Early on Friday morning, Scott Scheffler was doing his best to cut a path through the rough and mud along one hole of Bethpage Black.
He was pushing an empty stroller and he was struggling. It was a wet morning – hardly ideal conditions for navigating the hills and undulations of this vast state park.
A few yards away, meanwhile, his son was having a few problems of his own. On the opening morning of this Ryder Cup, Scottie Scheffler was partnered with Russell Henley. The world No 1 and world No 3. In a foursomes match against Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Before this, the Englishman had the worst Ryder Cup win-rate of any player since Team Europe was formed in 1979. On paper, it looked like a brutal mismatch.
And in the end, it was. Scheffler and Henley didn’t even reach the 16th hole. They were taken apart. They won just two holes en route to losing 5&3. Unfortunately for the world No 1, that was only the start of the bleeding on a brutal day for America.
A few hours later, he wandered back out on to the first tee for the fourballs alongside another rookie, JJ Spaun.
Scottie Scheffler endured another miserable day at the Ryder Cup after suffering two defeats
The world No 1 was beaten in his opening foursomes and fourball match-ups in New York
Donald Trump was there to greet them – behind a thick pane of glass – and Spaun danced for the president. Scheffler directed a fist pump at his commander-in-chief.
Trump will often text or call Scheffler when the world No 1 wins a tournament. That means they chat pretty often. The 29-year-old is the world’s most dominant golfer since Tiger Woods, after all. He won six times this year – four more than any other PGA Tour player – including the PGA and Open Championships.
On this early evidence, however, Scheffler won’t need to check his phone over the weekend. He and Spaun were beaten 3&2 by Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka. So after day one of the Ryder Cup, Scheffler’s record reads: two matches played, two lost. Three holes won, 11 lost.
On an American team featuring four first-timers, Scheffler was pegged as an obvious anchor for Keegan Bradley. So was Bryson DeChambeau. He finished Friday 0-2 as well.
These losses don’t fall solely on the shoulders of the world No 1, of course. Henley struggled perhaps more than anyone in the morning foursomes. Spaun, meanwhile, didn’t finish a hole between the seventh and the 14th.
But history suggests Scheffler’s issues run deeper than underperforming partners. After going unbeaten on debut in 2021 (2-0-1), his all-time Ryder Cup record now stands at two wins, four losses, three ties. Across his last six matches, Scheffler is 0-4-2. His three foursome matches have all ended in routs: Scheffler has played 41 holes and won just three.
Scheffler failed to produce his best form with president Donald Trump watching on at Bethpage
He cut a frustrated figure after ensuring he has now lost four of his last six Ryder Cup matches
Tiger Woods was the last world No 1 to suffer two defeats on the opening day of the Ryder Cup
In Rome, two years ago, Scheffler was reduced to tears after Aberg and Viktor Hovland beat him and Brooks Koepka 9&7. That was the shortest foursomes clash in Ryder Cup history. This wasn’t that bad. But still it wasn’t pleasant.
On Friday afternoon, Scheffler missed putt after putt. And on the 14th, after yet another rolled by the cup, some well-oiled European fans taunted the world No 1 with chants of: ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning!’
At least Scheffler is not alone. Woods could never replicate his dominance in the Ryder Cup either. This was the first time since Woods in 2002 that a world No 1 lost twice on the opening day of a Ryder Cup. It’s only happened four times in history.
There is no obvious reason why Scheffler should struggle – particularly in foursomes. But on Friday, the issue was not too difficult to diagnose.
‘It really just came down to me not holing enough putts,’ he said. ‘We’ll come back out tomorrow.’
