Masters champion Rory McIlroy stood atop a bridge on Sunday evening at Bethpage Black, arms raised, a European flag draped over his shoulders, leading chants of “Olé, Olé, Olé!” as the visitors celebrated another Ryder Cup triumph.
After taking the brunt of New York’s notoriously rowdy fans throughout the week, McIlroy could finally breathe. Europe had weathered a furious American rally in Sunday singles and emerged with a 15-13 victory in the 45th Ryder Cup, retaining golf’s most coveted team prize for the second consecutive time.
The clinching moment came in the eighth singles match when Ireland’s Shane Lowry rolled in a nervy 6-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to tie Russell Henley. Moments earlier, Henley left a 10-footer agonizingly short. Lowry’s half-point gave Europe the 14 points needed to guarantee they would keep the Cup.
Minutes later, England’s Tyrrell Hatton secured the decisive outright win when he halved his match with Collin Morikawa, delivering Europe the 14.5 points needed for victory.
The drama was far greater than Europe had anticipated after dominating the first two days of play and carrying a 12-5 lead into Sunday. The U.S. stormed out with wins in five of the first six matches, suddenly slicing into the deficit and sending waves of energy through the New York crowd.
Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1 and winless in his first four matches of the week, finally delivered a point by edging McIlroy 1 up in a heavyweight duel. Ryder Cup rookie Cameron Young, a New York native, earned the Americans’ first point with a clutch 12-foot birdie at the last to defeat Justin Rose. Xander Schauffele then dominated Spain’s Jon Rahm 4 and 3, while Justin Thomas gutted out a dramatic 1-up victory over England’s Tommy Fleetwood.
By the time Bryson DeChambeau rallied from 5 down to tie Matt Fitzpatrick with a flurry of birdies, the Americans had closed the margin to 12-9 and whispers of an epic comeback grew louder.
But Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg — the lone European to win a singles match — steadied the visitors, beating Patrick Cantlay 2 and 1 to push Europe within half a point of glory. Lowry’s steely birdie sealed it.
Europe’s triumph means captain Luke Donald joins Tony Jacklin as the only European skippers to win back-to-back Ryder Cups. Since their last victory on American soil in 2012, the Europeans have now taken 11 of the last 15 competitions, including five of the last 10 on U.S. turf.
“We knew this was going to be hostile, we knew the crowd would be against us,” McIlroy said. “But we leaned on each other, we stuck together, and we did it again.”
Despite the U.S. winning 8.5 points in singles — the most by an American side since the format expanded to 12 matches — the damage was done over the first two days. Europe’s relentless start had built too steep a hill to climb.
In an unusual twist, the U.S. also picked up a free half-point before play began when Norway’s Viktor Hovland withdrew with a neck injury. By Ryder Cup rules, Harris English, the American designated in the “envelope match,” was automatically sidelined.
Captain Keegan Bradley praised his team’s fight but lamented the slow start. “We showed unbelievable heart today, but in this event, you can’t fall behind like that,” Bradley said.
In the end, Europe won only once on Sunday — its lowest singles win total since 1957 — but it was enough. As twilight fell on Bethpage Black, McIlroy’s chant rang out as blue and gold flags waved across the 18th green.
The Cup was headed back across the Atlantic again.
