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Ryder Cup Final Rundown: on a spirited Sunday, it’s Europe

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2 years ago

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Pingback: Zach: I wouldn't change anything - Fly Pin High

  2. Pingback: Morning 9: Europeans reign in Rome | Zach: I wouldn’t change anything | Cantlay denies protest claim – GolfWRX

  3. Luuuuuuke

    Oct 1, 2023 at 7:57 pm

    Luke and the Euros know that the US are all individualistic players and that it why he started with the Foursomes which is way more team-oriented in play and decision making than Fourball which is more hitting your own shots all the way. The individualism proved right again, as for sure the US came back a bit thanks to the Fourballs and the Singles on Sunday.
    Until the US can properly become a team, they will always struggle when travelling Away, as they are just not playing together.

    Reply Report comment

  4. PJ

    Oct 1, 2023 at 2:12 pm

    When the “Captain” doesn’t choose the best players you get this. As the saying goes….when you play stupid games you win stupid prizes. Hopefully Zach Johnson won’t ever be allowed near the Ryder Cup again and the US Team will choose 1 – 12 in points. Until then we will get more of the same. The USA got beat by a team with players on it that have never even played on a professional tour. Pathetic.

    Reply Report comment

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

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4 weeks ago

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Jul 29, 2025

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

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See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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4 weeks ago

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Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

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Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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