In a nail-biting 15-13 victory over Team Europe, what appeared to be a comfortable win untold turned into a thrilling Ryder Cup finale as they fought off a fierce challenge from Team United States.
The Americans made it sorely necessary for Europe, a tight-knit team that had been playing Bethpage Black in Long Island for two days, to win the Ryder Cup, but the Americans kept them going until the very end.
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Luke Donald, the first captain to win back-to-back editions of the biennial event since Tony Jacklin in the 1980s, remarked, “It’s got to be the most stressful 12 hours of my life.” We knew they would be difficult, but we didn’t believe they would be this difficult.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry drained a 6-foot birdie at the final round to tie Russell Henley, giving them 14 points on the week and guaranteeing them of retaining the Ryder Cup they won in Rome two years ago.
I told my caddie walking down 18 that I had the chance to accomplish the most amazing thing I’ve ever done today, and I succeeded. And I’m very proud of who I am,” Lowry said.
Then, in the final match, Englishman Tyrrell Hatton scored a half-point from his collision with Collin Morikawa to give Europe the 14-1/2 points needed to win the Ryder Cup.
After the closest Ryder Cup since the “Miracle at Medinah” in 2012, when Europe staged a remarkable final-day comeback, Hatton remarked, “It’s been one of the hardest days I’ve ever experienced on a golf course.”
They’re amazing players, and it was expected, so I was hoping it wouldn’t have to happen to me.
The last five Ryder Cup victories by Europe date back to 1995, and this is their fifth consecutive victory on foreign soil.
Visitors to the hotel are in a hostile environment.
The Americans failed to put up a fight during the opening two days of the event, as rowdy home fans verbally abused the Europeans while US President Donald Trump was on hand to offer support on Friday.
Despite the hostile conditions, Europe managed to produce exceptional shot-making and clutch putting in the foursome and fourball games while displaying a level of camaraderie and intensity that the US side could only hope to aspire to.
There was no compelling reason to believe that Europe was on the verge of a quick victory on Sunday, and Donald’s team even made a quick start to the singles session before things suddenly changed.
“The boys really fought today,” he said. Wow, that was incredible. US captain Keegan Bradley said, “I didn’t expect anything else.”
They demonstrated to the world that anything is actually possible today. There was a second coin flip there. Never in my life have I been more proud of anything.
A day too late, really?
In the first two matches, Bradley sent Cameron Young and Justin Thomas out, both birdiesing the final hole, giving the Americans one-up victories over Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, respectively.
“That’s the kind of momentum we’ve been looking for the entire week. Simply put, Thomas claimed that we had already made it too late.
After Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm won the only singles match in Europe all day, Swede Ludvig Aberg finally put some blue on the board with a 2&, 1 win over Patrick Cantlay.
With six matches to go, Europe is only one point away from retaining the trophy, but Matt Fitzpatrick, who was 5-up after seven holes, settled for a half-point when he halved his match with Bryson DeChambeau.
In the first-ever Ryder Cup singles match between the top two players in the Official World Golf Ranking, Scottie Scheffler won with a 1-up victory over Rory McIlroy to take the title.
Lowry birdied from 6 feet in the final period to earn the half-point against Russell Henley after JJ Spaun’s 2&, 1 victory over Austrian Sepp Straka.
Hatton made the final par short of the halfway point to cut the score and start the celebrations. Due to Viktor Hovland’s injury, the final match on the schedule, which ended in a tie before the day’s matches, cost each team a half-point, with Europe’s Viktor Hovland withdrewing before the clash with Harris English.
Europe’s victory fulfilled their bold prediction that they would win this year’s Ryder Cup on the road after the last one, for McIlroy, who was the target of a lot of the verbal abuse all week.
It’s nice to be in the right place. McIlroy remarked, “I’m not always right. “I have complete faith in this team,” he said.
The wheels were attempting to accomplish something that hadn’t been done in over a decade, and we won in Rome, I believe.
Source: Aljazeera
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