USA: How much Bethpage Blacker can it be?
American stars dig a big Ryder Cup hole while Europe's stars cruise
Rory McIlroy and the rest of Europe’s biggest stars roared on Friday (Michael Reaves/PGA of America)
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Uh oh.
Numbers and history are against the U.S. now at Bethpage Black, and there is nothing that happened through two Friday sessions that would lead a thinking man to suggest that history will change.
Here are some of the stats that suggest that the 45th Ryder Cup is close to, if not already, over.
The Europeans have won each of the last six Ryder Cups in which they held a lead at the end of Day 1.
Under the current 28-point format (since 1979), only one team has overcome at a 5½–2½ deficit (or worse) to win a Ryder Cup. That was Ben Crenshaw’s American squad in 1999 at Brookline, which rallied from behind 6-2.
The team that has led at the end of the second session has won each of the last five Ryder Cups (and by wide margins).
The Friday morning foursomes went almost exactly as they did in Rome, with the Euros swept to a 4-0 lead that left the Americans looking at each other for answers.
They never found them and lost 16½-11½. Since that 4-0 start, the Europeans are 10-2 in foursomes, which includes the 3-1 total on Friday morning.
With these numbers and history, how could any intelligent fact finder believe that the European’s would not continue their run of digging graves and burying their opponents?
Especially when Europe’s Big Three (Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood) went a combined 4-0-1 on Friday and America’s Big Two (Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau) went 0-4.
Bryson DeChambeau sweated out two losses on Friday (Michael Reaves/PGA of America)
After the 3-1 thrashing in the Friday foursomes, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said he was not concerned, as the results ebb and flow. There was only ebb and no flow on Friday afternoon, as the Europeans won another session 2½-1½ to build a three-point lead.
Now, Bradley needs wholesale turnover in form (except for Patrick Cantlay) or divine intervention to turn things around.
If not divine intervention, at least the meat of the roster needs to step up. World No. 1 Scheffler cannot go winless Saturday and make just two birdies. Nor can DeChambeau, who in fairness got saddled with partners who did little to help Friday.
Both came in as the alpha dogs of the U.S. team, and if they don’t show up full alpha on Saturday, the U.S. team will have no chance.
Even with a solid performance by those two, history is not on the U.S. side.
The potential loss would be the fifth time Europe has won on U.S. soil since 1979, while the U.S. has won overseas zero times since 1993 at the Belfry.
“We’ve only played 28 percent of the points,” Bradley said after the afternoon session. “This is the first quarter. We’ve still got three quarters to go. I’ve got a lot of faith in my boys.”
LIV’s Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are 3-0 in Ryder Cup foursomes (Darren Carroll/PGA of America)
Technically, faith can move mountains, but can it beat McIlroy/Fleetwood or Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton? Those foursomes teams are undefeated and show no signs of letting up.
It’s unlikely, but let’s wait and see how Saturday goes. Miracles have happened.
People can — and will — blame Keegan Bradley for the bad start. Whether it’s pairings or captain’s picks or order of deployment, it’s easy to question another dud of a U.S. Ryder Cup start.
The last thing the Americans want to hear is advice from a Scottish poet who died a century and a half before the Ryder Cup started, but Robert Burns could tell captain Keegan Bradley a thing or two about “best laid schemes.”
Bradley’s plan to send out DeChambeau to try to drive the first green and create “a tsunami wave of support” for Team USA in the opening foursomes “gang oft agley.” The opening birdie of the 45th Ryder Cup from DeChambeau not only didn’t spark much enthusiasm from the sleepy New York crowd, it did not light up the board with red as Europe seized early control at Bethpage Black.
Donald’s side took the first three points without ever reaching the 16th tee — the first time Europe has ever won the each of the first three matches played on American soil. It was no surprise claiming wins from the undefeated Rome foursomes teams of Rahm/Hatton and McIlroy/Fleetwood.
“Yeah, it’s not exactly what we wanted, but we know the Ryder Cup is going to be ebbs and flows, and I’ve got a lot of faith in our boys. Let’s see how this last match finishes up,” said Bradley as he clung to a desperate hope that his final foursomes team of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay could salvage a point after blowing a 3-up lead through 11 holes. (Schauffele and Cantlay came through with a crucial point, but the hole was already dug.)
The only shock was the duo of Scheffler and Russell Henley getting run over 5 and 3 by Ludvig Åberg and the previously 1-7 Matt Fitzpatrick.
No U.S. team has come back to win from a 3-1 or worse deficit since 1971. Needing to rally was not a part of the gameplan, as home teams have led in foursomes play in nine consecutive Ryder Cups.
The Americans were counting on a home-course lift from the crowds by sending their fieriest team out first with DeChambeau and Justin Thomas. But other than brief eruptions of enthusiasm, the atmosphere on the massively built-out first tee was the deadest most veteran Ryder Cuppers have ever experienced. When a cluster of European fans broke up a lull with chants of “Is this a library?” Shane Lowry laughed and applauded the cheeky rebuke of the so-called hard-boiled New York crowds.
Europe quickly won the first hole with birdies in the second and third matches and the crowds remained muted. McIlroy and Fleetwood never broke a sweat in dismissing Collin Morikawa and Harris English, 5 and 4. (They’ll get a rematch on Saturday morning that doesn’t bode well for the Yanks.)
The wisdom of sending DeChambeau and Thomas out backfired. Despite the flashy start on 1, they never won another hole the rest of the way. LIV’s Legion XIII partners Rahm and Hatton scrambled to hang in through the first seven holes and then took over with each of them draining big birdie putts to win 4 and 3.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is now 2-4-3 in Ryder Cups (Michael Reaves/PGA of America)
It’s not Bradley’s fault that his stars didn’t shine. Scheffler never got to the 17th hole Friday, losing both of his matches. DeChambeau didn’t get much help from Thomas in the morning or Ben Griffin in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Europe’s stars came through, as they did in Rome two years ago — Rahm (2-0), Fleetwood (2-0) and McIlroy (1-0-1).
“We gave ourselves plenty of opportunities,” Scheffler said of his four-balls match with J.J. Spaun against Rahm and Sepp Straka. “It really just came down to me not holing enough putts. We put up a good fight at the end. The guys just really turned it on on the back nine, but it really came down to us not taking advantage of the holes early in the match that we needed to, but overall it was a good fight at the end, and we’ll come back out tomorrow.”
It was almost as if Scheffler reverted to the 2023 version of himself that saw him dominate in nearly every statistical category except putting. It meant only two victories in a season that seemed like there should have been more.
After the U.S. defeat at the Ryder Cup in Rome — where Scheffler went 0-2-2 — he seemingly got motivated by the disappointment. He hired putting coach Phil Kenyon and went on an amazing run over the past two years, winning three major championships and a total of 13 PGA Tour titles and an Olympic gold medal.
Scheffler is now 2-4-3 in a young Ryder Cup career which has seen him play in three matches. The 2021 Ryder Cup was sort of his coming-out party as he was picked for the team by captain Steve Stricker when he had yet to win on the PGA Tour.
For Team USA to have any hope to come back, it needs Scheffler to be his best self this weekend.
The American’s are very rude to the EUROPEAN PLAYERS TODAY and YESTERDAY
THE TENSION TODAY IS SICKING. AMERICA IS NOT ALWAYS FIRST. ACT LIKE FUCKING ADULTS FOR A CHANGE AMERICA AND ITS A FUCKING GAME FOR CHRIST SAKE.
The Europeans act like the Ryder Cup is life, or death. But, if can't win wars, I guess team golf is the next best thing.