FARMINGDALE, NEW YORK | In a variation of the coffee mug slogan “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans,” it’s a fair assumption that none of the exhaustive Ryder Cup prep work done by U.S. captain Keegan Bradley and his associates anticipated one stark reality.
That Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau, the Americans’ expected thunder and lightning, would fail to win even one-half point on the first day of this Ryder Cup at benevolent Bethpage Black.
It may be an oversimplification but the reason the Europeans own a 5½-2½ lead entering Saturday’s matches is the difference in what their top players did compared to the Americans’ A-listers.
While Scheffler and DeChambeau combined to go 0-4 playing both foursomes and four-balls on the long, sunny day, the European triumvirate of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood won 5½ of a possible six points.
Had McIlroy holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole as the sun was setting, it would have given him and Shane Lowry a 1-up victory over Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay rather than a tie. The difference was one-half point but it felt like it left the lights on for the Americans, who must flip the narrative in Saturday’s eight matches.
“It’s a great day for Europe,” McIlroy said. “We would have absolutely taken this last night if you had told us we would be 5½ -2½ up.”
A day that began surprisingly softly just after sunrise culminated with a closing two hours that sizzled the way Ryder Cup days are supposed to do.
With the New York crowd finding its voice – not always in the most genteel manner – every hole toward the end of the day seemed to take on more weight. All it lacked was the Broadway lights 30 miles west.
The frustration was evident on DeChambeau’s face and in his body language when he marched to the range just before sundown to chase what was missing.
When Fleetwood birdied the 18th hole to close out a 1-up victory with Justin Rose over Ben Griffin and DeChambeau, it felt like another sledgehammer swing for the Europeans in a match that could have tilted the other way.
“Tommy made some huge putts in the right moments, and you know, that was a huge turnaround match,” Rose said.
The frustration was evident on DeChambeau’s face and in his body language when he marched to the range just before sundown to chase what was missing.
“0-2 today, pretty disappointed. I played good golf, just not good enough, and they made everything. Luck is on their side right now,” DeChambeau said.
Speaking of body language, Scheffler looked understandably fatigued as he left Friday evening. His day began with a 5-and-3 foursomes loss with Russell Henley to Ludvig Åberg and Matt Fitzpatrick and ended with a 3-and-2 four-ball loss with J.J. Spaun to Sepp Straka and Jon Rahm.
Scheffler is now 0-4-2 in the past two Ryder Cups, prompting one fan to ask, “Does Scottie Scheffler not play well with others?”
“We gave ourselves plenty of opportunities. It really just came down to me not holing enough putts,” Scheffler said.
At the end of a disappointing day, Bradley said what captains say.
“We’ve only played 28 percent of the points. This is the first quarter. We’ve still got three quarters to go. I’ve got a lot of faith in my boys,” Bradley said.
It was a discouraging but not devastating start for the Americans, who lost three of the four foursomes matches, running their record to 2-10 in the last three alternate-shot sessions.
Rather than trigger the home-heavy gallery, many of whom were in the massive bleachers surrounding the first tee and 18th green well before the sun came up Friday, the flat-line start felt foreboding, rekindling dark visions of lost Ryder Cups in recent years.
“Incredible day. To win this morning was huge for us and we all know how important it is to get off to a good start.” – Luke Donald
In the three American losses in foursomes, none of the matches made it to the 16th hole. The only morning match that went the distance was a 2-up victory for Xander Schauffele and Cantlay over Viktor Hovland and Robert MacIntyre.
In his brief mid-day comments, Bradley openly hoped that the arrival of President Donald Trump might be the inspirational impetus his team needed. The afternoon session, while marginally better for the Americans, suggested it will take more than a presidential drive-by to take down the Europeans.
Bradley opted to send out some new pairings in the morning with the Collin Morikawa-Harris English pairing opening some eyes. The two had never played team golf together and never found a rhythm against McIlroy and Fleetwood, losing, 5 and 4.
In the morning, Bradley also opted to sit Burns, Griffin and Cameron Young, three of the top four Americans in the strokes gained putting statistic this year.
Little, other than Ryder Cup warhorse Cantlay, worked. Cantlay accounted for 1½ of the Americans’ 2½ points Friday and he is now 6-2-2 in the Ryder Cup. He will need to do it again Saturday if the Americans are to improve their chances before the Sunday singles.
“Incredible day. To win this morning was huge for us and we all know how important it is to get off to a good start,” European captain Luke Donald said.
“Guys grinded to win the session again this afternoon. That’s another tick in our box, and I’m very happy where we are.”