The 45th Ryder Cup, held at the prestigious Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale, N.Y., lived up to the billing. Yet, it did not go down as anyone predicted. Yes, plenty of people thought Team Europe would retain the Ryder Cup, despite the Americans being the odds-on favorite.
But for the Europeans to build a seven-point lead after Saturday was shocking. You simply do not see that level of domination from either side when playing on the road. In fact, it was the largest lead entering Sunday singles for Team Europe ever.
But just when you thought the Americans had no chance, they very nearly pulled off the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history.
Captain Keegan Bradley instilled confidence in his team, reminding them of what Tom Brady and the New England Patriots did in Super Bowl LI. They trailed 28-3 late in the third quarter, before completing the biggest Super Bowl comeback ever.
Early on Sunday, it appeared his speech worked.
The Euros needed just two full points to retain the cup. Yet, it took until the very end of the day to get it. Team USA earned 5.5 of the first seven points awarded. With four matches left on the course, the Americans needed to win out.
But they held a lead in two, with the other two all square. They had all of the momentum, as the New York crowd finally had something to cheer about.
Unfortunately for them, Russell Henley missed a crucial birdie putt on 18 to maintain his one-hole lead over Shane Lowry. That opened the door for the Irishman to drain his birdie putt, earn a half point, and retain the cup.
All told, Team Europe held on for a 15-13 victory. It is their ninth Ryder Cup win this century, with only three losses. Each one has its own story and its own people to blame.
So, who deserves the most blame on the American side?
Scottie Scheffler
Clearly, there is plenty of blame to go around. But the largest amount of it must fall at the feet of world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler played in all four sessions before Sunday singles. He lost all four matches. In doing so, he became the first player in modern Ryder Cup history (since 1979) to go 0-4-0 through the first two days. But it was not just that he lost that put him on this list. It was how he lost.
He and teammate Russell Henley were crushed 5 & 3 in Friday morning foursomes. Then in the afternoon four-ball, he and JJ Spaun lost 3 & 2.
Things did not get much better on Saturday.
The Ridgewood, New Jersey, native was paired with Henley again in foursomes and lost again. This time, 1-Up against Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland.
In four-ball, DeChambeau and Scheffler lost 3 & 2. So, even when he was paired with who is perceived to be the second-best American player (behind himself, of course), Scheffler could not get it done.
It is crushing to a team’s morale when the best player on the planet is getting crushed, one session after another.
Yes, he won a point for the Americans by defeating Rory McIlroy in singles, but that isn’t enough to erase his failures.
He is now 2-6-3 all-time at the Ryder Cup. That remains the only black mark on his Hall of Fame resume.
Captain Keegan Bradley
The next American on the list is first-time captain, Keegan Bradley.
I hate putting him on this list. I love the guy, think he’s a heck of a competitor, and is a fellow New England sports fan. But his decision to essentially roll out all of the same pairings on Saturday morning after they were hammered on Friday was jaw-dropping.
A Ryder Cup captain has a lot of responsibilities. But arguably the biggest is knowing which player to pair with whom.
The Americans trailed 5.5 to 2.5 entering the weekend. And he decided to roll rookie Harris English back out. And he put him with the same struggling teammate, Collin Morikawa, that saw them get hammered 5 & 3 on Friday.
C’mon, man.
He sent Scheffler back out with Henley, another rookie?
What is it they say is the definition of insanity?
Team USA Fans
This might not be what you would expect from this list, but I firmly believe some of the fans need to take some blame. I know, they are not technically members of Team USA. But they took it on the chin, and deservedly so in some respects.
Not only did they embarrass America with their tasteless behavior toward Rory McIlroy and the European team, but that clearly galvanized the road team.
Just look at the celebratory videos on their bus after retaining the Ryder Cup. They are basically trolling the Americans.
The abusive behavior from some fans seemed to cause the Europeans to focus even more. Every time there was a big moment over the first two days, despite the heckling, they made one big shot after another.
As McIlroy said after the win on Sunday, “We shut them up.”
Now it is back to the drawing board for Team USA. They have lost back-to-back Ryder Cups and will travel to Ireland in 2027.