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Ryder Cup Final Rundown: on a spirited Sunday, it’s Europe

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7 months ago

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It’s high school football season in the USA, and every school eventually gets to Rivalry Week. That crosstown school that is NO WAY close to your level of swag, is across the field from you. As adults, we want the kids to reach the proper level of enthusiasm and spirit, but not cross the line into anything resembling violence. That’s where we found ourselves on Saturday evening, thanks to the Lacava Affair. Folks on both sides of the Ryder Rivalry were at the tipping point, poised for a bit of the ultraviolence. Fortunately, cooler heads and hearts prevailed, and the Sunday individual matches went off as intended.

On that note, let’s get down to the grit and gratitude that every golfer showed on Sunday. Let’s run down all ten singles matches from October the first, in Rome, Italy.

Match 1: Scheffler vs. Rahm @ Halved Match

The match between the first- and third-ranked players in the world was every bit as tantalizing as one would anticipate. Rahm jumped out to a lead with birdie at the first, but gave the lead back with a bogey at the third. The next two holes returned to the Spaniard with par-birdie, but the fifth went to the visitor, and the match was 1-up Rahm after five, with just the second hole halved.

Holes seven, eight, and ten were halved, but Scheffler won the 9th and the 11th to take a one-up lead. Back and forth they went, with Rahm winning 12 and 13, followed by Scheffler winning 14 and 15 to one again seize the lead. After a pair of halved holes, the match came down to the 18th. With the weight of the moment on his shoulders, Rahm channeled his Iberian ancestors, Ballesteros, Olazabal, and others, and made a two-putt birdie from NINETY FEET to halve the match.

Match 2: Hovland vs. Morikawa @ 4 & 3 Hovland

This was the first point on the board on Sunday, and it came courtesy of a rejuvenated Viktor Hovland. The Norwegian Narwahl never trailed in his match with former college rival Morikawa. Hovland made birdie at four of the first seven holes, won three of them, and held a two-up lead through ten. Birdies at 11 and 12 won him another pair of holes, giving him a four-hole advantage with six to play. Morikawa battled back with his second, won hole at the 14th, but his game was not the equal of Hovy, and the first match win of the day went to the Blue side.

Match 3: Cantlay vs. Rose @ 2 & 1 Cantlay 

Match the third pitted the wizened veteran Rose against the man-in-his-prime, Cantlay. Over the first half of the match, Rose wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t much more, either. One birdie and one bogey through the 11th green had him staring upward at a three-hole deficit. The Englishman needed to be perfect to the house, to stand any chance of earning a point. He did his level best, winning the 12th, 13th, and 15th holes with birdies. Unbowed, Cantlay countered with a par at 14 and a birdie at 17, to close Rose out.

Match 4: McIlroy vs. Burns @ 3 & 1 McIlroy

It really didn’t matter who the USA side put out against King Rory; that golfer knew that he would be up against a tiger. McIlroy carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, from the battle with competing golf tours, to the pride of the European side. Anyone who measures Roars in individual accomplishments, misses the point. Like many before him, it is the community that he values most.

On this day, McIlroy desired a calm but efficient outward half against Sam Burns, and he did produce it. Birdies at three, five, seven, and nine staked him to an outward 32 and a three-hole advantage. Seasoned competitor that he is, he knew that two-under the rest of the way would be more than enough. No way was anyone coming back from a thruple, unless he posted 29. Burns was game, but had too much hill to summit. In the end, it was McIlroy making birdie at 17 to ice the cake of his fourth point in five matches.

Match 5: Homa vs. Fitzpatrick @ 1 up Homa

Matt Fitzpatrick is one of the enigmas of the European side. Despite a US Open win in 2022, he is not the most decorated of Ryder Cup veterans. He played one of four team matches in 2016, and two of four team matches in 2021. He won zero of them. In 2016, he lost his Sunday match to Zach Johnson, while in 2021, he lost to Daniel Berger. Something is amiss in his international team management, and it continue into 2023. Fitzpatrick won one of two partner matches this year, and once again, came up short in his singles match.

