Well, that didn’t take long!
History has already been made at the 2023 Ryder Cup, with Europe sweeping the morning foursomes 4-0. This is a big win and a massive start for the European golfers. Historically, the afternoon session has been dominated by Europe, so the US has a giant ladder to climb.
Let’s recap today’s events and look at what may happen this afternoon!
Ryder Cup Overall Standings After Day One
At the end of the first day, we can see that Europe had an easier time dominating than the US. If you watched the coverage, it felt like the US were the underdogs the entire day.
With a little better play in the afternoon, the USA is still in the hunt for the Ryder Cup. We noticed in the afternoon fourballs that some teams did well and alternated great holes and shots, while others struggled simultaneously.
Matt Fitzpatrick has had enough of Hovland getting all the attention and credit. He played incredible golf, making birdie putts from locations that most of us would gladly accept a 3 putt.
For the US, Jordan Spieth struggled and left Thomas on his own just when they started to get things going.
Total Score After Day One of Ryder Cup: Europe 6.5 USA 1.5
Ryder Cup Foursomes Results (Europe Sweeps 4-0)
The Tyrell Hatton and Jon Rahm team seem to be a bit too strong for the US to handle. Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns seemed like a tough combination but ended up losing the match 4 & 3.
Although the Hatton and Rahm match was the strongest win, all the Americans struggled a bit. Here’s what the final scoring looked like.
- Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton (4 & 3) vs. Scottie Scheffler/Sam Burns
- Viktor Hovland/Ludvic Aberg (4 & 3) vs. Max Homa/Brian Harman
- Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka (2 & 1) vs. Rickie Fowler/Collin Morikawa
- Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood (2 & 1) vs. Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
You know it will be a special day when Hovland comes in on the first hole and chips in from on the green. Yes, you read that right, he chipped in from on the green. Not only can Hovland execute, he can invent.
Afternoon Matches Released
While the Europeans were out there dominating, Zach Johnson had a big task ahead of him. How to set up those afternoon fourballs. Here’s what Luke Donald and Zach Johnson came up with for the afternoon.
- 12:25- Hovland & Hatton vs. Thomas & Spieth
- 12:40- Rahm & Hojgaard vs. Scheffler & Koepka
- 12:55- Macintyre & Rose vs. Homa & Clark
- 1:10 – McIlory & Fitzpatrick vs. Morikawa & Schauffele
Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Brooks Koepka were not playing in the morning matches, but they are all in to play in the afternoon fourballs. We will see if these guys can improve things for the US and make the rest of the Ryder Cup more competitive.
In an interview, Luke Donald commented that he came with 12 players and plans to use them all throughout the week.
Stay Tuned for Afternoon Results
The afternoon matches have all teed off, and Hojgaard made an early birdie on his first-ever Ryder Cup hole to take an early lead in that match. As the day progresses, we will fill you in on who the leaders are and how Friday at the Ryder Cup finishes up. Something tells us more history is about to be made.
Ryder Cup Fourball Results (US Is On The Board)
The Ryder Cup Fourball was about as exciting as golf can get. The leads changed so many times it was hard to turn off the coverage for even just a minute.
Europe won 22 holes in the morning match, and the Americans won 10. In the afternoon, things were a little better for the US, but not good enough. Putts must start dropping for the US, or the Sunday afternoon matches won’t mean much.
- Hovland & Hatton vs. Thomas & Spieth (Halved)
- Rahm & Hojgaard vs. Scheffler & Koepka (Halved)
- Macintyre & Rose vs. Homa & Clark (Halved)
- McIlory & Fitzpatrick (5 & 3) vs. Morikawa & Schauffele
Fitzpatrick and McIlory never really gave Morikawa a chance. Scheffler and Koepka held their own against Rahm and Hojgaard, but that eagle putt from Rahm on 18 is very difficult to compete with.
This article is a breaking news report and is continually being updated.
