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They silenced the American crowds, then they bludgeoned their golfers. In an opening session of utter dominance from Luke Donald’s Europeans, the only consolation for Team USA after a 3-1 hiding was that Scottie Scheffler did not break down in tears this time.
If this 45th edition of the Ryder Cup is to be his exorcism after the traumas of Rome in 2023, then it will rely on a hefty comeback after the world No 1 and Russell Henley were trounced 5&3 by Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick.
That was an upset of massive proportions and it supplied the mood music of the day prior to the arrival of Donald Trump late in the morning. Europe didn’t just beat the home team, they humiliated them. Had the President ordered Air Force One back to White House halfway through his journey, he would have been forgiven.
Some context: the winner of the first foursomes session has gone on to dominate the past five editions of the Cup, each of which has sharply favoured the host side.
Some scores: Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas were sent out first on a mission to hype the New York crowd, but they were crushed 4&3 by Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. For a metaphor, DeChambeau’s drive to the rubbish bins on the 15th would just about cover it.
Then there was Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, whom, like Rahm and Hatton, had amassed a perfect record of two wins from two as a foursomes pairing prior to arrival at Bethpage Black and walked off having made it three from three.
Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick were among the stars for the European team as the Ryder Cup began in New York
Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood inflicted a dominant defeat on Collin Morikawa and Harris English in the third match
They had arguably the easiest task of all given they faced Collin Morikawa and Harris English, who statistically were rated dead last out of 132 foursomes options by the metrics gurus at Data Golf.
Donald would have known that – his team is obsessed by the digits and that website in particular. US captain Keegan Bradley? He is evidently a gambler, more of a vibes man, and the approach backfired spectacularly as his duo were demolished 5&4.
McIlroy is the European figurehead, their eight-Cup veteran, and his form will be key to this bid to win away for the first time since 2012, so the early signs around his form and mood are extremely promising. Naturally, it helps when you have a tee-to-green maestro like Fleetwood next to you – from the moment he hacked a sunken chip to three feet to set up a birdie at the first, they shared the heavy lifting in a mauling that saw the Europeans four up inside six holes.
For the Americans, the only line of distinction between their score and a whitewash came from the tried and tested pair of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. They beat Viktor Hovland and Bob MacIntyre two up in the only tie to go 18 holes.
While all that was going on, Donald felt sufficiently emboldened to give an interview before the close of the session. ‘I’m very proud,’ he said. ‘We’ve come out strong. It’s been loud and we’ve thrived in the atmosphere.’
A moment later, Bradley attempted to find an upbeat note. ‘In a Ryder Cup there are ebbs and flows. I have a lot of faith in the guys.’
With Trump having passed overhead a moment earlier, the US captain then cited his presence as decisive. In keeping with the rest of Bradley’s morning, Schauffele, playing in the only match still active, promptly hooked his drive into a hospitality stand at the 15th and lost a lead they had held for all but two of the previous 14 holes. They regained it and held on, but truly the morning was calamitous for their team.
The afternoon fourballs might yet restore some competitiveness. The pairings were Scheffler and JJ Spaun against Rahm and Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin and DeChambeau against Fleetwood and Justin Rose, Cameron Young and Justin Thomas against Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard, with McIlroy and Shane Lowry facing Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay. McIlroy dislikes Cantlay so no extra spice necessary.
Scheffler was poor but not helped by Henley, the world No 3, who was crippled by nerves
We should return at this point to the first-session tribulations of Scheffler. He was reduced to tears by Aberg and Hovland in the opening foursomes two years ago and was revisited by the stone-cold brilliance of Aberg and a new partner this time. That he was paired with Fitzpatrick was a shock based on the latter’s dire Cup record of one point from eight matches, but the Sheffield golfer has had an excellent, restorative summer and was the star of the opening session.
His short game was immense, shown by recovery chips to tap-in range on the first and third holes, and he putted the lights out. A mid-ranger on the eighth pushed him and Aberg out to four up and a 20-footer on the 14th sealed it.
Scheffler was poor but not helped by Henley, the world No 3, who was crippled by nerves on his debut appearance and sprayed the ball left and right from tee and fairway. The Cup experience broke him.
It also broke the crowd. They were rampant on that first tee and were set for a party when Rahm sliced the opening shot of the contest into the rough before a DeChambeau rocket to just short of the putting surface provoked bedlam.
When DeChambeau and Thomas then won the hole, it threw up an interesting statistic – it had taken a full 11 matches in Rome for any US pairing to lead a tie and here they had achieved it within 15 minutes.
How quickly it turned. Hatton and Rahm were disappointing for six holes and then the LIV team-mates ignited with a series of excellent putts, mostly from Hatton, including one from 22 feet to go two up on the 12th. It sucked the mood out of the locals – the atmosphere became desperately flat and even the presence of Michael Jordan on the later holes brought no upturn. That went for both Thomas, who really struggled, and the gallery whose enthusiasm never recovered.
That was always going to be a huge element for Donald and, for now, he has pulled it off.
