After blanking the U.S. in the morning foursomes, Europe won the afternoon fourballs, 2 1/2 to 1 1/2, to take command early at the 44th Ryder Cup.
The home team leads, 6 1/2 to 1 1/2, after the first day at Marco Simone.
The Americans had a chance to win the second session, possibly 3-1, but Viktor Hovland’s and Jon Rahm’s dramatics kept the Euros in charge.
With one more day of team play (foursomes and fourballs on Saturday) and 12 singles matches on Sunday, here’s how the Day 1 fourballs played out:
Match 5: Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (U.S.) tied Viktor Hovland/Tyrrell Hatton (EUR)
When Thomas birdied the sixth hole, it gave the U.S. its first lead at any point in any match. It didn’t last long, however, as Europe won the seventh to tie it up.
The match remained deadlocked until Spieth made a short birdie putt at the 12th to go 1 up. One hole and one putt later, Spieth gave the U.S. a 2-up advantage.
After losing the 14th, Thomas, who along with Spieth sat out the morning session, needed to save par on the 15th to maintain the lead. He did – emphatically.
Justin Thomas with a clutch putt for par on 15 to tie the hole and remain 1UP in the match, 🔥 #GoUSA
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 29, 2023
📺: @USANetwork | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/NLIXe5Q9pU
Thomas was in a similar situation at the 16th, needing to make a 5-foot birdie putt to tie the hole. This time, he missed, evening the match with two holes to play. He then missed a 12-foot putt to win the 17th.
But with Spieth out of the hole on 18 (Thomas had little help late on the back nine), JT nearly pitched in for eagle, leaving himself 6 feet.
Adding to the theater, Hovland delicately dropped in a 26-footer for birdie, blowing the roof off of Marco Simone.
Viktor Hovland with a clutch birdie putt at the 18th, followed by Justin Thomas sinking a 6-footer to tie their match.pic.twitter.com/szJyD9mrbV
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) September 29, 2023
Thomas then made his pressure-packed putt to tie the match.
Match 6: Jon Rahm/Nicolai Hojgaard (EUR) tied Scottie Scheffler/Brooks Koepka (U.S.)
Making his Ryder Cup debut, Hojgaard birdied the seventh hole to give Europe a 1-up lead. At the eighth, Rahm chipped in for par, allowing his 22-year-old partner a free run at birdie, which Hojgaard made to go 2 up.
Scheffler quickly erased that deficit, winning the ninth and 10th holes, and the U.S. went 1 up with a Koepka birdie (just his second of the day) at No. 15.
Then came a thrilling finish, beginning with Rahm chipping in for eagle at the par-4 16th to tie the match.
Jon Rahm CHIPS IN from the rough on 16 to win the hole and tie the match vs. Koepka/Scheffler! 🇪🇺 #TeamEurope
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 29, 2023
📺: @USANetwork | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/C1XBUrtVNW
Followed by Scheffler nearly acing the par-3 17th and then making the putt to return to 1 up and securing at least a half-point.
Scottie Scheffler makes birdie to win the 17th hole and retake a 1UP lead over Rahm/Hojgaard! #GoUSA
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 29, 2023
📺: @USANetwork | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/YYvDMmLthi
And concluding with another Rahm eagle at the par-5 18th, his ball popping up and plopping into the hole to tie the match.
THE YEAR OF RAHMBO. 🇪🇺💪
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 29, 2023
Jon Rahm rolls it in for EAGLE on 18 to tie the match vs. Koepka/Scheffler and make it a 6-1 #TeamEurope lead.
📺: @USANetwork | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/VNOQV407Rm
Match 7: Bob MacIntyre/Justin Rose (EUR) tied Max Homa/Wyndham Clark (U.S.)
Having made a couple of eyebrow-raising statements ahead of his rookie appearance, Clark stepped up – early – in his debut. The U.S. Open champ birdied the fifth, seventh and ninth holes to give the U.S. a 2-up lead at the turn.
Clark stayed hot on the back nine with birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 13, good enough to keep the U.S. 2 up and keep the Euros at bay.
Yet, as was the case in other matches Friday afternoon, the home team finished strong – or, in this case, the away team struggled coming home.
The U.S. lost the 17th hole when it couldn’t make par and then lost the 18th when Clark’s shots went astray and Homa couldn’t convert a 12-footer to win the match.
Rose salvaged the tie with a clutch 6-footer.
Match 8: Rory McIlroy/Matt Fitzpatrick (EUR) def. Collin Morikawa/Xander Schauffele (U.S.), 5 and 3
McIlroy was Fitzpatrick’s partner, but the Englishman could’ve beaten the American duo on his own. Fitzpatrick, who had never played the fourballs format in a Ryder Cup and had an overall record of 0-5-0, was unbeatable on Friday. He birdied Nos. 2, 3 and 4 to win those holes and then drove the par-4 fifth, making eagle to win that one as well.
Fitzpatrick drives the green at the par-4 fifth, makes the eagle and gives his team a 4-up lead.pic.twitter.com/y4f3xfFDyp
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) September 29, 2023
He added another birdie and ‘W’ at the sixth – after Schauffele missed a 5-footer to tie – and McIlroy finally chipped in with a birdie to win the next. Seven holes in, 6 up for the Euros.
The Americans were able to stretch the match to 15 holes, but a McIlroy birdie officially closed it out.
