FARMINGDALE, NY — Europe has retained the Ryder Cup after fending off a stirring Team USA fightback at Bethpage Black on Sunday afternoon.
Shane Lowry held his nerve to drain a six-foot putt on the 18th to halve his back-and-forth match against Russell Henley and secure the all-important 14th point for Europe on a day that saw America restore some pride after a disastrous opening two days that saw them lose all four sessions and trail 11.5-4.5 going into the final day.
Lowry – and Europe’s – relief was palpable, with the Irish golfer jumping for joy on the 18th after coming back from two holes down to tie the match after what had been an incredibly difficult afternoon for the visiting team.
European captain Luke Donald, meanwhile, said he had never experienced a more stressful 12 hours in his life as Europe eventually sealed a 15-13 victory to become the first team since 2012 to win a Ryder Cup on foreign soil. The European captain added that the Bethpage crowd at times created a hostile and “nasty” atmosphere, making the European victory all the sweeter.
“We knew New York was not going to be easy. It was rough. It was brutal at times out there. It really was. It was nasty sometimes,” Donald said after several European players received personal abuse over the weekend.
Lowry similarly said the US fightback represented the “worst two hours” of his life and said the winning putt represented the best moment of his career.
“It was horrible,” a relieved Lowry said. “But I said to my caddie walking down 18, ‘I’ve got an
opportunity to do the greatest thing I’ve ever done,’ and I did it. And I’m very proud of myself.”
Going into the final day with an unprecedented seven-point lead, it would have taken a collapse of monumental proportions for the Europeans to let victory slip from their grasp, but they came very close to doing so on a day when Keegan Bradley’s Americans finally came to life.
With Viktor Hovland’s matchup against Harris English automatically tied due to Hovland’s withdrawal through injury, the Americans could only afford to drop 1.5 points in the remaining 11 matches if they were to have any chance of staging one of the most improbable comebacks in sporting history.
The Americans, propelled by a stirring Byrson DeChambeau performance that saw him claw back a five-hole deficit to tie his match against Matt Fitzpatrick, gave it an almighty shot, with Cameron Young and Justin Thomas both sinking massive putts on the 18th to seal 1UP victories against Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, respectively.
DeChambeau’s match was the American Ryder Cup in a microcosm, however. The American, despite staring down adversity and producing an inspirational performance, had simply left himself too much to do to win the match and claim a crucial point for Team USA.
Europe had actually enjoyed the better start on Sunday and briefly looked set to inflict a record defeat on the Americans before Keegan’s side surged back with a mid-round rally, led chiefly by the opening trio of Young, Thomas, and DeChambeau.
Young and Thomas, in particular, produced inspirational performances to defeat the English pair of Rose and Fleetwood, who had led the European charge earlier in the tournament with a series of stunning showings.
In a hugely exciting match that swung both ways, Young withstood a Rose fightback that saw the English player claw back a three-hole deficit to leave the match all-square heading down the 18th. Young, however, rallied to birdie the last and truly ignite what had been hitherto faint American hopes of a comeback.
When Thomas rolled in a match-winning putt on the 18th shortly afterward, the home faithful began to believe that the impossible had become at least less impossible, with the leaderboard reflecting a sea of red and gray.
Xander Schauffele secured another point for the Americans shortly after a convincing 4&3 victory over Jon Rahm, leaving the Americans 12-8 behind with plenty of further scoring opportunities.
Ludvig Aberg, one of the few Europeans who stood up to the final-day pressure, stemmed the American tide with a 2&1 victory over Patrick Cantlay before DeChambeau and Fitzpatrick halved their match. This left the Europeans just half a point away from retaining the Ryder Cup and the Americans with absolutely no breathing room.
But still the home charge continued with Scottie Scheffler finally registering a Ryder Cup point with a razor-thin 1Up victory over Rory McIlroy in the first-ever meeting between the World Number 1 and 2 in the history of the competition.
Scheffler credited his teammates for the final-day fightback and credited the Europeans for a “tremendous” first two days that put them in such a strong position.
“I think everybody was surprised how good of a scare we gave the Europeans today,” Scheffler said afterward.
J.J. Spaun further closed the gap on Europe with a 2&1 victory over Sepp Straka, leaving the US 13.5-10.5 behind with four matches left to play.
By this stage, what had been a subdued home crowd was in full voice as the hosts led two of the remaining four matches and tied the remaining two.
But Lowry, who had trailed Henley by two holes with four left to play, came up trumps in a big way for the visitors, producing three sensational birdies in his final four holes to tie up the match and send the visiting fans into raptures.
Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre eventually added two further halves in matches against Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns respectively, while Ben Griffin sealed a 1UP victory over Rasmus Hojgaard to take America to 13.
And as Europe lifted the Ryder Cup aloft for only the fifth time on American soil, choruses of “Are you watching Donald Trump?” echoed from the boisterous European support, who toasted their heroes as dusk set on Bethpage.
