(Guidonia Montecelio) Europe got its hands back on the Ryder Cup on Sunday, as it has regularly done in front of its fans.
Rory McIlroy led the charge and Tommy Fleetwood gave the Europeans the decisive point in a 16-and-a-half to 11-and-a-half victory.
McIlroy was still inflamed by what he considered to be poor ethics on the part of Patrick Cantlay’s caddy the day before. He helped Europe move closer to victory by winning their fourth match of the weekend.
Fleetwood then hit a signature shot on Marco Simone’s signature hole of the course, placing his ball 25 feet from the cup at the 16th flag. Rickie Fowler hit his shot into the water and eventually conceded a short putt to Fleetwood to bring the Europeans to the necessary total of 14 and a half points.
The celebrations began. The United States has not won the Ryder Cup in the last seven appearances on European soil, since 1993.
The Americans were coming off a commanding 19-9 victory at Whistling Straits two years ago and believed they could end their long drought in Europe. They will have to wait until 2027, in Ireland.
Europe entered the final day of activities with a five-point lead and knowing that no team has ever managed to erase such a deficit in the final session of the tournament.
The Americans gave their adversaries a few cold sweats, but very briefly.
Jon Rahm won the 18th hole to score a half point over Scottie Scheffler. Tyrrell Hatton completed a perfect weekend by beating Brian Harman and Viktor Hovland gave Europe the first point by triumphing over Collin Morikawa.
All Europe needed was a measly half a point. Fleetwood made sure of this by giving himself a two-hole lead with as many holes to play.
