When it was done, after 13 years of waiting and one long day of mind-shredding anxieties and gut punches and squeaky ducks, Luke Donald allowed himself the grin of a man whose journey to something incredible was completed in scenes as chaotic as the week itself.
Before the dramas of how it was finalised, and there were many, we should go straight to the scale of the achievement because it is astonishing.
For the first time since 2012, there has been an away winner in the Ryder Cup[1], and you have to go back to the Eighties and Tony Jacklin for the last time a European captain won on both foreign soil and at home. Remarkable.
But no less startling were the tribulations that secured such a status on a bonkers final day of this 45th edition of the contest. If Saturday represented the occasion when police dogs were necessary to control the ugly madness of the Bethpage Black crowd, then Sunday heralded the day the golfers of the US finally showed their teeth.
Through their excellence, a thrillingly unexpected possibility came into view, to the extent that there were times when it even seemed the US might win. That being the team of Keegan Bradley, whose captaincy had been justifiably ridiculed at multiple stages in the previous 48 hours.
They had entered the final day at 11.5-4.5 behind and went on a brilliant charge, all the way until the scores reached 13.5-10.5, which was when Shane Lowry lined up a six-foot putt on the 18th to halve his match against Russell Henley. Needing 14 points to retain the Cup, the tension of that moment was immense.
Europe held off a remarkable USA fightback to win a first Ryder Cup on away soil since 2012
Shane Lowry helped the visitors avoid a huge collapse after securing the half point to retain it
Luke Donald was a relieved man after Lowry’s putt spared Europe’s blushes at Bethpage Black
USA came closer than anyone expected to pulling off an all-time great Ryder Cup comeback
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McIlroy and Scheffler’s duel should have been golf’s long-awaited showdown, writes OLIVER HOLT
Behind Lowry, the US were up in one, level in two, behind in none. Somehow, this was in the balance. Somehow, anything could happen. Somehow, if he missed, Europe would be at major risk of a choke for the ages.
But when that putt dropped, Lowry went on a four-punch blitz and took seven leaps across the green, because 14 points was enough for one layer of pride. A great outcome in isolation, sure, but also an underachievement, dare we say it, if that was all it ended up being.
Because the match needed to be won. From their overnight position, it simply had to be. Anything else would be a stupefying anti-climax.
And that meant a wait. That meant more variables.
Up stepped Tyrrell Hatton, who had been slugging it out against Collin Morikawa. First he led, then he trailed, and finally, on the 12th, they were even. A half point would do it. When the American missed from 44 feet at the last, they had it. Relief indeed.
All of which requires some more detail. That commences with the neck injury sustained by Viktor Hovland two months ago and a recurrence on Saturday prompted his withdrawal prior to play on Sunday, therefore necessitating the protocol of a point being shared from his abandoned match against Harris English. That made the score 12-5 at the outset of the session.
To overhaul that, the US needed to break every record in the book. They started by breaking Europe’s spine.
They were immense in taking 5.5 points from the first seven matches and the list of the defeated was a chilling one. Scottie Scheffler had beaten Rory McIlroy, while Cameron Young and Justin Thomas had snatched wins on the 18th green against Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood respectively. Jon Rahm? Crushed 4&3 by Xander Schauffele.
American captain Keegan Bradley was left to rue a nightmare first two days in New York
Lowry’s half point ensured the visitors retained the trophy on an unexpectedly nervy last day
Tyrrell Hatton (right) eventually took another half point to ensure Europe won it outright
But it was Lowry who stole the headlines after his vital putt on the 18th officially saw off USA
He was left ecstatic after proving the hero for Europe on a dramatically frantic Sunday
Jon Rahm embraced his teammate after he ensured the Ryder Cup is heading home with them
The likes of Justin Thomas produced an incredible effort on Sunday to give Europe a big scare
There, in a sustained revival, a team that seemed incapable of lacing its own spikes for much of the previous two days was rattling the cage. There, in a doom spiral, Donald’s best men were being floored.
