What seemed destined to be a comfortable European victory transformed into a tense and dramatic finale at the Ryder Cup, with Europe ultimately clinching a hard-fought 15-13 win. The close-knit European team, which had dominated for two days, was pushed to the limit by a ferocious American comeback in the singles matches, making the European squad sweat for every point.
The victory wasn’t secured until the final moments of the day. Ireland’s Shane Lowry provided a critical half-point by sinking a clutch birdie putt on the 18th hole, guaranteeing Europe would at least retain the Cup. The outright win was then sealed by England’s Tyrrell Hatton, who earned the decisive half-point in his match against Collin Morikawa.
European Captain Luke Donald described the day as “the most stressful 12 hours of my life,” while Hatton called it one of the hardest he has ever experienced on a golf course. The narrow victory marks the closest Ryder Cup since Europe’s famous “Miracle at Medinah” comeback in 2012 and solidifies their modern dominance, having now won 11 of the last 15 contests.