It didn’t always seem to be destined for that. The Englishman won the first with birdie, and made a stout eagle at the 5th, to regain the lead. Fitzpatrick lost his way as the front nine concluded, making zero birdies from six to eleven. Homa won holes eight, nine, and ten, to turn a one-hole deficit into a two-hole advantage. From that point on, it was make-up time for England’s finest. Holes 12-17 were even par for Fitzpatrick and Homa was able to play just well enough to secure a point that might have won the cup back for the USA.

Match 6: Hatton vs. Harmon @ 3 & 2 Hatton

The “H Factor” was in play, with the current Open Champion matched against England’s most enjoyable golfer. Hatton played the opening quartet of holes in minus-two, and awakened to a three-up advantage, courtesy of loose play from Harmon. The Georgian got a hole back at five, with birdie, and then came a run of three halved holes, before Harmon gained a second win, reducing the lead to one-up for Hatton.

Holes 10 through 14 were pivotal ones, as the American could muster no better than five consecutive pars. Hatton found his groove once more, made a pair of birdies, and returned to a three-up lead. Harmon’s final birdie of the day came at fifteen, but Hatton countered with his sixth of the day, and claimed another point for Europe.

Match 7: Koepka vs. Aberg @ 3 & 2 Koepka

Everyone is a rookie once, and Ludwig Aberg will hopefully be able to look back on this week as one of learning. The young Swede teamed with Viktor Hovland to win two of three points in partner matches. On Sunday, he found out that singles matches are a different animal, especially when matched against the reigning US PGA champion. Aberg played his first eight holes amid turbulence. Koepka played intelligent golf over the first nine holes, posting two-under and holding a three-up lead until Aberg made eagle at the ninth. Three birdies over the next four holes gave the American a net plus-one, to return him to a three-hole advantage. From there on, each golfer made three pars, and the match was over.

Match 8: Straka vs. Thomas @ 2 up Thomas

It wasn’t the pre-2023 version of Justin Thomas that took the stage on Sunday, but it was close. The Captain’s Pick for team USA played the 18 holes in four-under par, and it was enough to steal a half or full point from the fresh-faced Austrian. Straka had been known to go on runs of sub-par holes for the past two years, and it was one reason that Luke Donald made him a Captain’s Choice for the European side. Straka totaled two-under par for the 18 holes, and was never, it seemed, confident that he was the better man on Sunday.

Match 9: Schauffele vs. Højgaard @ 3 & 2 Schauffele

Xander Schauffele has been something of a forgotten man, since his gold-medal performance at the 2021 Japan olympic games. Schauffele could not have asked for a better opponent on Sunday, to cure some of his ills, than Nikolai Højgaard. The Dane, like Alberg, was a Captain’s Selection, and was in attendance at his first Ryder Cup. He certainly surprised Schauffele with two birdies in the first three holes, to seize the advantage. The X Man rallied, with 3 threes from five through seven, to take the lead. After Højgaard squared matters at the eighth, the duo headed toward the inward nine and destiny.

The second act was all Schauffele. Birdies at 10, 12, 15, and 16. were more than the Dane could handle, and another point went up on the Red side of the board. It was here that the visitors sensed that they might win the rest of the matches, and pull off the shocker of the young century.

Match 10: Lowry vs. Spieth @ Halved

Leave it Lowry. He had to see the board, to know that USA was on the move, and that losses for Europe in the final three singles, would mean a stunning reversal of fortune. Lowry was down three holes after five, to a resurgent Jordan Spieth. With the calm of a veteran, Open champion, Lowry snatched two of the next three holes to narrow the gap. Didn’t matter that Spieth won the 10th, as Lowry grabbed the 11th, then the 14th, to square the match.

If you love drama, this was the steam. Spieth won 15. Lowry then won 16 and 17, to take a one-up lead to 18. With no worse than a half-point due, Lowry had stormed back to collect the final fraction of a point that Europe needed to reclaim the cup from the USA. Spieth’s birdie at the last might as well have been an ace, for Sugar Shane Lowry was sweetest when it mattered most.

Match 11: Fowler vs. Fleetwood @ 3 & 1 Fleetwood

Each of the final two matches was blue early, but with Lowry’s half point, each one ceased to matter. Fleetwood gave his squad what it needed most: confidence. He was never down against Captain’s Choice Fowler, and stood two up through 13 holes. Fowler needed to be better, early, on this day. He was three under through seven, but missed a golden opportunity at the eighth, when Fairway Jesus made bogey. Fowler could do no more than match that five. Fleetwood regained momentum with wins at 8 and 10, including a filthy hole-out from the greenside bunker at nine, and the Roman die was essentially cast.