JJ Spaun had also beaten Sepp Straka and, most painfully of all, Matt Fitzpatrick had taken only half a point against Bryson DeChambeau.
The context there is important – Fitzpatrick was five up through seven holes. And then he wasn’t, lost in the fist-pumping circus of America’s greatest showman. Had it not been for Ludvig Aberg, who saw off Patrick Cantlay on the 17th, they would not have won a match all day. And a wave could have become a tsunami.
But enter Lowry. He had trailed two down through 14 and nailed a birdie on the last from seven feet to halve and take the score to 14-11. He was delirious in those moments of celebration, but only time would tell if Europe would have to settle for the draw.
While that was being decided, he gave an interview. ‘I mean, I have been so lucky to experience amazing things in this game but that was the hardest couple of hours in my life,’ he said. ‘I stood over that putt and said, “this is it”. The Ryder Cup is everything for me. To do that on the 18th green, wow. That was so hard. We knew they would come out fighting, but we want the win.’
Thanks to Hatton, a temperamental soul and somehow the calmest man in New York this week, they had it. Ben Griffin went on to beat Rasmus Hojgaard, but it didn’t matter. Ultimately, nor did Bob MacIntyre’s half against Sam Burns, which took the score to 15-13.
McIlroy celebrated the victory with Europe’s adoring fans after an enthralling final day
They will now party the night away in New York after maintaining their grip on the Ryder Cup
McIlroy also celebrated the triumph with wife Erica, who was left in tears on Saturday after being hit by a drink thrown by the home crowd
Donald’s team are the first to win a Ryder Cup on US soil since the 2012 Miracle at Medinah
To win away was heralded as one of the toughest tasks in sport and to do it here, in a bearpit, was a challenge highlighted in the gory details of Saturday. That was bedlam and unpleasant.
It also continued into the final day, where, in a surreal turn, the crowds took to taunting McIlroy with squeaky rubber ducks handed away for free with cocktails.
Initially, it seemed wildly improbable that such circumstances would leave a red imprint on the leaderboards. Across the first hour, Europe went up in five singles matches and down in only one of the six out on the course. But after three hours, it looked differently. Suddenly, they were down in five and up in only two of the 11.
It was getting tetchy, because we know by now that this place inspires madness. McIlroy, for one, was getting irate, and no wonder for the appalling abuse he has faced here, which continued across the front nine against Scheffler – the state of McIlroy’s marriage and speculations about how he and his caddie spend their free time were all deemed fair game.
It was particularly febrile on the second tee, where a security guard, stood right next to one heckler, settled on a gentle warning in response to absurd, personal remarks instead of ejection. Some of these marshals made Bradley appear a vision of shrewd, decisive judgement.
By the 10th, McIlroy was simmering, not to mention exhausted, by the whole business. Bring forth the ducks and the squeaking that forced McIlroy to back off a drive. He asked for the fan to be kicked out and then hooked, sliced and duffed his way to a six on the par four.
McIlroy has added another to his collection despite losing his singles match to Scottie Scheffler
Bradley congratulated Europe counterpart Donald after a thrilling Sunday in New York
Lowry enjoyed a cider on the course at Bethpage Black after getting Europe over the line
That allowed Scheffler to go one up in a match that was far short of the classic it might have been. McIlroy rallied with a 30-footer at the next, but when he fell behind on the 13th he never recovered.
For a time, his fate seemed to morph into that of his team. For Scheffler, it meant the salvation of one point from five – dismal for him, but a consolation of sorts. Same goes for DeChambeau, who reached two and became the heartbeat of a resistance previously outsourced to drunk fans.
Perhaps their combined efforts will temper the conversation around Bradley’s captaincy. Or maybe the use of English and Morikawa in two shambolic foursomes sessions will be thrown into sharper relief by what shaped into a narrow defeat.
Donald will have no such worries. No inquests. It threatened to get away and it didn’t. With a hand on the trophy for a second time, he avoided all of that, left instead to celebrate an astonishing victory at the close of an astonishing week.