Wyndham Clark and Max Homa line up their putts during Friday afternoon fourball matches at the 2023 Ryder Cup. | Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Clark and Homa had command of their Ryder Cup match for most of the day, and then they arrived at the 17th hole.
Americans Wyndham Clark and Max Homa held a 2-up lead against Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre on the 17th hole at Marco Simone.
They had complete control of the match.
Clark made plenty of putts.
Homa played with poise and composure.
It looked as if this pair of Ryder Cup rookies would clinch the first full point for Team USA in Rome.
And then the train went off the tracks.
Homa hooked his tee shot in the creek that runs to the left of the 17th green. Clark missed the green short and right into the deep rough.
A par would have won the match, but Clark failed to get up-and-down.
Rose, meanwhile, got up and down for par with ease.
“We fought really, really hard out there today,” Rose said afterward. “We didn’t want us to be the only ones to let red be on the board all day long, you know what I mean.”
Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America via Getty Images
Wyndham Clark and Max Homa on the 11th hole during Friday Fourball at the 2023 Ryder Cup.
The Americans then held a 1-up lead on the 18th, where Clark blistered his tee shot down the middle of the fairway.
Everyone else missed the short grass, which gave Team USA a considerable advantage.
But then Clark rifled his second shot 60 yards right of the green and into the crowd.
The pressure of the Ryder Cup clearly got to him. Clark then hit a very poor chip shot over the green and onto the bank of the pond. That sank any chances of his score for the hole standing up.
While Clark was making a mess of things, Rose stuck his third shot to nine feet.
Homa hit a nice third shot into the 18th green, too, as he faced a 22-footer for birdie.
But after Homa missed, that set the stage for Rose, a Ryder Cup veteran who also happens to be the oldest player in the event.
The Englishman drained it, thus securing another half-point and stealing a victory from the Americans.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America via Getty Images
Justin Rose celebrates after making the putt to halve the match.
“That was my moment there on 18, which was for [MacIntyre] and for us and the whole team,” Rose said. “I haven’t had many moments in Ryder Cups. I’ve had points, but I haven’t had that many moments in the afternoon in four-balls and had the whole team around. That was immense.”
Rose’s putt gave Europe a commanding 6.5-to-1.5 lead after Day One, tied with the largest opening-day lead in modern Ryder Cup history. The 2004 European team raced out to a 6.5-to-1.5 lead at Oakland Hills and won 18.5-to-9.5.
Friday also marked the first time in Ryder Cup history the Americans did not win a single match during an individual day, per The Athletic’s Justin Ray.
The Americans were simply outplayed.
“You know, we played good. Max and I played nicely,” Clark said after his afternoon match.
“Prior to the 15th, I didn’t make any bogeys, and we didn’t have any bogeys on the card, so [the end] was unfortunate. But, yeah, I mean, we played well the whole day. Obviously, we made a birdie [on 16] and had huge momentum going into 17, and we didn’t get the job done the last two holes.”
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.
