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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face, and that’s exactly what happened to Team USA Friday morning at Bethpage Black.
For the first time in Ryder Cup history, Team Europe won each of the first three matches on American soil to take an early 3-0 lead (Europe needs 14 points to retain the Cup).
The final five matches of the day were knotted at 2.5-2.5, but Europe is right where they want to be.
After the first three matches of the day didn’t even reach the 16th hole, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele were able to birdie 18 to salvage the morning and grab a point.
The afternoon session looked like it was going USA’s way, but Tommy Fleetwood is cementing himself as a Ryder Cup legend. Down a hole, Fleetwood birdied 14 and then gave himself and Justin Rose a 1-up lead with another birdie on 16. Rose’s birdie on 18 clinched Europe’s fifth point, shortly after yet another dominant victory over Jon Rahm.
Hometown kid Cameron Young and Justin Thomas, who lost alongside Bryson DeChambeau in the morning, took a dominant 6 & 5 win over Ludvig Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard. Cantlay and Sam Burns came back from down two to halve the final match of the day.
Rahm and Fleetwood combined to go 4-0-0 on Friday. Yes, that’s the same Fleetwood who never even won a PGA Tour event until a month ago yet is now 9-3-2 in his Ryder Cup career. But Team Europe captain Luke Donald praised the Brit for being a “world-class” golfer.
TRUMP GREETS BRYSON DECHAMBEAU AT RYDER CUP TO KICK OFF AFTERNOON SESSION
“It took him a little time and had to go through a few opportunities that let slip for sure, but I think that, you know, for Tommy, he reframes it in such a positive way. I think that if you see it in a positive way, the ones that get away, it only makes you stronger” Donald said after Friday’s play.
“I think Tommy, he’s a guy that just loves being around the team. He loves contributing to that team. Yeah, he’s a nice player to play with. I think he’s at the top of the list of a lot of guys on the team that people want to play with.”
Simultaneously, Scottie Scheffler and DeChambeau combined to go 0-4-0, with Scheffler, the world No. 1, never even making it to the 17th hole.
USA now needs to mount a comeback if it wants to avoid being the first team to lose on home soil since it did so in 2012. No one has won back to back Ryder Cups since Europe won three straight from 2010 to 2014.
Day 2 will tee off at 7:10 a.m. ET to begin another 11-plus hours of golf.
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