Match 12: Macintyre vs. Clark @ 2 & 1 Macintyre

Imagine being young Rober Macintyre, in your first Ryder Cup, and you are sent off in the final match. If you have one of the veterans, you might not make it halfway round. Fortunately for the Scot, his opponent was also a rookie, the USA’s Wyndham Clark. Despite being the US Open champion, Clark was not in especially good form heading into this week in Rome. Neither golfer (-2 vs. -1) was sharp on the outward half, and the back wasn’t much more inspired. This match limped home, and might have been a horrific conclusion to the week, had things come down to match the twelfth

Conclusion

When the USA squad looks back on this year’s loss, it will point to two specific periods of time in 2023, as critical. The first was the first week of May, when the Italian Open was contested on the Marco Simone course. Not one USA team member showed up to compete, depriving the entire side of an opportunity to play the course in tournament conditions. The next was the first three weeks of September, when the PGA Tour was done for the year, but the DP World Tour was at full speed. Not one USA team member journeyed east to play former Ryder Cup course in Ireland and France. In a nutshell, it seems that the USA were underprepared, and they could ill-afford to arrive in that state.

Congratulations to Europe. Once again, they proved themselves to be the Ted Lasso of teams. They showed the world that they like each other, and that they can pass this affinity and affection down, from one generation to the next.

Featured image credit RyderCup.com 

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Pingback: Zach: I wouldn't change anything - Fly Pin High

  2. Pingback: Morning 9: Europeans reign in Rome | Zach: I wouldn’t change anything | Cantlay denies protest claim – GolfWRX

  3. Luuuuuuke

    Oct 1, 2023 at 7:57 pm

    Luke and the Euros know that the US are all individualistic players and that it why he started with the Foursomes which is way more team-oriented in play and decision making than Fourball which is more hitting your own shots all the way. The individualism proved right again, as for sure the US came back a bit thanks to the Fourballs and the Singles on Sunday.
    Until the US can properly become a team, they will always struggle when travelling Away, as they are just not playing together.

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  4. PJ

    Oct 1, 2023 at 2:12 pm

    When the “Captain” doesn’t choose the best players you get this. As the saying goes….when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes. Hopefully Zach Johnson won’t ever be allowed near the Ryder Cup again and the US Team will choose 1 – 12 in points. Until then we will get more of the same. The USA got beat by a team with players on it that have never even played on a professional tour. Pathetic.

    Reply Report comment

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News

Morning 9: 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour | Rory on possible return to policy board

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23 hours ago

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Apr 26, 2024

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By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Friday morning, golf fans, may a bountiful weekend of golf be in store for you!

1. 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour

KFT staff report…”Frankie Capan III went crazy low Thursday on the Korn Ferry Tour. Nearly in record fashion.”

  • “Capan carded 13-under 58 in the opening round of the Veritex Bank Championship, matching the second lowest score in Korn Ferry Tour history. He fell one shy of Cristobal Del Solar’s record 57, set at the Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard earlier this year, but it was a heck of a show nonetheless.”
  • “The Minnesota native played an eight-hole stretch in 9-under Thursday, following an eagle at the par-5 ninth with seven straight birdies to begin the back nine at par-71 Texas Rangers Golf Club. He “cooled off” with a two-putt par at the long par-4 17th hole. He arrived at the par-5 18th hole at 13 under for the round, but he found a fairway bunker off the tee, laid up to 134 yards and missed his third shot left of the green. He chipped to 7 feet and drained the par putt to match the Korn Ferry Tour’s second-lowest score of 58, carded by Stephan Jaeger in the opening round of the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae.”
Full piece.

2. Team McIlowery starts strong

Paul Hodowanic for PGATour.com…”Late Thursday afternoon in New Orleans, Rory McIlroy rested his head on Shane Lowry’s shoulder.”

