Womp womp. Not exactly the highly competitive, nail-biting finish we had anticipated, but it’s still the Ryder Cup. From Friday morning to Sunday afternoon, the world’s top golfers were bouncing around Le Golf Nationale in hopes of bringing the Samuel Ryder Trophy home. Here’s how it played out:
Day One — FRIDAY
Session 1: Fourballs — USA led Europe 3-1
United States
|
Europe |
Result |
---|---|---|
Tony Finau / Brooks Koepka |
Justin Rose / Jon Rahm |
USA wins 1 UP |
Dustin Johnson / Rickie Fowler |
Rory McIlroy / Thorbjorn Olesen |
USA wins 4&2 |
Justin Thomas / Jordan Spieth |
Paul Casey / Tyrell Hatton |
USA wins 1 UP |
Tiger Woods / Patrick Reed |
Francesco Molinari / Tommy Fleetwood |
Europe wins 3&1 |
THAT was a heck of a bounce, Mr. Finau.#GoUSA pic.twitter.com/LHG56SjLn0
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) September 28, 2018
A much needed birdie for #TeamEurope 👏🏻
Fleetwood & Molinari go 1 UP on Reed & Woods! pic.twitter.com/XSBUCAdjPN
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 28, 2018
Session 2: Foursomes — Europe leads USA 5-3
United States | Europe | Result |
---|---|---|
Dustin Johnson / Rickie Fowler |
Henrik Stenson / Justin Rose |
Europe wins 3&2 |
Webb Simpson / Bubba Watson |
Ian Poulter / Rory McIlroy |
Europe wins 4&2 |
Bryson DeChambeau / Phil Mickelson |
Sergio Garcia / Alex Noren |
Europe wins 5&4 |
Jordan Spieth / Justin Thomas |
Francesco Molinari / Tommy Fleetwood |
Europe wins 5&4 |
The moment that changed the day.@RyderCupEurope won the final five matches after this clutch putt from @TommyFleetwood1.#LiveUnderPar 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/ws00y69Hwh
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 28, 2018
Day one started off well for Team USA, getting out to an early 3-1 lead, but that was short lived. A sweep of the afternoon matches completely turned the tides of momentum and got the European crowds into the event. Day two wouldn’t go much better for the States.
Day Two — SATURDAY
Session 1: Fourballs — Europe led USA 8-4
United States | Europe | Result |
---|---|---|
Tony Finau / Brooks Koepka |
Sergio Garcia / Rory McIlroy |
Europe wins 2&1 |
Dustin Johnson / Rickie Fowler |
Paul Casey / Tyrell Hatton |
Europe wins 3&2 |
Tiger Woods / Patrick Reed |
Francesco Molinari / Tommy Fleetwood |
Europe wins 4&3 |
Jordan Spieth / Justin Thomas |
Jon Rahm / Ian Poulter |
USA wins 3&1 |
VAMOS!#TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/tYWmwP5cnf
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 29, 2018
JT closes out the match👊
Justin and Jordan win 2&1 against Poulter and Rahm. pic.twitter.com/bTiM8hJzfn
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) September 29, 2018
Session 2: Foursomes — Europe leads USA 10-6
United States |
Europe |
Result |
---|---|---|
Dustin Johnson / Brooks Koepka |
Justin Rose / Henrik Stenson |
Europe wins 2&1 |
Bubba Watson / Webb Simpson |
Sergio Garcia / Alex Noren |
USA wins 3&2 |
Tiger Woods / Bryson DeChambeau |
Francesco Molinari / Tommy Fleetwood |
Europe wins 5&4 |
Justin Thomas / Jordan Spieth |
Ian Poulter / Rory McIlroy |
USA wins 4&3 |
Finishing it off in style. Well played, Bubba and Webb.#GoUSA pic.twitter.com/EGnWo4Rfea
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) September 29, 2018
Back-to-back clean sweeps looked to be in Europe’s grasp as they reeled off a seventh straight match victory on Saturday morning. Only the late heroics of Spieth and Thomas got in the way of that, yet the US team still trailed 8-4. With a split of the afternoon matches, the Europeans were beginning to wrap some fingers around the trophy; needing just 4.5 points in Sunday singles to win the Ryder Cup
Day Three — SUNDAY SINGLES
