By Martin Dempster

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Shane Lowry jumped with joy after making a vital birdie on the 18th hole at Bethpage Black against Russell Henley to get Luke Donald’s team over the line after the Americans had threatened to pull off a stunning last-day comeback. On an incredible final day, Tyrrell Hatton then clinched back-to-back wins for Europe and a first triumph on US soil since the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in 2012 as he added another half point against Collin Morikawa. “I didn’t think it was going to come down to me,” admitted a relieved but, at the same time, delighted Lowry. “Going down the sixth hole, the scoreboard was mostly blue, but the Americans did a great job coming back. “When I went two down with four to play, I said to Darren [Reynolds, his caddie] ‘I need to do something here’ because we were struggling and I hit three of the best shots in my life and then holed the putt, which I pulled a bit and was happy to see it catch the left edge.” Before a ball had even been struck on the last day on Long Island, Donald’s side had edged closer to a trophy defence after building a record seven-point lead in the foursomes and fourballs. Norwegian Viktor Hovland was forced to withdraw from his scheduled clash with Harris English due to a neck injury, which meant each team picked up half a point under the rules of the biennial event. That left Europe needing just two points to hang on to the trophy and two-and-half points to make it back-to-back wins after their 16.5-11.5 victory in Italy two years ago. Early on, the away team led in six of the 11 matches, including the top five, before Keegan Bradley’s home side threatened to do a Brookline, where the Americans came from 10-6 behind on the last day to pull off an unlikely triumph. However, it was job done for Donald and his team as the magical number of 14 points was reached thanks to welcome contributions from Matt Fitzpatrick, Ludvig Aberg and, most crucial of all, Lowry. Helped by a free drop at the par-5 13th that appeared to be disputed by Bradley, Justin Rose came from three down with six to play in the top match before seeing Young, one of four rookies in the US side, roll in a 15-foot birdie putt on the last green to win that one. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about having a putt like that for a while,” admitted a tearful Young. “The way things were going halfway through the back nine today, I was very grateful that I had a chance there and it felt good to see it go right in the middle.” Shortly afterwards, Justin Thomas also finished with a birdie to beat Tommy Fleetwood, who had won four points out of four on the opening two days, and rushed to the back of the green to chest-bump team-mate Young. “I didn’t have my best stuff but fought hard,” said Thomas of winning a singles match for the fourth time in the event. That meant the score was 12-7 before the Americans won another point as Jon Rahm, who seemed to have run out of steam after starting the event with three wins, lost 4&3 to Xander Schauffele. “Yeah, just to keep fighting,” said Schauffele, the 2024 Open champion, of his mentality heading into the final day. “Battled really hard yesterday and the first day. Things just did not work out the way I anticipated, but I was proud to be able to get a point today. Keegan did a good job putting us in position and keeping the energy up, and the guys were motivated to come out and play. We’ve showed a lot of fight today.” As it suddenly became very nervy indeed for the Europeans and the volume of the home fans went up a notch or two as they sensed something special was in the offing, Aberg stemmed the sea of red that had suddenly swamped the scoreboard as he secured a vital point for Europe with a 2&1 win over Patrick Cantlay. “Yeah, it was tough,” admitted the Swede. “You could definitely feel the environment getting a little bit louder and getting a little bit more into it. So it was nice be able to hit the shots on the fairways coming down. Super pleased getting that blue point on the board.” Almost at the same time, Fitzpatrick, one of Donald’s six captain’s picks, held on for a half after being five up early on against Bryson DeChambeau before seeing his fellow US Open champion delight the home fans by producing a stirring fightback. “Yeah, obviously disappointing as obviously I had him after seven holes,” said Fitzpatrick of failing to deliver a win. “But still a good half point.” In a tight tussle between the game’s two top-ranked players, Scottie Scheffler ended his miserable week on a high by beating Rory McIlroy, who continued to be Public Enemy No 1 for the loud American fans. “Things just did not work out the way I anticipated yesterday and the first day,” admitted Scheffler, who had been winless in eight matches coming into this one, “but I was proud to be able to get a point today. It’s tough; playing all five matches is a grind. Rory and I even chatted about that a little bit today. It was a grind, and I’m pretty tired, but I’m proud of the fight that our team showed.” As it looked as though it could all come down to Bob MacIntyre against Sam Burns in the last match, J.J. Spaun, the US Open champion, made it 13.5-10.5 as he beat Sepp Straka 2&1 before Lowry delivered his vital half point, which prompted the American fans to make a mass exodus before Hatton then clinched what ended up being a hard-earned win, the final score being 15-13 after MacIntyre finished all square with Burns after the American three-putted the 18th.