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By the numbers: Europe takes historic lead at 45th Ryder Cup

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Rory McIlroy shows his emotion after birdie at Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy shows his emotion after birdie at Ryder Cup

    Written by Will Gray

    FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The Europeans have the Ryder Cup in their sights, and the margin at Bethpage State Park has reached historic proportions.

    Luke Donald’s squad kept their foot on the gas during both sessions Saturday on the Black Course, and they’ll take a monumental 11.5 to 4.5 lead into Sunday’s Singles play as they look to win on foreign soil for the first time since 2012. With a point differential like that, there are clear accolades to hand out on one side – and head-turning lowlights for the home team.

    Let’s take a look at the 45th Ryder Cup by the numbers ahead of the final day of what has become an unexpectedly lopsided competition.

    Record lead

    When Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton both stuffed their approach shots on the 18th hole to ensure a full point in their match against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay in the day’s final match, the European margin reached record-setting heights. This is the biggest lead any team has ever taken into the final day of the Ryder Cup since continental Europe joined in 1979, surpassing the 11-to-5 margin the Europeans enjoyed at Oakland Hills in 2004. They went on to win those matches 18.5 to 9.5. The U.S. also led 11-5 after two days at Whistling Straits, where they went on to win by a 19-9 score, which serves as the biggest final margin of victory.



    Session dominance

    Europe won each of the first four match sessions this week on the Black Course, becoming just the second team to go 4-for-4 across the team match play portion of the biennial event. The other instance came in another European rout, 2006 at The K Club in Ireland. That week the Europeans also won the Singles session in front of the home crowds, dismantling the Americans by a final score of 18.5 to 9.5.

    Slumping Scheffler

    Scottie Scheffler made history this week for all the wrong reasons, becoming the first American play all four team sessions despite starting a Ryder Cup 0-3-0. An afternoon loss alongside Bryson DeChambeau in Four-ball only made matters worse, as Scheffler became the first American (and the first from either team since 1971) to go 0-4-0 across the first four sessions.

    He also became just the fourth American to lose four matches in a home Ryder Cup, joining Fuzzy Zoeller (1979), Raymond Floyd (1983) and Steve Stricker (2012).

    Fleetwood double

    FedExCup champ Tommy Fleetwood has been the biggest point producer, winning all four of his matches in the team sessions. He paired with Rory McIlroy for two Foursomes wins, then joined forces with Justin Rose in Four-balls and won both matches.


    Tommy Fleetwood rattles flagstick, nearly holes out from fairway

    Tommy Fleetwood rattles flagstick, nearly holes out from fairway


    In so doing, he became the first player in Ryder Cup history to go 4-0-0 across the team sessions in two different Ryder Cups. He also did it at Le Golf National in 2018, famously pairing with Francesco Molinari for all four matches en route to a 4-1-0 personal mark.

    Fleetwood’s career record now stands at 11-3-2, giving him the highest winning percentage of any European who has played at least 10 matches in Ryder Cup history – surpassing his captain, Luke Donald. Only four players from either side have a better all-time winning percentage with more than 10 matches played.

    Young rookie

    While the U.S. has struggled mightily at Bethpage, the closest thing to a bright spot might be Cameron Young. The New York native is making his Ryder Cup debut this week, and he won each of his first two matches alongside Justin Thomas (6 and 5 in Friday Four-ball) and Bryson DeChambeau (4 and 3). In so doing, he became the first American rookie to win his first two matches by at least four holes since Patrick Reed in 2014.


    Cameron Young holes clutch chip-in for birdie at Ryder Cup

    Cameron Young holes clutch chip-in for birdie at Ryder Cup


    Young’s bid to become just the fourth American all-time to win his first three matches came up short when he and Thomas lost, 2-up, to McIlroy and Shane Lowry in Saturday’s Four-ball session.

    Foursomes dominance

    The Europeans took six of a possible eight points in Foursomes this week, continuing their recent run of dominance in alternate shot. This marks three out of the last four Ryder Cups in which the Europeans have taken at least six points from eight matches: They went 6-2-0 in France in 2018, then went 7-1-0 two years ago in Italy. In both of those instances, they went on to win the trophy by at least five points.

    Singles deficit

    Under the current format of 12 Singles matches, the most points any team has won on the final day is 8.5. It has happened four times prior: The U.S. did it in 1979 and 1999, while Europe pulled it off in 2006 and 2012. In both 1999 and 2012, the Sunday routs capped impressive final-day comebacks at Brookline and Medinah, respectively.

    Unfortunately for Keegan Bradley and the Americans, even 8.5 out of 12 points on Sunday won’t be enough. That would still end with a 15-13 European victory, as the U.S. now must win 10 points from a possible 12 on Sunday in order to win back the Ryder Cup.

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