  • “It wasn’t the typical post-round moment, but this isn’t the typical event. McIlroy and Lowry teamed up for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA TOUR’s lone team event, and the all-Irish duo put on a show. Sporting matching pink-on-navy getups, McIlroy/Lowry opened in a best-ball 11-under 61 in Thursday’s Four-ball format at TPC Louisiana.”
  • “This partnership might have stemmed from a boozy brunch last fall, but their opening-round performance at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans gave the field a sobering reminder: They’ll be tough to top.”
Full piece.

3. LPGA Tour: Grace Kim in front

AP report…”Grace Kim shot a 7-under 64 at Wilshire Country Club to take the first-round lead Thursday in the LPGA Tour’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”

  • “Playing in the morning session, the 23-year-old Australian capped her bogey-free round with a chip-in birdie on the par-3 18th.”
  • “Well, I chunked my tee shot on the last hole 20 meters short and then I chipped it in it,” Kim said. “I think that’s pretty cool, in front of everyone
Full piece.

4. McIlroy on rejoining policy board

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that he is willing to rejoin the PGA Tour policy board if the other player directors want him.”

  • “As first reported by the Guardian, Webb Simpson has submitted a letter stating that he’d like to resign from the board, but only if his vacant seat is filled by McIlroy, who stepped down last fall because of the toll it had taken on him professionally and personally.”
  • “Five months later, what has changed?”
  • “I think I can be helpful,” McIlroy said Wednesday ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he is partnering with Shane Lowry. “I don’t think there’s been much progress made in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be. I think I could be helpful to the process. But only if people want me involved, I guess.”
Full piece.

5. Charlie Woods shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier

Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan…”Charlie Woods is going to have to wait to play in the U.S. Open.”

“The 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods played Thursday in local qualifying for the United States Golf Association’s national championship, set for June 13-16 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. Charlie played at The Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and he shot 9-over 81.”

“Charlie’s round featured a bogey on his opening hole, the par-4 first. He then doubled the par-5 second. A pair of pars followed before his lone birdie on the front, but another double the next hole, the par-4 sixth, had him turn in 4-over 40.”
Full piece.

6. Photos from the Zurich Classic

GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

Check out all our photos at the link below!
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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4 days ago

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Apr 23, 2024

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GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.

Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying about our photos from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in the forums.

 

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Morning 9: Tiger’s TGL teammates | Woosnam’s criticism of Cantlay | Rory’s return to tour policy board

Published

4 days ago

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Apr 23, 2024

By
By Ben Alberstadt with Gianni Magliocco.

For comments: [email protected]

Good Tuesday morning, golf fans, as the PGA Tour heads to New Orleans for the Zurich Classic.

1. 15-year-old finishes top 20 on KFT

Jay Coffin for Golf Digest…”During a week when most eyes were on Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda, the 15-year-old lefty finished off an incredible week with a five-under 66 in the final round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood Ranch in Florida.”

  • “After opening with 68-66-70, Russell finished at 14-under-par total to tie for 20th place. The finish in which he jumped 28 positions on the leaderboard on the final day, gives him an exemption into next week’s Veritex Bank Championship at Rangers Park in Arlington, Texas. He’s the youngest player to finish inside the top 20 on the PGA of Korn Ferry tours, according to records that go back to 1983.”
Full piece.

2. Understandably, Nelly WDs

Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner…”Nelly Korda’s bid for a record-setting sixth consecutive win will have to wait a few weeks.”

  • “A day after capturing the Chevron Championship during a marathon final round in Houston, Korda announced on social media that she was withdrawing from this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship.”
  • “It was not an easy decision,” she wrote. “After the unbelievable week at the Chevron and grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted. With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”
Full piece.

3. Scheffler’s impressive No. 1 feat

Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine…”After Scheffler’s victory Monday morning at the RBC Heritage, Scheffler upped his points average to 15.016 and increased his advantage in the Official World Golf Ranking over No. 2 Rory McIlroy to more than double McIlroy’s 7.365 average, meaning Scheffler is ranked further ahead of No. 2 than No. 2 is ahead of the last-ranked player.”

  • “The last time a No. 1 player had a greater points average was Woods, who was at 15.4564 on Dec. 6, 2009. But Woods was less than seven average points ahead of No. 2 Phil Mickelson at the time. Earlier that year, Woods was 7.735 ahead of Mickelson, which is the last time the gap between Nos. 1 and 2 was greater than Scheffler’s current 7.651 advantage.”
Full piece.

