It was a little after 11am in New York, three hours after the first strokes of blue were painted on Bethpage Black, when Keegan Bradley looked to the sky and embarked on the kind of punt that has so far typified his eccentric captaincy of Team USA.
His choice of inspiration was a chap whose rumoured conduct on golf courses might warrant a ban for other members, but, by then, Bradley had exhausted his conventional options.
And so he gave a brief interview to camera. ‘We just had the President fly over in Air Force One,’ he said. ‘I think things are gonna turn here.’
Short of recruiting Donald Trump to kick a few balls out of the rough for Team USA, it was unclear what kind of intervention he expected.
But we do know Europe were not for turning. They blitzed the morning foursomes 3-1 before Trump arrived and they withstood waves of pressure and fan abuse in shading an achingly brilliant fourballs session after he left. More pointedly still, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau lost their matches on either side of that surreal visit.
Indeed, whichever way you swung it, this tense opening day at the 45th Ryder Cup belonged to Europe. In planning, execution and mastery of the defining moments, the majority went the way of Luke Donald, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy and a collective that will resume the contest on Saturday with a commanding 5.5-2.5 lead.
Team Europe take a 5.5-2.5 lead into the second day of the Ryder Cup after Friday’s action
They dominated the morning foursomes to claim a 3-1 victory, with Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick among the stars who shone
And in a dramatic afternoon session, Europe came out on top 2.5-1.5 in the fourballs
‘It was a great day,’ said Donald. ‘It was a great start and they grinded to edge the session in the afternoon. That is another box ticked. It is not easy here. They have the crowd but I am so proud of those guys – they can handle this stuff.’
How Europe wrestled control of the narrative was really quite something. Because it was always going to take a lot to upstage the presence of a sitting President. And even more so when that same man was minded to leave the protection of a bullet-proof screen in order to fist-bump DeChambeau on the tee before the second round of skirmishes.
But Europe pulled it off. In a foursomes session of utter dominance, the only consolation for Team USA was that Scottie Scheffler did not break down in tears. We will return to that point shortly, because it was only half the story in consideration of Europe then taking the fourballs 2.5-1.5.
Let’s pause here for a pair of statistics: in each of the past five editions, the team that won the first foursomes went on to win by a landslide. Also, a three-point lead after day one has not been overhauled since the US won in 1999. That Europe have reached such a spot in an away match is deeply impressive, even if there are still 20 points to play for.
As in Rome two years ago, McIlroy was embedded in drama. Naturally he was a target for the New Yorkers – on the 11th hole during the afternoon, he appeared to flip his middle finger at the crowd, which grew rowdier with passing hour and drink.
But he took a win and one half from his two matches, initially in the alternate shot format with Tommy Fleetwood when they battered Collin Morikawa and Harris English 5&4, and later alongside Shane Lowry against Sam Burns and Cantlay. That match finished all square after the Americans fought back from two down through 11 holes. It was fabulous viewing – a stunning blend of birdies and errors from both sides.
Rahm, like Fleetwood, won both his matches and led from the front in each session via his collaborations with Tyrrell Hatton and Sepp Straka.
But nods were well earned by the wider ensemble, especially Matt Fitzpatrick. That being the same golfer who arrived here with only one point from eight ties and ranked 119th of the 119 who have played in the Cup since 1979.
McIlroy and Shane Lowry were unable to cap off the day with a win and had to settle for a tie against Paddy Cantlay and Sam Burns
Team Europe captain Luke Donald was thrilled with a ‘great day’ and was ‘so proud’ of his men
He and Ludvig Aberg were sent out in the foursomes against Scheffler and the world No 3 Russell Henley in what was forecast to be a massacre. And it was. Europe won 5&4 and Fitzpatrick was majestic on and around the greens – the 12-footer he dropped below ground on the 15th summed up his day, but we might say the same for the chips to tap-in range on the first and third holes.
Scheffler? He was reduced to a non-entity, just as he was when Aberg and Viktor Hovland left him in tears in the same session in 2023. He wasn’t helped by Henley spraying the ball to all corners and missing so many putts, but Scheffler flopped badly. And he flopped again in the afternoon alongside JJ Spaun when they faced Rahm and Straka.
The Europeans trailed at the first, levelled on the second, and then led from the third to home through the brilliance, primarily, of Rahm and his six birdies. But Scheffler played a full 12 holes of that round before his first birdie – he was desperately poor for too long in that 3&2 defeat and only stirred when the rubber was almost out of reach.
We often make the comparison between Scheffler and Tiger Woods, which is entirely justified, but does it also extend to a diminished ability in the Ryder Cup, the one arena where Woods struggled?
Maybe. But all observations on the first day of these gatherings must be written in pencil. For now, we can provisionally query elements of Bradley’s captaincy, which was given to him in haste once Woods turned it down and was dominated for months by the uncertainty over whether he would pick himself.
Here, besides a trivial blooper by mixing up a couple of names in the opening ceremony, he made his first real misstep by sending out Collin Morikawa and Harris English for the foursomes against McIlroy and Fleetwood.
To follow the detailed analysis of Data Golf, which is favoured by the pros themselves in the data game, that Morikawa-English pairing was rated dead last out of all the 132 options Bradley could have chosen, based on their skill compatibility.
Donald would almost certainly have known that – his team is obsessed by the digits and that website in particular. Bradley? He is evidently a gambler, more of a vibes man, which we saw with his early morning deployment of DeChambeau and Justin Thomas, his two biggest crowd-stirrers.
Scottie Scheffler, who in the afternoon lost alongside J.J. Spaun to Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka, was reduced to a non-entity
It was also a tricky day for Bryson DeChambeau and Team USA have a lot of ground to make up
Thomas was poor in that tie against Rahm and Hatton’s brand of fire and more fire, and much of DeChambeau’s play, beyond the manner in which he won the first hole in those foursomes, was captured by a drive at the 15th that nestled over by the rubbish bins. Unlike Scheffler, he came to life in his second match alongside Ben Griffin, and thrived in the crackling atmosphere, but was beaten by Justin Rose and Fleetwood.
A word here on the value of moments and momentum swings. They always decide the Cup and Europe excelled in those big passages of play.
It was shown in the fourballs when Griffin threatened to put himself and DeChambeau two up through seven after sinking a 56-footer, but Rose reacted immediately by holing a monster of similar length.
It was demonstrated again by Rahm cutting down a revived Scheffler on the 15th with a putt from 20 feet, and once more when Fleetwood stifled a chest-thumping DeChambeau from mid-range on the 11th.
By contrast, Cantlay, the best US performer with 1.5 points, missed a three-footer at the 14th to go one up in that final match against McIlroy and Lowry – Europe were spared one of those crowd eruptions that can echo into the final holes.
Cantlay, for once, ought to be spared some slack. The hatless villain of Rome played well. So too did Cam Young alongside Thomas in trouncing Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard 6&5 in the afternoon. But their performances and Presidential contributions could only count for so much.
