KOHLER, Wis. – After five years of waiting and three days of domination, the Ryder Cup is back in American hands.
The U.S. Team put a bow on an impressive and historic performance at Whistling Straits, where they began the final day with an 11-5 lead and only increased their advantage from there. The Americans turned a likely victory into a dominant statement, taking eight of 12 possible points available Sunday. The end result was a record-setting, 19-9 American win that marked the largest margin of victory since Continental Europe began playing in the Ryder Cup in 1979.
“Speechless. Everything about it, these guys came together,” said U.S. Captain Steve Stricker. “They had a mission this week and you could tell, they played great and came together.”
Needing just 3.5 points out of 12 during the final session of matches, the U.S. Team did not leave the result in doubt for long. Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau scored early wins over Shane Lowry and Sergio Garcia, respectively, while captain’s pick Scottie Scheffler had the crowds around Whistling Straits buzzing after knocking off world No. 1 and previously undefeated Jon Rahm.
“I was feeling pretty good to start the day, and just happy to hit some really good shots and make some putts,” Scheffler said. “It was a good feeling. Came into the day confident and I was able to get the job done.”
Collin Morikawa clinched victory for the U.S. with his tie against Viktor Hovland, a result that pushed the American total to 14.5.
Blue points for Europe were few and far between. Rory McIlroy beat Xander Schauffele in the opening match, while Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood each scored wins over Tony Finau and Harris English, respectively. But the other nine matches each included at least a half point for the home side, including a 1-up victory by Daniel Berger over Matt Fitzpatrick in the final match. That gave the Americans 19 points, a total not reached since the format changed in 1979. On three prior occasions (U.S. in 1981, Europe in 2004 and 2006) a Team had won by an 18.5-9.5 score.
The 10-point margin of victory matches the largest since the 1975 Ryder Cup, when a U.S. Team captained by Arnold Palmer beat Team Great Britain & Ireland at Laurel Valley by a 21-11 score.
“It’s hard to explain. It’s such a great group of guys, great group of captains,” said Justin Thomas, who beat Tyrrell Hatton in Singles. “Just feels like a team that is determined, and we are all really good players. And Strick knew that, and he did a great job of just asking us our input and just let us go play.”
The final session included seven U.S. wins, three for Europe and two ties: Morikawa and Hovland each earned a half-point, as did Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood.
This is the third time the Americans have won the Ryder Cup since 2000, with all three victories coming on home soil. It marks the first time that the U.S. Team has won consecutive home Ryder Cups since victories in 1979 at The Greenbrier and 1983 at PGA National.