Down 10-6 heading into Sunday singles (the same score the US trailed by in 1999 at Brookline and Europe trailed by in 2012 at Medinah. Both went on to win) the US needed a massive rally to have a chance to retain the cup. Captain Jim Furyk front-loaded his roster Sunday morning to try and get red on the board early. For a time, it looked as though it may pan out. But in the end, the American momentum just wasn’t enough and Europe prevailed handily, winning by a score of 17.5 to 10.5
United States |
Europe |
Result |
---|---|---|
Justin Thomas |
Rory McIlroy |
USA wins 1UP |
Brooks Koepka |
Paul Casey |
Match halved |
Webb Simpson |
Justin Rose |
USA wins 3&2 |
Tiger Woods |
Jon Rahm |
Europe wins 2&1 |
Tony Finau |
Tommy Fleetwood |
USA wins 6&4 |
Dustin Johnson |
Ian Poulter |
Europe wins 2UP |
Jordan Spieth |
Thorbjorn Olesen |
Europe wins 5&4 |
Rickie Fowler |
Sergio Garcia |
Europe wins 2&1 |
Phil Mickelson |
Francesco Molinari |
Europe wins 4&2 (clincher) |
Patrick Reed |
Tyrrell Hatton |
USA wins 3&2 |
Bubba Watson |
Henrik Stenson |
Europe wins 5&4 |
Bryson DeChambeau |
Alex Noren |
Europe wins 1UP |
#TEAMEUROPE HAVE WON THE RYDER CUP BACK!!!!! pic.twitter.com/7Pgo7CrxFp
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 30, 2018
The perfect way to finish!!!#TeamEurope #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/8hn4hC8Qf6
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 30, 2018
The celebration is in full swing for Europe as they defeat the U.S. to win the Ryder Cup. pic.twitter.com/uhiQSEFGaN
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 30, 2018
Gotta give it to the Europeans. They played better, they wanted it more, and they deserved the win. Here are the individual records for each player. Most surprising? To me, on the US side its Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas. Tiger hasn’t fared well in this event in the past, but given his form coming in and the “new” demeanor we’ve seen from Tiger, it appeared as though this was the week things would change. On the other hand, Ryder Cup rookie Justin Thomas went 4-1-0 and, along with partner Jordan Spieth, provided a little glimmer of hope for the American team and should at least be considered a positive moving forwards. Honorable mention, the anger coming out of Patrick Reed’s camp. Click here for that little tale.
On the European side, Francesco Molinari going 5-0-0 was unbelievable. What a way to wrap up an incredible season that included winning the European BMW PGA Championship, the British Open, and now undefeated at the Ryder Cup.
Team Europe Team USA
Franceso Molinari 5-0-0 (5 points) Justin Thomas 4-1-0 (4 points)
Tommy Fleetwood 4-1-0 (4 points) Jordan Spieth 3-2-0 (3 points)
Sergio Garcia 3-0-0 (3 points) Webb Simpson 2-1-0 (2 points)
Henrik Stenson 3-0-0 (3 points) Tony Finau 2-1-0 (2 points)
Ian Poulter 2-2-0 (2 points) Brooks Koepka 1-2-1 (1.5 points)
Justin Rose 2-2-0 (2 points) Bubba Watson 1-2-0 (1 point)
Rory McIlroy 2-3-0 (2 points) Patrick Reed 1-2-0 (1 point)
Paul Casey 1-1-1 (1.5 points) Rickie Fowler 1-3-0 (1 point)
Alex Noren 1-1-0 (1 point) Dustin Johnson 1-3-0 (1 point)
Thorbjorn Olesen 1-1-0 (1 point) Bryson DeChambeau 0-2-0
Jon Rahm 1-2-0 (1 point) Phil Mickelson 0-2-0
Tyrell Hatton 1-2-0 (1 point) Tiger Woods 0-4-0
Congratulations to Team Europe. They have now won six straight cups on home soil and nine of the last 12. 2020’s event will be hosted by the Americans and played at Whistling Straits Golf course in Wisconsin. No captains have been selected, but it appears as though the Europeans will choose between Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Luke Donald, while the Americans will likely choose one of: Fred Couples, Steve Stricker, David Duval, Phil Mickelson, or Tiger Woods.