Europe delivered a stunning early domination of the US to quiet a raucous New York crowd and seize a 3-1 lead as US President Donald Trump arrived for Friday’s opening matches of the 45th Ryder Cup.
Trump was faced with US carnage at Bethpage Black as Europe started 3-0 for the first time on US soil.
“Very proud. They have come out very strong,” Europe captain Luke Donald said. “They have really thrived in this tough environment.”
Photo: Reuters
In morning foursomes [alternate shot] matches, US stars won only four holes from the first three matches.
Trump told reporters as he boarded a plane for New York that the US team wasn’t doing well, and “I said, let’s get on the plane. We have to fly and help them.”
Could Trump make the US great again?
Photo: EPA
“We just had the president fly over in Air Force One, so I’ve got a feeling things are going to turn here,” US captain Keegan Bradley said. “It’s not exactly what we wanted... but I’ve got a lot of faith in our boys.”
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood won four of the first six holes to cruise past Americans Collin Morikawa and Harris English 5&4. The “Fleetwood Mc” Cup pairing improved to 3-0.
“It has been amazing,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy, who won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, won four holes on birdie putts from eight feet or less and blasted from the rough to inches from the sixth hole to set up a Fleetwood birdie.
“One step at a time,” Fleetwood said. “We’ll go all together and see where we get.”
Europe’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Aberg also won four of the first six holes and never trailed in shocking top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and third-ranked Russell Henley 5&3.
“We hit a lot of nice shots and made it hard for them,” Aberg said.
Taking down the two highest-ranked US players was big for Europe.
“Russ and I did some good things. We just didn’t hole enough putts early,” Scheffler said. “We had some chances. The putts just didn’t fall.”
Spain’s Jon Rahm and England’s Tyrrell Hatton outfought Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas 4&3, the Americans winning only the first hole as the European duo improved to 5-0 in Cup foursomes.
“We were aware it was going to be a tough day,” Rahm said. “We battled. We stayed in it. We started hitting putts and found our rhythm and were able to get it done again.”
“We dug in,” Hatton said. “The atmosphere was pretty intense, but good fun.”
Americans Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay never trailed in beating Europe’s Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland 2-up, taking the last two holes after a European rally.
“It was a tough match,” Cantlay said. “Nice to get the point on the board and the fans going.”
Trophy holders Europe seek the first road triumph by either side since their 2012 “Miracle at Medinah,” while the Americans try to win back the Cup after losing two years ago in Rome.
Enhanced security was in place as Trump was set to attend afternoon four-ball [best ball] matches.
When the main gates opened under pitch black skies at 5am, hundreds of fans stampeded along a floodlight-illuminated path, racing to the grandstand for a coveted spot at the opening spectacle.
The high-pressure crucible at the first tee featured 5,000 fans watching from the largest grandstand in Ryder Cup history.
“An electric atmosphere like all first tees,” Donald said. “It’s intense and pure energy.”
The format featured four morning foursomes matches and four afternoon four-ball matches on Friday and yesterday, with 12 concluding singles matches today.
The Americans need 14.5 points to win the Cup. Europe, winners in 10 of the past 14 meetings, need only 14 of 28 points to retain the trophy.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday turned tennis heartbreak into history by becoming the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 semi-final with her thrilling 6-1, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 victory over Karolina Pliskova at the Madrid Open, as Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei exited in the women’s doubles quarter-finals. The Russian-born Austrian, who lost in qualifying last week, has capitalized on her unexpected main draw entry and stunned former world No. 1 Pliskova in a roller-coaster clash despite squandering three match points. Potapova’s run has included impressive victories over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and world No. 2 Elena Rybakina. Asked if she had thought
RSS