After three years of waiting and speculation, it’s time to put the tees in the ground and balls in the air. The 43rd Ryder Cup is here.
The biennial event between 12 of the best golfers from the United States and all of Europe begins on Friday morning at Whistling Straits’ Straits Course in Haven, Wisconsin, with four foursomes matches, followed by four four-ball matches in the afternoon. Europe has won seven of the last nine events, while the Americans last won in 2016 when they hosted on home soil.
From impressive shots to funny fans and everything in between, stay up to date with all the latest news and analysis of the 43rd Ryder Cup.
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Bryson bombs one 417 yards, but U.S. viewers didn’t see it
Bryson DeChambeau took a path untraveled Friday on the fifth hole. Instead of heading down the fairway, DeChambeau set up to aim right off the tee box, asked spectators and media to move out of the way and then let it fly.
But those watching the American telecast on Golf Channel didn’t get to see his extraordinary effort. As the local broadcast hopped from feature to feature, the drive was skipped over. Meanwhile, those watching the European feed were able to see the tee shot.
Eagle sighting! @b_dechambeau with a solid showing at the par-5 5th to tie the match. #GoUSA pic.twitter.com/7Zo3wu7Qrc
— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) September 24, 2021
Interestingly enough, the production team did not circle back and show the drive in the moments leading up to DeChambeau’s putt. This led to consternation in the Twitter world.
Rewound my TV for 10 minutes trying to find the 415-yard 💣 from Bryson, an insanely wild athletic feat the TV crew knew he might try setting up a huge eagle ……… they just didn’t show it on television.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) September 24, 2021
DeChambeau went on to make eagle.
— Todd Kelly & Tim Schmitt
The jet pilot from Thursday’s opening ceremony got a ball from Jay Haas at Oak Hill
Buck Neal, now a pilot, was given a golf ball by Jay Haas at the 1995 Ryder Cup. (contributed photo)
Before the never-ending opening ceremony got underway at the Ryder Cup on Thursday, a flyover occurred during the national anthem.
What most don’t know is the pilot of one of the jets is no stranger to the Ryder Cup. Captain Buck Neal — an outstanding name for a pilot, by the way — was in attendance at the 31st Ryder Cup, which was played at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
The 1995 event was a battle down to the very end, but Europe would end up winning the Cup, 14½ to 13½.
Jay Haas played in four of the sessions throughout the week, but wasn’t very successful, leaving New York with a 1-3-0 record.
Despite his performance, he took some time to hand a golf ball to Neal, who was five years old at the time.
— Riley Hamel
Stricker breaks up winning teams for afternoon Four-Balls
U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker said he would not deviate from his script concerning his pairings, no matter what happened Friday morning.
Whether or not Stricker changed up things because of what he saw in the morning is unknown, but he is sending out all 12 of his charges on the first day.
— Golfweek
U.S. dominates Friday foursomes; Rahm impresses for Europe
Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa put on a masterclass in Ryder Cup foursomes on Friday morning.
The world’s Nos. 2 and 3 players defeated Europe’s Paul Casey and Viktor Hovland, 3 and 2, in the first session of the biennial event between the United States and Europe.
The Americans dominated the morning, winning three of the four matches.
— Golfweek
Bathed in early sunlight, fans chant, sing and cheer as Ryder Cup players arrive at first tee
Brooks Niebrugge, 8, and his friend, Charlotte Sprecher, 8, both from Effingham, Illinois, watch the action on the first hole during the 43rd Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Haven on Friday. They were with their fathers, Jake Niebrugge and Josh Sprecher. (Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Michael Cairns and Marshall Jamieson left their hotel just north of Milwaukee about 2:45 a.m. to get to Whistling Straits with one goal in mind: the first tee.
Wearing matching American flag jumpsuits and visiting from the Seattle area, the duo arrived at the course at 3:30 a.m. and were at the front of the line when the gates opened an hour early at 5 a.m. for the first round of the 43rd Ryder Cup.
Not far behind them were Pat and Tricia Dignam from St. Louis, who estimated they were about 20th in line and also got onto the grounds at 5 a.m. — until they saw people running past them.
Perched in an open-air booth on one corner of the stands, Shawna Nicols, aka DJ Shawna, had the music going early and by 6:20 a.m. there was a line to get in — and those unlucky fans weren’t going to move any farther.
The primarily pro-American contingent had sprinkles of European fans throughout, and chants and cheers rolled around the horseshoe of seats. United States Ryder Cup vice captain Zach Johnson was the first member of either team to appear on the green at 6:52 a.m., two minutes after the sun cracked the tree line to wash the entire structure and teeing ground in yellow light.
— Jim Owczarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
U.S. in good shape on back nine
Sep 24, 2021; Haven, Wisconsin, USA; Team USA player Brooks Koepka plays his shot from the sixth tee during day one foursome matches for the 43rd Ryder Cup golf competition at Whistling Straits. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The American team is looking good as the groups work along the shore of Lake Michigan on the back nine, but, as our Steve DiMeglio pointed out in this tweet, “This has a little Hazeltine feel when USA jumped out 4-0 Friday morning.”
Here are the current standings.
• EUROPE WINS Rahm/Garcia over Thomas/Spieth, 3 and 1
• U.S. Johnson/Morikawa 2 up on Casey/Hovland through 14
• U.S. Koepka/Berger 2 up on Westwood/Fitzpatrick through 14
• U.S. Cantlay/Schauffele 3 up on McIlroy/Poulter through 12
— Tim Schmitt
Rahm showing his mettle
Team Europe player Jon Rahm chips on the fourth hole during day one foursome matches for the 43rd Ryder Cup golf competition at Whistling Straits. Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
With three matches on the scoreboard at 10 a.m. being led by the United States, Jon Rahm, the world’s No. 1 player, was not allowing it to be four.
