Europe thrashed by Team USA in Ryder Cup humiliation

After winning eight out of the last nine Ryder Cups, in the run-up to this year’s delayed iteration, you may have thought that this dominant European team were surely set for another triumph.

With a team full of legends like Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy, and backed up by a solid captain in Pádraig Harrington, who has no shortage of Ryder Cup success himself, few could have predicted the humiliation that the team has undergone over the weekend.

In the end, Team USA won 19-9, a huge margin that seemed, in the end, like a changing of the guard as a young squad destroyed Europe’s old timers, a success that looks like it could start a spell of dominance that will last for many years to come.

The USA were favourites prior to the tournament, with an average player ranking of 8.9, compared to Europe’s 30.8, but it was the manner of the defeat that was so humiliating for Harrington’s men. The USA team has shown potential before, but it was here that they really began to fulfil it.

The team events were wrapped up convincingly by Team USA to take an 11-5 lead heading into the singles, after some poor performances by Europe’s key men, particularly McIlroy and Poulter. The only European win came in the team event in the first match-up of the day, as Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm surprised Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

Already, the margin was such that Europe would have had to do something that had never been done before to overcome it, but their performance over the first couple of days gave no indication that this was possible, and so it proved in the singles.

Once again, Team USA won effectively every tie, as Europe managed to deliver only three singles wins, through Poulter, McIlroy and Lee Westwood. The fact that these three were the only winners, despite being some of Europe’s more experienced players, does not bode well for the future.

Some debate has surrounded the team selection of Harrington, and the players that he selected for certain match-ups, but largely, kudos has to be given to the American team.

This is a collection of highly skilled players who are mentally strong enough to withstand pressure and belie their inexperience (there were six rookies in their line-up). US captain Steve Stricker has labelled his team as “the best ever” and, although this claim may seem slightly far-fetched, should they continue to improve, they may come to deserve this title in the next few years.