Ryder Cup Sunday singles predictions: 2 writers break it down

The U.S. Ryder Cup team finally showed up on Saturday afternoon, winning three of four foursomes matches to shrink the Europeans’ lead to 10.5-5.5. Now just 12 singles matches remain.

Can the Americans rally for an epic comeback and stun Europe? We give our predictions for each match below.

Match 1: Jon Rahm vs. Scottie Scheffler 

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): I’ll be contrarian here. A repeat of what Scheffler did last time they played. Point, USA.

Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): A rematch of their Sunday singles match at Whistling Straits. I like Scheffler to make it 2-0 against Rahm.

Match 2: Viktor Hovland vs. Collin Morikawa

Sens: Morikawa. I say this because I see some momentum carry over from late Saturday. U.S. will tighten the score but it will be too late.

Melton: Hovland has played like a man possessed this week. He’ll take care of Morikawa. 

Match 3: Justin Rose vs. Patrick Cantlay 

Sens: Cantlay. Did you see how he finished Saturday? More of that. 

Melton: Agreed. After Cantlay’s late charge (and drama) on Saturday, I feel like he’ll carry that momentum into Sunday. Gimme Patty Ice.

Match 4: Rory McIlroy vs. Sam Burns 

Sens: McIlroy. Here is where the Europeans start to right the ship. 

Melton: Rory all day.

Match 5: Matt Fitzpatrick vs. Max Homa

Sens: Halve. Two scrappy guys battle to a tie. 

Melton: Homa has been one of the lone bright spots for the Americans this week and will finish a strong Ryder Cup debut with a win.

Match 6: Tyrrell Hatton vs. Brian Harman

Sens: Harman. He will putt him to death. 

Melton: They play to a well-fought halve.

Match 7: Ludvig Aberg vs. Brooks Koepka 

Sens. Aberg. In karmic payback, Koepka’s cocky statements come back to bite him. 

Melton: BK’s alpha strut won’t phase Aberg. The rookie takes care of business.

Match 8: Sepp Straka vs. Justin Thomas 

Sens: Thomas. Further vindicating his selection as a captain’s pick. 

Melton: Have we been watching the same JT this week, Sens? He’s been downright bad all week (second-to-last in strokes gained), and the trend will continue on Sunday. Straka wins with ease.

Match 9: Nicolai Hojgaard vs. Xander Schauffele 

Sens: Schauffele. His experience in these pressure cookers pays off

Melton: Schauffele’s experience wins out over Højgaard’s youth.

Match 10: Shane Lowry vs. Jordan Spieth

Sens: Lowry. Even Spieth’s scrambling magic can’t overcome his wildness tee to green. 

Melton: Spieth’s play this week has been concerningly poor. I don’t see how he figures it out before tomorrow. I like Lowry.

Match 11: Tommy Fleetwood vs. Rickie Fowler

Sens: Fleetwood. Rickie is just too nice a guy for this situation.  

Melton: After sitting out all of Saturday, Fowler comes out reenergized but ultimately falls to Fleetwood.

Match 12: Robert MacIntyre vs. Wyndham Clark

Sens: Clark but it won’t matter. Europe will have clinched by now. 

Melton: Agreed.

FINAL PREDICTION

Sens: Europe, 15-13.

Melton: Europe, 17-11.

Zephyr Melton

Golf.com Editor

Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.

Josh Sens

Golf.com Contributor

A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLF’s platforms. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook.