It was worth it

Last weekend’s Ryder Cup matches were two years in the making. Between the last Ryder Cup in Rome in 2023 and last week, those two years couldn’t have come sooner.

After an amazing win at Marco Simone in 2023, the Europeans, particularly Rory McIlroy, wasted no time in declaring that their sights were set on an “away” win at Bethpage Black in 2025. He said it during the press conference right after clinching the cup.

It seems that after avenging Europe’s loss at Whistling Straits in 2021, Team Europe still had a chip on their shoulders and wanted blood in America.

Day 1 — An impending bloodbath

The matches at Bethpage Black began on Friday morning with foursomes, also known as alternate shot. This format is the most challenging for everyone, hitting shots alternately, with partners playing the same ball.

This format requires careful planning, making sure the pairings complement each other’s games. In 2023, the European Team shut out the Americans in the opening foursomes 4-0.

Familiar pairings like McIlroy/Fleetwood and Rahm/Hatton did well for the Europeans as expected. In a surprising move, Hovland and Åberg, who paired in 2023, were split up.

They were the pair who destroyed Scheffler/Koepka 9&7 in 2023, but for some reason, Capt. Luke didn’t team them up this time around. This time, it wasn’t as dominant, but a great 3-1 result for Europe nonetheless.

In the afternoon Fourball session, both captains mixed it up, but still played their “anchors.”

The results were similar, though slightly better for the Americans, who took 2.5 of the 4 sessions. After Day 1, Team Europe led 5.5-2.5. With Day 1 done, it was 5.5-2.5 for Team Europe.

Day 2 — All but over

The Day 1 thrashing didn’t seem to provide enough proof for Capt. Keegan Bradley. Refusing to alter their strategy, he went ahead and sent almost the same guys out on Day 2 foursomes.

Again, Team USA went out with Scheffler/Henley, Schauffele/Cantlay, and English/Morikawa. Bradley did swap Young for Thomas as a partner for DeChambeau, which was his only good decision. But like the day before, the morning ended with another 3-1 win for Europe. The total score: 8.5-3.5 for Europe.

With three sessions going for Europe and with their commanding 5 point lead, Keegan Bradley had to shake things up for the afternoon fourball session. To his credit, he fielded what seemed like his strongest eight players, aiming to win the session and narrow the gap heading into Sunday.

Unfortunately, Europe’s top guns just wouldn’t let up. The session ended with another 3-1 routing for Europe, and heading into Sunday Singles, Luke Donald’s boys had an almost insurmountable 11.5 — 4.5 lead — almost.

An epic Sunday singles

Like most golf fans, I felt like the 2025 Ryder Cup was over even before the Sunday singles matches. Europe only needed 2.5 points to retain, 3 points to win.

Historically, no team has come back from a deficit of more than 4 points. The biggest comeback wins were from 10-6 deficits. At Bethpage, Europe’s 7-point lead all but assured them victory.

As history has shown, Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup is a different beast altogether.

With nothing to lose, the Americans went out and played exactly like it. With the live coverage starting a little past 12 midnight in Manila on Monday morning, only the truly dedicated golf fans stayed up for the entire session.

I was guilty of opting for sleep, thinking a couple of the early matches should finish the job for Europe. I woke up at 2:30 a.m. to get a glimpse, and as expected, Europe led three of the first five matches, with one led by the US and one tied.

Not finished yet, but heading in the right direction, following the same trend as the first two days.

Whether it was the home crowd’s chants, Keegan Bradley’s faith, or the Europeans simply getting tired or worse, getting complacent, the US team made a Sunday singles charge for the ages.

It began with a last-hole win for Cameron Young over Justin Rose. Next was Justin Thomas, also winning at the 18th over Tommy Fleetwood.

Then the Europeans came tumbling one after the other.

Rory McIlroy lost to the winless Scottie Schefler at the last, then Schauffele beat Rahm 4&3, Spaun beat Straka 2&1.

Out of 12 singles matches, the dominant European only had one win on Sunday, Aberg beating Cantlay 2&1.

Team Europe needed heroics from Shane Lowry to tie his match with Russell Henley to get to 14 points and retain the cup for Europe.

Lowry was actually 2 down with four holes left. He birdied three of the last four, including a birdie on the last to tie Henley and get the half point for Europe that got them to 14 points.

From an impending blowout to an epic Sunday showdown, the Ryder Cup had all of us on edge.

It’s never truly over until the final match is finished. I guess that’s the beauty of team competition, of matchplay.

That’s what makes golf the greatest game ever. Will the US finally have what it takes to reclaim the cup in Ireland in 2027? It’ll be another two years before we find out.