It’s high school football season in the USA, and every school eventually gets to Rivalry Week. That crosstown school that is NO WAY close to your level of swag, is across the field from you. As adults, we want the kids to reach the proper level of enthusiasm and spirit, but not cross the line into anything resembling violence. That’s where we found ourselves on Saturday evening, thanks to the Lacava Affair. Folks on both sides of the Ryder Rivalry were at the tipping point, poised for a bit of the ultraviolence. Fortunately, cooler heads and hearts prevailed, and the Sunday individual matches went off as intended.

On that note, let’s get down to the grit and gratitude that every golfer showed on Sunday. Let’s run down all ten singles matches from October the first, in Rome, Italy.

Scottie ?#RyderCup | #GoUSA pic.twitter.com/nfcFIJnsgb

— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) October 1, 2023

Match 1: Scheffler vs. Rahm @ Halved Match

The match between the first- and third-ranked players in the world was every bit as tantalizing as one would anticipate. Rahm jumped out to a lead with birdie at the first, but gave the lead back with a bogey at the third. The next two holes returned to the Spaniard with par-birdie, but the fifth went to the visitor, and the match was 1-up Rahm after five, with just the second hole halved.

Holes seven, eight, and ten were halved, but Scheffler won the 9th and the 11th to take a one-up lead. Back and forth they went, with Rahm winning 12 and 13, followed by Scheffler winning 14 and 15 to one again seize the lead. After a pair of halved holes, the match came down to the 18th. With the weight of the moment on his shoulders, Rahm channeled his Iberian ancestors, Ballesteros, Olazabal, and others, and made a two-putt birdie from NINETY FEET to halve the match.

Rahmbo delivering once again ?#TeamEurope | @RyderCupEurope pic.twitter.com/UB8UmxnRpq

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 1, 2023

Match 2: Hovland vs. Morikawa @ 4 & 3 Hovland

This was the first point on the board on Sunday, and it came courtesy of a rejuvenated Viktor Hovland. The Norwegian Narwahl never trailed in his match with former college rival Morikawa. Hovland made birdie at four of the first seven holes, won three of them, and held a two-up lead through ten. Birdies at 11 and 12 won him another pair of holes, giving him a four-hole advantage with six to play. Morikawa battled back with his second, won hole at the 14th, but his game was not the equal of Hovy, and the first match win of the day went to the Blue side.

A #RyderCup to remember for Viktor ????#TeamEurope | @RyderCupEurope

pic.twitter.com/hFTcyqab4d

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 1, 2023

Match 3: Cantlay vs. Rose @ 2 & 1 Cantlay 

Match the third pitted the wizened veteran Rose against the man-in-his-prime, Cantlay. Over the first half of the match, Rose wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t much more, either. One birdie and one bogey through the 11th green had him staring upward at a three-hole deficit. The Englishman needed to be perfect to the house, to stand any chance of earning a point. He did his level best, winning the 12th, 13th, and 15th holes with birdies. Unbowed, Cantlay countered with a par at 14 and a birdie at 17, to close Rose out.

This to win the match and grab a point for the U.S. ?@patrick_cantlay | #RyderCup | #GoUSA pic.twitter.com/bNafT59alD

— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) October 1, 2023

Match 4: McIlroy vs. Burns @ 3 & 1 McIlroy

It really didn’t matter who the USA side put out against King Rory; that golfer knew that he would be up against a tiger. McIlroy carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, from the battle with competing golf tours, to the pride of the European side. Anyone who measures Roars in individual accomplishments, misses the point. Like many before him, it is the community that he values most.

On this day, McIlroy desired a calm but efficient outward half against Sam Burns, and he did produce it. Birdies at three, five, seven, and nine staked him to an outward 32 and a three-hole advantage. Seasoned competitor that he is, he knew that two-under the rest of the way would be more than enough. No way was anyone coming back from a thruple, unless he posted 29. Burns was game, but had too much hill to summit. In the end, it was McIlroy making birdie at 17 to ice the cake of his fourth point in five matches.

