Max Homa and Brian Harman look distraught on the 11th green during Friday Fourballs at the 2023 Ryder Cup. | Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
The Europeans took a commanding lead at the Ryder Cup on Friday morning and embarrassed the Americans in doing so.
There is only one word to accurately describe how the Americans played on Friday morning at the Ryder Cup.
Embarrassing.
Europe now holds a 4-to-0 lead over Team USA after Friday’s fourball.
It is the first time Europe has ever swept the opening session of the Ryder Cup, according to golf statistician Justin Ray, and yet the score did not even feel that close. The U.S. did not lead at any point during the session.
In the opening match, Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton defeated Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, 4 & 3.
“It was good to come out here and perform the way we did,” Rahm said after the resounding victory. “It was an incredible foursomes match, and we played as confident as two people can play, and it was a beautiful one.”
Photo by Andreas Solaro/Getty Images
Jon Rahm acknowledges the crowd after his victory.
The Americans, meanwhile, looked overwhelmed.
Burns, in his Ryder Cup debut, did not impress. Neither did Scheffler, the number-one player in the world. This duo combined to make just one birdie, while Rahm and Hatton made five.
The second match resulted in the same score, 4 & 3.
“Yeah, obviously they played really well,” Max Homa said after he and Brian Harman lost to Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg. “We didn’t have a ton of opportunities, and when we did, unfortunately, we didn’t capitalize. I mean, they played really good.”
Hovland has the moment of the Ryder Cup thus far, as he chipped in for a birdie on the first hole. That quickly set the tone.
“Yeah, just got outplayed,” Harman said. “They out-executed us.”
After being 2-down through two, Harman and Homa rallied to tie the match on the 4th hole. But Hovland and Åberg squandered any hope the Americans had on the 5th and 6th holes. The Euros won both to regain a 2-up lead.
The par-3 4th would be the last hole the Americans would win in match two.
In match three, Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa looked rusty, as Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka won 2 & 1.
“We are very happy with our start today, and obviously there’s a lot of golf to be played from here,” Lowry said. “We talked about getting off to a fast start, and we have done so.”
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Shane Lowry celebrates his victory.
Indeed, the Europeans are off and running like the Americans at the Solheim Cup last week. Team USA held a 4-to-0 lead early, but ultimately tied Europe, as the blue and gold retained the Cup.
Nevertheless, the European Ryder Cup team looked much more dominant than the American Solheim team did on Friday.
The last match, which pitted Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay against Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, also resulted in a 2 & 1 European victory.
The pivotal moment of the match occurred on the 15th green. Fleetwood made a long par putt, while Schauffele missed a five-footer for par. At that point, Team USA was down one and needed to halve the hole for a chance.
But Schauffele’s three-putt proved costly.
“It was just the first go-around here,” Schauffele said of his match. “We’ll have to make some adjustments across the board. We’ll be fine. Not sweating it.”
The Americans then won the 16th, which instilled some hope, but at the next hole, the par-3 17th, McIlroy nearly made an ace. That sealed the morning sweep for Europe.
“It’s been an unbelievable session,” McIlroy said after the match. “We switched the format this year to go foursomes first because, statistically, that’s our better session. And all week, we’ve been talking about getting off to fast starts.”
European Captain Luke Donald received some questions about going with Foursomes first instead of fourball, but the move clearly paid off.
Team Europe roared out of the gate like a lion, as they look primed for another victory on European soil.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
