A three would be enough to send Europe two up with as many holes to play, guaranteeing the half a point they needed. Fleetwood’s initial putt left enough by way of tidy up for Fowler to pause but the American sportingly conceded. Europe had reached the promised land of 14½. Finito. For good measure, Fleetwood closed out a win on the 17th green.
Robert MacIntyre rounded off a memorable Ryder Cup debut with a 2&1 over Wyndham Clark. The Scot can be proud of his performance. The final act belonged to Lowry and Spieth, who halved their match. Amid wild celebrations, the trauma and turmoil of Whistling Straits felt a stratosphere away.
The five-point margin of overall victory just about tells the story of a contest where Europe dominated but were handed the odd Sunday scare. Lowry referred to back nine “stress” when glancing at scoreboards.
“Team USA will be better because of this,” Johnson said. A home game at Bethpage in 2025 suggests the outcome could well be different. The “because of” is more difficult to compute while US teams continue to struggle so badly having boarded a transatlantic flight. European games bring out the best in European names.