Look at what it means for Rory McIlroy ?#TeamEurope | @RyderCupEurope pic.twitter.com/mxLxIh3hJA

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 1, 2023

Match 5: Homa vs. Fitzpatrick @ 1 up Homa

Matt Fitzpatrick is one of the enigmas of the European side. Despite a US Open win in 2022, he is not the most decorated of Ryder Cup veterans. He played one of four team matches in 2016, and two of four team matches in 2021. He won zero of them. In 2016, he lost his Sunday match to Zach Johnson, while in 2021, he lost to Daniel Berger. Something is amiss in his international team management, and it continue into 2023. Fitzpatrick won one of two partner matches this year, and once again, came up short in his singles match.

It didn’t always seem to be destined for that. The Englishman won the first with birdie, and made a stout eagle at the 5th, to regain the lead. Fitzpatrick lost his way as the front nine concluded, making zero birdies from six to eleven. Homa won holes eight, nine, and ten, to turn a one-hole deficit into a two-hole advantage. From that point on, it was make-up time for England’s finest. Holes 12-17 were even par for Fitzpatrick and Homa was able to play just well enough to secure a point that might have won the cup back for the USA.

Way to go, rookie. ? @maxhoma wraps up his first #RyderCup with a point for ??#GoUSA pic.twitter.com/zNiBQyorDX

— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) October 1, 2023

Match 6: Hatton vs. Harmon @ 3 & 2 Hatton

The “H Factor” was in play, with the current Open Champion matched against England’s most enjoyable golfer. Hatton played the opening quartet of holes in minus-two, and awakened to a three-up advantage, courtesy of loose play from Harmon. The Georgian got a hole back at five, with birdie, and then came a run of three halved holes, before Harmon gained a second win, reducing the lead to one-up for Hatton.

Holes 10 through 14 were pivotal ones, as the American could muster no better than five consecutive pars. Hatton found his groove once more, made a pair of birdies, and returned to a three-up lead. Harmon’s final birdie of the day came at fifteen, but Hatton countered with his sixth of the day, and claimed another point for Europe.

Tyrrell Hatton that is incredible ?#TeamEurope | #RyderCuppic.twitter.com/raztpqfsvV

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 1, 2023

Match 7: Koepka vs. Aberg @ 3 & 2 Koepka

Everyone is a rookie once, and Ludwig Aberg will hopefully be able to look back on this week as one of learning. The young Swede teamed with Viktor Hovland to win two of three points in partner matches. On Sunday, he found out that singles matches are a different animal, especially when matched against the reigning US PGA champion. Aberg played his first eight holes amid turbulence. Koepka played intelligent golf over the first nine holes, posting two-under and holding a three-up lead until Aberg made eagle at the ninth. Three birdies over the next four holes gave the American a net plus-one, to return him to a three-hole advantage. From there on, each golfer made three pars, and the match was over.

Match 8: Straka vs. Thomas @ 2 up Thomas

It wasn’t the pre-2023 version of Justin Thomas that took the stage on Sunday, but it was close. The Captain’s Pick for team USA played the 18 holes in four-under par, and it was enough to steal a half or full point from the fresh-faced Austrian. Straka had been known to go on runs of sub-par holes for the past two years, and it was one reason that Luke Donald made him a Captain’s Choice for the European side. Straka totaled two-under par for the 18 holes, and was never, it seemed, confident that he was the better man on Sunday.

From long range!@JustinThomas34 creates a roar with this clutch putt ?@Citi | #RyderCupMoments pic.twitter.com/h5e68AZTbQ

— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) October 1, 2023

Match 9: Schauffele vs. Højgaard @ 3 & 2 Schauffele

Xander Schauffele has been something of a forgotten man, since his gold-medal performance at the 2021 Japan olympic games. Schauffele could not have asked for a better opponent on Sunday, to cure some of his ills, than Nikolai Højgaard. The Dane, like Alberg, was a Captain’s Selection, and was in attendance at his first Ryder Cup. He certainly surprised Schauffele with two birdies in the first three holes, to seize the advantage. The X Man rallied, with 3 threes from five through seven, to take the lead. After Højgaard squared matters at the eighth, the duo headed toward the inward nine and destiny.

