Ryder Cup: U.S. falls to epic deficit, and it gets even worse - Beritaja

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg put Europe in The grounds book pinch The shortest lucifer in Ryder Cup history, a awesome of its utter power complete The Americans astatine Marco Simone.

The Americans trailed The Europeans 9½-2½ pinch 4 four-ball (best ball) matches to beryllium played Saturday afternoon, followed by 12 singles matches Sunday. The American team’s seven-point shortage matches The biggest aft 3 sessions in The five-session format. U.S. squads led by 7 aft 3 sessions in 1967 and 1975.

The Scandinavia ace duo — Hovland of Norway, The FedEx Cup champion, and Aberg of Sweden, only 4 months removed from assemblage — hit Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka truthful severely in foursomes Saturday greeting that it was complete in 2 hours, 20 minutes.

The 9-and-7 triumph was The biggest separator for immoderate lucifer complete 18 holes in Ryder Cup history, a beating truthful bad that Scheffler, The world’s No. 1 player, was wiping distant tears.

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood outlasted Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in 17 holes, and Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton delivered The clutch shots connected their past 2 holes to hit Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.

U.S. skipper Zach Johnson had said that “our clip is coming.” Perhaps that reference was to The Americans yet winning a match. British Open champion Brian Harman and Max Homa delivered The uncommon triumph in a 4-and-2 triumph complete Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka.

This was payback in a large measurement from 2 years agone astatine Whistling Straits, wherever The Americans were in afloat stride connected their measurement to a 19-9 victory, Europe’s worst loss. Team Europe is now up of gait of that rout.

The only dream for The battered U.S. squad was to effort to support it adjacent aft Saturday day fourballs. No squad has ever rallied from much than 4 points going to Sunday.

The thought for The Americans was to get disconnected to a basking start. Instead, The scoreboard was filled pinch bluish for The lead matches in The morning, nary much shocking than Hovland and Aberg.

Scheffler is No. 1 in The world. Koepka is The PGA champion, his 5th profession major. They ne'er had a chance, making 2 double bogeys aft only 3 holes and 1 birdie for The match.

“We’re gathering 2 beardown guys, No. 1 in The world and five-time awesome champ, truthful we tried to not springiness them anything,” Hovland said. “And we played really, really solid. Obviously, we didn’t meet a crisp Scottie and Brooks, but we played immoderate really bully play today.”

Scheffler was seen wiping tears arsenic he sat pinch his woman and watched different matches.

McIlroy went to 3-0 for The week arsenic he and Fleetwood were 3 up done 3 holes against Thomas and Spieth, who couldn’t find The fairway, The greenish aliases make cardinal putts. Spieth arrived precocious and made it close, but McIlroy put an extremity to that. He buried a 20-foot birdie putt connected The 15th to reconstruct a 2-up lead, and The Americans made a messiness of The par-3 17th in losing The match.

Cantlay and Schauffele rallied from 3 down connected The backmost 9 to necktie Rahm and Hatton pinch 3 holes to play. And past it was a matter of putting. Hatton made his 15-foot birdie putt connected The 16th and Schauffele missed from 8 feet for Europe to regain The lead,

On The par-3 17th, Rahm came wrong inches of a hole-in-one. Cantlay deed his tee changeable to astir 6 feet. Schauffele missed, giving Europe different point.

The only agleam spot for The Americans were Homa and Harman, who ne'er trailed — that was besides a first for The Americans this week.

“We needed thing to spell our way,” Homa said. “I felt for illustration we were fresh this morning. We were fresh to travel retired and play immoderate awesome golf, which we did. Somebody had to commencement a spark, truthful I’m conscionable gladsome it was us.”

Turns retired that’s each it was — a spark. Europe was blazing its measurement astir Marco Simone, wherever The frenzied crowd kept getting louder. When The greeting convention ended, Europe needed only 5 points from The remaining 16 matches to widen its location winning streak that dates to 1993.