US Ryder Cup Team Gets Humiliated As Europeans Ride Power Of Friendship To Historic Day

The European Ryder Cup team, made up of players who mostly live in the US and have for decades, along with one player who lives in Dubai, came out hot to start the event Friday morning at Bethpage Black. It continued on Friday afternoon in Fourballs, with Europe taking a commanding 5.5-2.5 lead into Saturday. 

That made it imperative for the US Ryder Cup team to get out of the gate strong on Saturday morning in Foursomes, a format where they have traditionally struggled. Well, sure enough, they struggled again, and the Ryder Cup is effectively over before singles even start on Sunday. 

And while much of that is because of poor play from the US' best players, the majority of the credit goes to the European team's players for simply deciding to never miss a putt. Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, a random fan wearing a European polo pulled from the crowd…they were all unbeatable. That's only slightly hyperbolic; although at one point it did appear that Justin Rose would start putting blindfolded, facing the wrong direction, use a nine iron and still make a putt from 95 yards away through bunkers and a water hazard. 

RELATED: After Disastrous Day 1, Team USA Running Out Embarrassing Ryder Cup Pairings On Saturday

Rose early on started walking in putts with the ball three-four feet away from the hole, presumably knowing that he could not miss with the power of friendship on his side.

Viktor Hovland made a dagger putt in the morning to prevent the US from winning a hole. It was endless. After two more disastrous sessions, in which the US team became the first ever to lose all four sessions at a home Ryder Cup, the day ended with Europe taking an 11.5-4.5 lead into Sunday.

Again, it might seem hyperbolic to suggest that the power of friendship is responsible for this historic, embarrassing defeat, but that is quite literally what golf-specific "experts" and writers have suggested is the cause.

[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Sep 27, 2025; Bethpage, New York, USA; Team Europe's Shane Lowry celebrates with Rory McIlroy after winning the match on the 18th hole during the four-balls as Team USA's Justin Thomas walks past on the second day of competition for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mcdermid-Reuters via Imagn Images

Europe Remains Unbeatable Thanks To Never Missing A Single Putt

Seriously. This is what they are suggesting. Because Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood apparently are considering leaving their wives for one another, they do not make mistakes and do not miss putts.

You would think that making better golf shots and every impossible putt would matter, but no, it is hugs. Hugs are the most important thing in Ryder Cups, and it's what the US team lacks. They do not hug enough.

Scottie Scheffler, the best golfer in the world and unquestionably the best player since Tiger Woods, became the first Ryder Cup player ever to go 0-4 through the first four sessions. Presumably because he did not hug his partners enough. Or maybe he needs to move to Dubai like Fleetwood. For his part, Scheffler after the match actually explained, succintly, why Europe has won: "they made a ton of putts."

"We were into a tough matchup today," Scheffler said. "Those guys played great. They made a ton of putts and, really, tip of a cap to them. They played better than we did."

That is correct. That is what happened. Europe did not miss. And the stats on it are insane, ridiculous, upsetting, whatever adjective you want to use. Frankly, ridiculous.

In the Saturday afternoon Fourballs matches, Justin Rose gained 4.56 strokes with his putting and 5.84 total. Justin Rose as recently as early July was down around the 150th best player in the world, per data golf. Entering the tournament, he was unquestionably the worst player in the field at 52nd, someone that would have received ridicule had he been included on the US team. For example, he's been a worse player over the last few years than Davis Thompson. 

He played like the single greatest golfer in the history of the sport. 

Shane Lowry was the second best putter on Saturday afternoon. Lowry's best finish in a major this year was T40 at The Open, after a T42 at the Masters, and missing the cut at the PGA Championship and US Open. He finished T59 in a 69 player field at the FedEx St. Jude just last month. Then finished T46 in a European Tour event. He's lost strokes as a putter in six of his last 11 events. He was the second best putter at Bethpage on Saturday afternoon. 

The only exciting moment of the day came when Justin Rose got into it with Bryson DeChambeau's caddie late in their match, immediately before making yet another putt. 

At least someone on the US side actually cared. 

So what's the takeaway from this debacle? 

Well, luck, randomness and small sample size play a much larger role in golf tournaments than fans would like to admit. Hugs don't actually matter. Being friends doesn't matter. Worshipping Seve Ballesteros doesn't matter. What matters is having a 46-year-old golfer, one of the worst on the PGA Tour for the majority of the last year, make every single putt. Presumably, Captain Luke Donald told Rose to make every putt, whereas Keegan Bradley did not tell his players to make all their putts. A tragic failure of leadership. 

Justin Rose made a one-putt birdie on Hole 1. He made a one-putt birdie on Hole 2. He made a one-putt birdie on Hole 3. He had another one-putt birdie on Hole 6. Had a one-putt birdie on Hole 7. Had a one-putt birdie on Hole 8, had a one-putt birdie on Hole 14, and another one-putt birdie on Hole 15. That is eight one-putt birdies in 16 holes for someone who was inarguably the worst player in the entire event. There are no pairings or captaincy moves to fix that. It is just sheer luck and randomness. 

You could argue that the US set the course up too easily, or whatever, but there is nothing that you can do when a 46-year-old who has played extremely poorly for *years* has the round of his life at the perfect time. Oh well, on to 2027 when the US will watch 48-year-old Justin Rose make 60 straight birdies and 6 Eagles to win every single hole he participates in.