FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — The expletives were not exclusive to the New York gallery. As members of the United States and Europe Ryder Cup teams walked off the 14th green, the sun beginning to crest the hilltop on which they stood. The start of the descent — both literal and figurative — was beginning to near; the U.S. had dug itself into another early hole at the Ryder Cup, and the Americans were doing damn near everything to claw their way out.
In a pivotal match that slammed the door shut on any thought of an evening red wave, Bryson DeChambeau and Tommy Fleetwood eyed birdie putts from varying lengths. Waving his sword up in the air as if he had just slayed the dragon, DeChambeau’s effort from 45 feet fell shy giving the normally soft-spoken Fleetwood a chance to rid the oxygen in his lungs.
“Motherf—er”, said DeChambeau — under his breath to himself — as he stormed down the slope.
The same word was soon uttered to the pair of Englishmen from outside the ropes as they held each other close, voicing words of encouragement in one another’s ear. Fleetwood and Justin Rose walked ahead with their first lead of the match, all other noise silenced by the bond of the two countrymen.
“I felt like I put the ball in play nicely off the tee,” Rose said, “but Tommy made some huge putts in the right moments, and you know, that was a huge turnaround match.”
On the shoulders of a dominating 3 to 1 morning foursomes session victory, Europe takes a 5.5 to 2.5 lead into Day 2 on Saturday. The performance marks the first time since 2004 that Europe has led stateside after the first day of competition at the Ryder Cup, the first time in foursomes since 1999.
The contributions came from a wide array of players but centered around the three men Europe expected to carry the load: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Fleetwood combined for 4.5 points (four wins, no losses, one tie) as McIlroy missed a chance on the last hole of his afternoon fourballs match to make the trio perfect on the day.
“It was great,” McIlroy said. “Absolute honor to partner with [Shane Lowry] again and get out there. You know, we got a half a point. Obviously right now, disappointed I didn’t hole out for a full point, but it’s been a great day for Europe. We have come out of the gates really strong like we wanted to. Yeah, we should be really proud of ourselves.”
None of it ever seemed forced from the side that donned powder blue. The day came to them as if they knew what the future had in store. Captain Luke Donald waltzed between his players’ pivotal matches like a man who had done it a time or two … because he has … and won. Backed by continuity and a togetherness an away Ryder Cup experience can conjure even more than one in front of one’s own crowd, the away team exposed the United States’ bag of tricks and all captain Keegan Bradley attempted to manufacture.
Theatrics on the first hole were a sight to behold throughout the day — an emcee hoping to hype up the sleepy early morning crowd, DeChambeau’s drives and his partnership with fellow spark plug Justin Thomas to kick off the event, or the President of the United States showing up in the afternoon.
“We just had the President fly over in his Air Force One,” Bradley said as the morning session was wrapping up. “So, I’ve got a feeling things are going to turn here.”
None of it felt real, though. None of it was authentic.
Friday at the Ryder Cup was a show by the Americans, a performance lacking in substance.
The United States’ fiery opening act came down in flames at the hands of Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. The U.S. leader, Scottie Scheffler, was misused, teeing off even holes instead of the odds in a head-scratching maneuver. Scheffler became the first world No. 1 since Tiger Woods in 2002 to go winless across two matches on Friday at a Ryder Cup. DeChambeau mirrored that record (0-2-0).
“Experience was great,” DeChambeau said. “0-2 today, pretty disappointed. I played good golf, just not good enough, and they made everything. Luck is on their side right now.”
Collin Morikawa and Harris English were paired together — a team which Data Golf rates 132 out of 132 in their optimal U.S. foursomes pairings — only to receive a stern thumping from the hands of McIlroy and Fleetwood. Rookies, who all ranked inside the top five in terms of strokes gained the last three months, were sat in the morning in lieu of experience, which ironically is what the day ultimately turned into.
“We have a plan of what we’re going to do,” Bradley said. “They beat us today, but you know, we’re really comfortable with our plan. We’re really comfortable with [Morikawa and English]. Excited who they are playing tomorrow. Will be an exciting match, and we’re sticking to our plan. We’re not going to panic. We’re not going to panic and make those sort of mistakes. We’re going to stick to what we know. We have a lot of confidence in them.”
The Americans scored just four points compared to 18 for the Europeans out of the three morning foursomes matches the U.S. lost. The blue and gold held the lead for the vast majority of the opening run with the red, white and blue effort coming almost exclusively from Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in the anchor match. The teams of Scheffler and Henley plus Morikawa and English never held a lead.
Chants were rarely for the U.S.; rather, they were against the Europeans. The loudest roar of the morning came from just off the ninth fairway as the first match was passing through. A countdown filled the air as Thomas took to his approach shot.
Five … four … three … two … one …
The fans were not counting down the ball that was about to be sent in the air but rather the clock striking 9 a.m., signaling the start of alcohol sales two hours after the Ryder Cup began. While that may have aided the New York faithful in turning up their enthusiasm, unfortunately, their hometown boys never followed suit.