Famingdale (US), Sept 29: Staked to the largest lead in history, Europe fully expected to win the Ryder Cup. The surprise was how much emotion poured out of the team on a final day that produced a furious American charge and, ultimately, another Irish hero.
What looked to be only a matter of time before the European celebration was on turned into nervous glances at the scorecard as the unruly crowd at Bethpage Black finally had a U.S. team to cheer for instead of against.
It went from looking impossible to improbable to just maybe.
And then Shane Lowry, who endured so much abuse from a hostile and vulgar New York crowd, had the last word. He holed a 6-foot birdie putt against Russell Henley to earn the half-point Europe needed to make sure it kept that 17-inch gold chalice.
He couldn’t contain himself, pumping his fists and spinning around the green and squeezing every teammate he could find. He recalled telling his caddie as they walked up the 18th fairway, “I have a chance to do the coolest thing in my life here.”
“The Ryder Cup means everything to me,” Lowry said.
Ditto for all of Europe. Even a closer call than imagined did not take away from a reminder who dominates these matches. Europe has won 11 times in the last 14 Ryder Cups, and this was its fifth time winning on U.S. soil in the last 10 tries.
“They’ll be talking about this team for a long time,” Luke Donald said after joining Tony Jacklin (1985 and 1987) as the only European captains to win back to back.
Tyrrell Hatton, unbeaten in four matches, earned a halve against Collin Morikawa that made Europe an outright winner.
The final score — Europe 15, United States 13 — was the only real surprise.
“Shoutout to the Americans,” Donald said, his players draped in flags of their home countries. “We knew they’d be tough. I didn’t think they would be this tough on Sunday. They fought so hard, and all the respect to them.
“This means a lot, obviously, to me and the team. We came here knowing that the task was going to be very difficult. Couldn’t be more proud of these guys — what they’ve gone through, how they come together, how they’re playing for history, how they’re playing for the people that came before them and now they’ll be talked (about) for generations to come.”
The Americans at least showed a pulse and made their opponents sweat more than anyone imagined, storming back from a seven-point deficit. No team ever won from more than four points behind going into the 12 singles matches.
There was a moment where a comeback actually looked possible.
Cameron Young and Justin Thomas won matches on the 18th hole. Bryson DeChambeau charged from 5 down to earn a halve. Scottie Scheffler avoided getting blanked by winning his heavyweight match against Rory McIlroy.
“Obviously this is an extreme long shot,” Thomas said. “I’m glad Cam and I could finish like that to at least give us a little hope.”
Another point came from Xander Schauffele in the shortest match of the day, 4 and 3, over Jon Rahm. U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun won his match. Except for Ludvig Åberg taking down Patrick Cantlay, there was no European blue anywhere to be found. All they needed was a half-point.
That’s when Lowry came through. He was 2 down with four holes to play when he birdied three of the last four, none more memorable than the last one.
His final putt will put him alongside other Irishmen who have produced Ryder Cup heroics — Graeme McDowell at Celtic Manor in 2010, Darren Clarke and his emotional week at The K Club, Paul McGinley at The Belfry in 2002.
“We gave it a good fight, that’s for sure,” U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said.
The Americans tied a Ryder Cup record by winning 8 1/2 points from the 12 singles matches. They needed 10 points.
The Americans still have a 27-16-2 lead in the series that date to 1927, but the modern Ryder Cup didn’t start until 1979 when continental Europe was invited to the party. Since then, Europe has captured the cup 13 out of 19 times.
McIlroy had said winning a road Ryder Cup was among the biggest accomplishments in golf. It’s just not all that unusual. Europe has won five of the last 10 away from home.
Europe’s best players starred at Bethpage Black even as New York fans hurled abuse, building a record seven-point lead going into the 12 singles matches.
Europe put a half-point on the board before a shot was hit. Viktor Hovland, who had a summer neck injury flare up on Saturday, was forced to withdraw. Harris English, whose name had been put in the secret envelope, also sat out and the match was declared halved.
That meant the Americans had to win nine of the 11 matches and halve another and they put up an astonishing fight, finally hearing cheers for the U.S. instead of only vitriol toward Europe.
The damage was done long before, when Scheffler and DeChambeau combined to produce one point between them over four matches. Bradley said his one regret might be the way he set up the course. Bethpage Black has a reputation of being a beast, but the rough was trimmed back and then heavy rain during the week made the greens soft. (AP)