The second act was all Schauffele. Birdies at 10, 12, 15, and 16. were more than the Dane could handle, and another point went up on the Red side of the board. It was here that the visitors sensed that they might win the rest of the matches, and pull off the shocker of the young century.

Xander Schauffele defeats Nicolai Hojgaard 3-and-2 as @RyderCupUSA cuts the deficit to four points. ? #GoUSA

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?: @NBC and @peacock | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/HypvzAH7hn

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) October 1, 2023

Match 10: Lowry vs. Spieth @ Halved

Leave it Lowry. He had to see the board, to know that USA was on the move, and that losses for Europe in the final three singles, would mean a stunning reversal of fortune. Lowry was down three holes after five, to a resurgent Jordan Spieth. With the calm of a veteran, Open champion, Lowry snatched two of the next three holes to narrow the gap. Didn’t matter that Spieth won the 10th, as Lowry grabbed the 11th, then the 14th, to square the match.

If you love drama, this was the steam. Spieth won 15. Lowry then won 16 and 17, to take a one-up lead to 18. With no worse than a half-point due, Lowry had stormed back to collect the final fraction of a point that Europe needed to reclaim the cup from the USA. Spieth’s birdie at the last might as well have been an ace, for Sugar Shane Lowry was sweetest when it mattered most.

Things you love to see? This. ??#TeamEurope | @RyderCupEurope pic.twitter.com/3CNlnSe2tt

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 1, 2023

Match 11: Fowler vs. Fleetwood @ 3 & 1 Fleetwood

Each of the final two matches was blue early, but with Lowry’s half point, each one ceased to matter. Fleetwood gave his squad what it needed most: confidence. He was never down against Captain’s Choice Fowler, and stood two up through 13 holes. Fowler needed to be better, early, on this day. He was three under through seven, but missed a golden opportunity at the eighth, when Fairway Jesus made bogey. Fowler could do no more than match that five. Fleetwood regained momentum with wins at 8 and 10, including a filthy hole-out from the greenside bunker at nine, and the Roman die was essentially cast.

Oh Tommy Tommy! ?#TeamEurope | @RyderCupEurope pic.twitter.com/0EamUP8AU9

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 1, 2023

Match 12: Macintyre vs. Clark @ 2 & 1 Macintyre

Imagine being young Rober Macintyre, in your first Ryder Cup, and you are sent off in the final match. If you have one of the veterans, you might not make it halfway round. Fortunately for the Scot, his opponent was also a rookie, the USA’s Wyndham Clark. Despite being the US Open champion, Clark was not in especially good form heading into this week in Rome. Neither golfer (-2 vs. -1) was sharp on the outward half, and the back wasn’t much more inspired. This match limped home, and might have been a horrific conclusion to the week, had things come down to match the twelfth

Bob MacIntyre #RyderCup winner! pic.twitter.com/HOLkzlXwMO

— Bob MacIntyre Tracker ??? (@tracker_robert) October 1, 2023

Conclusion

When the USA squad looks back on this year’s loss, it will point to two specific periods of time in 2023, as critical. The first was the first week of May, when the Italian Open was contested on the Marco Simone course. Not one USA team member showed up to compete, depriving the entire side of an opportunity to play the course in tournament conditions. The next was the first three weeks of September, when the PGA Tour was done for the year, but the DP World Tour was at full speed. Not one USA team member journeyed east to play former Ryder Cup course in Ireland and France. In a nutshell, it seems that the USA were underprepared, and they could ill-afford to arrive in that state.

Congratulations to Europe. Once again, they proved themselves to be the Ted Lasso of teams. They showed the world that they like each other, and that they can pass this affinity and affection down, from one generation to the next.

Featured image credit RyderCup.com