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Rahm was a monster off the tee, a marksman with his irons and time after time holed big putts. He wasn’t perfect, hitting a fairway wood approach shot into the pond short of the fifth green, but aside from that, he was a stud and carried Sergio Garcia to a 2-up lead after the opening nine holes in their match against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
— David Dusek
Great start for Cantlay, Schuaffele
A fan records on his phone during day one foursome matches for the 43rd Ryder Cup golf competition at Whistling Straits. Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
It was a picture-perfect start for the tandem of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in their match against Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter.
On the opening hole, Cantlay’s hot putter continued to spark success, then on the second hole, McIlroy pushed his putt and missed, giving the Americans another pop. The U.S. duo did it again on No. 3, as Schauffele drained a putt to give the team a commanding lead early, and then Poulter missed a putt on No. 4 and the Americans added to their lead.
— Tim Schmitt
Party started early for the Ryder Cup
Team Europe player Lee Westwood putts on the first green during day one foursome matches for the 43rd Ryder Cup golf competition at Whistling Straits. Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
The party started early for the Ryder Cup on Friday at Whistling Straits.
The gates opened for fans at 6 a.m. By then there were already long lines of cars in the dark on the county highways that lead into the course on Lake Michigan.
By 6:45 a.m. the grandstands around hole No. 1 were full and DJ Shawna was getting the fans riled with bass-heavy tracks as the sun rose over the lake.
After the recorded music stopped, fans made up their own soundtrack. There was a spontaneous rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and some songs that pods of fans just invented.
As the golfers made their way to the hole, there were raucous cheers.
— Benjamin Steele, Gannett Wisconsin
Americans miss early
You hate to see this, especially on the first for Team USA. In front of a loud crowd in the first match of the event, Justin Thomas got the ball rolling down the fairway, setting up good friend and teammate Jordan Spieth to tuck in a close approach (which he did). Thomas had an eight-footer left for birdie and it wasn’t even close. The Americans lost a golden chance to take an early lead after Sergio Garcia’s opening drive found a bunker.
— Adam Woodard
Ryder Cup morning match fast facts
Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia (EUR) vs. Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth (USA)
• Jordan Spieth is the second-youngest American to play in the Ryder Cup; he was 21 years and 61 days old when he played in 2014. (The youngest U.S. Ryder Cup player is Horton Smith, who was 20 when he played in 1929.)
• As a professional in partnered match play, Spieth has a stellar career record of 15-4-3 and is 7-1-2 in Foursomes.
• Justin Thomas enters the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits with wins in each of his last three matches; that’s the longest winning streak of any player on this year’s teams.
• As a professional, Jon Rahm has a career match-play singles record of 8-4-2 that includes a 2-and-1 win over Tiger Woods at the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris.
• With 22 wins and seven halves in his 41 career matches, Sergio Garcia has earned more points than any player in Ryder Cup history. His 22 match victories rank second among all Europeans behind Nick Faldo (23).
Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa (USA) vs. Paul Casey, Viktor Hovland (EUR)
• Paul Casey is 1-1-0 in Ryder Cup Foursomes, winning with David Howell in 2006 and losing with Henrik Stenson in 2008.
• Viktor Hovland won the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links, becoming the first player from Norway to do so, and on his way to the final, he won back-to-back matches by 7-and-6 scores.
• In 2019, Hovland was the low amateur at both the Masters and U.S. Open; the last player to earn low amateur honors at these two events in the same year was Matt Kuchar in 1998.
• Dustin Johnson had a 4-0-1 record at the 2017 Presidents Cup — the only player on either side to win more than three times.
• Collin Morikawa’s perfect 4-0 record at the 2017 Walker Cup included an 8-and-7 Foursomes victory with partner Norman Xiong.
Lee Westwood, Matt Fitzpatrick (EUR) vs. Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger (USA)
• Brooks Koepka compiled a 3-1 record, winning twice in only 14 holes, while making his Ryder Cup debut in 2016 at Hazeltine National GC.
• In the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, Daniel Berger ranked second in rounds in the 60s, trailing only Jon Rahm.
• This is Lee Westwood’s 11th Ryder Cup appearance, tying him with Nick Faldo for the most career appearances by a European player.
• Westwood’s span of playing in the Ryder Cup over a period of 24 years, from 1997 to 2021, shares the record (with Dai Rees) as the longest of any European player in history.
• Then the world’s No. 2-ranked player, Matthew Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., in 2013, becoming the first Englishman to claim the title in more than a century (since Harold Hilton in 1911).
Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter (EUR)
• Over the course of his career, Rory Mcilroy’s singles record in professional match play events is 32-17-3 and he is 44-25-6 overall.
• McIlroy and Poulter are 2-1-1 in partnered Ryder Cup matches. They won a Four-Ball match in 2012, halved in Foursomes in 2014 and went 1-1 in Foursomes in 2018.
• Patrick Cantlay was one of four players (along with Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele) to win three matches for the winning U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup.
• Xander Schauffele has a career record of 6-4-1 in professional match play competitions. He and Patrick Cantlay were 2-0 in Foursomes at the 2019 Presidents Cup.
— Golfweek
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