American followers have been dreaming of a giant day for Team USA. On Sunday, they lastly obtained it.
Yes, it could have been too little, too late. But you solely have to have a look at the reactions of a few of the victorious European gamers to perceive simply how shut their American opponents got here to the best comeback in Ryder Cup historical past.
“I’ve been so lucky to experience amazing things in this game,” stated a tearful Shane Lowry moments after he sank the putt that noticed his group retain the trophy. “That was the hardest couple of hours of my whole life, honestly. I just can’t believe that putt went in.”
After an impressed begin from the ever-more spectacular Cameron Young, it began to go a bit pear-shaped for the Americans.
Bryson DeChambeau regarded to seize the initiative with a trademark 350-yard drive, however some sloppy observe up pictures had the 32-year-old scrambling. After no time in any respect, his opponent Matt Fitzpatrick had a commanding lead.
Elsewhere, Europe’s massive names have been displaying their greatest but once more as Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy established early benefits in opposition to Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler, respectively.
Leads for Justin Rose, Ludvig Åberg and Sepp Straka have been quickly added, and the consequence regarded much more of a foregone conclusion than it had finished at first of play on Sunday.
Thoughts started to shift to document margins of victory. It was not a case of “If?” It was barely a case of “When?” It grew to become a case of “By how much?”
Then one thing occurred.
Quite what it was is troublesome to pin down. Things can change rapidly on the Ryder Cup, however this was outstanding even by the match’s requirements.
Scheffler tied his match with McIlroy. Young did the identical in opposition to Rose.
Chunks of the board turned from blue to white, then from white to purple.
Even DeChambeau, who had discovered himself down by 5 after seven holes, had began to eat away at Fitzpatrick’s lead.
Bethpage was believing once more. There have been wins for Young, Thomas, Schauffele, and Scheffler, in addition to an unimaginable tie for DeChambeau.
But a victory for Åberg would lastly stem the purple tide, and some minutes later, Lowry was available to tie with Russell Henley and guarantee there could be no fairytale in New York. Tyrrell Hatton’s personal tie with Collin Morikawa was sufficient for an outright victory.
The European celebrations, particularly from Lowry, have been predictably jubilant. However, they have been additionally tinged with a touch of shell shock. No one anticipated it to be this shut.
Heading into the match, McIlroy stated that profitable a Ryder Cup on international soil was the toughest factor to do in sports activities.
On Sunday, Team USA made positive that was the case.