4. Zurich field notes

PGATour.com’s Adam Stanley…”Rory McIlroy will make his tournament debut alongside good pal, Ryder Cup teammate, and Irishman Shane Lowry – a duo that was firmed up during a celebratory lunch after the Ryder Cup last fall… Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele will try to reprise their 2022 win here. Cantlay and Schauffele have both the Foursomes and Four-ball scoring records at this event… Davis Riley and Nick Hardy will defend their 2023 title. No team has gone back-to-back… Three sets of brothers (and two sets of twins!) will play together with twins Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard and Parker and Pierceson Coody in the field along with Alex and Matt Fitzpatrick. Alex Fitzpatrick and Rasmus Højgaard are sponsor invites…”

  • “Billy Horschel, who won last week at the Corales Puntacana Championship, will be without his previous partner Sam Burns, as Burns and his wife are expecting their first child any day. Horschel will instead be paired with fellow University of Florida alum Tyson Alexander. Horschel has won the Zurich Classic when it was both an individual and team event… Other notable pairings include Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris, and Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. The Canadian duo finished runner-up a year ago and would like nothing more than to show Presidents Cup International Team captain Mike Weir how well they play together… Steve Stricker will play his second TOUR event this season (after earning his way into THE PLAYERS Championship), teaming up with Matt Kuchar.”
Full piece.

5. Tiger’s teammates

Field Level Media report…”Tiger Woods announced Monday that Max Homa, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner have joined his Jupiter Links GC TGL team.”

  • “The virtual golf league headed by Woods and Rory McIlroy will begin its inaugural season next January. Woods also unveiled the team’s logo.”
  • “I have already shared my excitement and optimism for TGL as a league and product,” said Woods. “Now that we have finalized our roster with a team of world-class golfers, I am even more confident that this group will proudly represent the Jupiter (Fla.) area and connect with our fans for years to come.”
Full piece.

6. Woosnam questions Cantlay’s decision

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After the horn sounded to suspend play due to darkness, Cantlay, who’s ball was in the fairway on the 18th hole, had a decision to make. With over 200 yards into the green and extreme winds working against the shot, conventional wisdom would be to wait until Monday morning to hit the shot.”

  • “On the other hand, if he could finish the hole, he may just want to get the event over with so he could get out of Hilton Head.”
  • “Curiously, Cantlay chose neither of those options. After hitting 3-wood into the green, and still coming up short, the former FedEx Cup champion chose to mark his ball and chip and putt on Monday morning.”
  • “Ian Woosnam, who was watching from home, took to X to give his thoughts on Cantlay’s decision making.”
  • “Cantlay would end up getting up and down for par when play resumed at 8:00 am Monday morning.”
Full piece.

7. JT on Scheffler’s “weird” equipment choice

Our Matt Vincenzi…”After Justin Thomas’ third round of the RBC Heritage, the two-time major champion went in the broadcast booth alongside the CBS crew.”

  • “While Thomas was watching Scottie Scheffler play on the back nine of his third round, he wondered aloud why Scottie uses high-numbered golf balls.”
  • “Does anybody else think it’s weird that Scottie uses high numbers? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an elite player use high-numbered golf balls.”
  • “Amanda Balionis who was on the grounds chimed in, reporting that analyst Dottie Pepper had wondered the same thing earlier that day.”
  • “I’ve been going about this wrong my whole life,” Thomas jokingly said.
Full piece.

8. Rory to rejoin PGA Tour policy board

Mark Schlabach for ESPN…”Four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy is poised to return to the PGA Tour’s policy board, pending a vote by the board, which could come as early as this week, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.”

  • “One of the PGA Tour’s most vocal supporters during its three-year battle with LIV Golf, McIlroy abruptly resigned as a player director on the tour’s influential policy board in November.”
  • “He is expected to replace policy board player director Webb Simpson, who intends to step away before his two-year term expires in 2025.”
Full piece.

9. Weir names Presidents Cup assistants

PGA Tour report…”International Team Captain Mike Weir announced Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Geoff Ogilvy and Camilo Villegas as captain’s assistants for the 2024 Presidents Cup, which will be played at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada, Sept. 24-29.
Full piece.
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