The pride of Long Island could represent a stain on America.
Day 1 of the 45th Ryder Cup kicked off Friday morning at Bethpage Black, and concluded with Europe quieting the bulk of the 55,000-plus and crushing the confidence of Team USA, seizing control with a 5½-2½ lead at the iconic public course.
Bringing back a record 11 of the 12 players who dominated the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, returning captain Luke Donald’s side became the first European team in the 98-year history of the Ryder Cup to win the opening three foursomes (alternate shot) matches, while America’s top stars (Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau) went a combined 0-4 on the day.
No host nation has lost the Ryder Cup since 2012. The U.S. needs 14.5 points to win the event. Europe needs 14 to retain the trophy.
“We’ve only played 28 percent of the points,” said U.S. captain Keegan Bradley. “This is the first quarter. We’ve still got three quarters to go. I’ve got a lot of faith in my boys.”
The day began in darkness, as thousands sprinted through the state park to secure seats at the massive grandstand behind the first tee. Each spot was filled well before 6 a.m., allowing the anticipation to build as the sun slowly rose over the surreal setting, shifting the sky from charcoal to tangerine.
Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas emerged with the American flag wrapped around their shoulders, as fans sang a capella versions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and jets flew overhead. Everyone shared the same thought — victory.
Fans took glee as Jon Rahm opened the event by finding the rough before DeChambeau hit a 344-foot bomb over the trees, stopping just short of the green to set up a birdie to win the opening hole.
The $750 single-day tickets and 3:30 a.m. alarms were justified, a scene that most will never see play out before their eyes again. But it was the highlight of the American experience on Day 1 at Bethpage Black.
The thousands clad in red, white and blue walked around the municipal course in a daze, bouncing from hole to hole in search of hope, watching the scoreboards like Francisco Lindor, allowing more chants of “Olé” than “U-S-A.”
A.W. Tillinghast’s masterpiece was shaping up to be the site of a massacre, in which the first three European pairings finished their matches in a 10-minute span, each concluded before the 16th hole. The combined 14-hole advantage by those pairings marked the first time that a team won three matches by at least four holes in the opening session since 1951.
“Although it was great, it was just one part of a long race,” Rahm said. “We started great and we have to keep it going.”
Scheffler stumbled again — the world No. 1 went 0-2-2 in the 2023 event in Rome and is now 0-3 all-time in foursomes — and DeChambeau’s group failed to birdie after the first hole, while the Europeans rode the dynamic pairings of two years ago, with both Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, and Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton improving to 3-0-0 as respective duos. Ludvig Aberg, now 3-0 in the format, helped Matt Fitzpatrick prevail — against Scheffler and Russell Henley — for just the second time in his nine career Ryder Cup matches.
In the past two Ryder Cups, Europe is 10-2 in foursomes play. Since 1991, teams that have earned at least three wins in the first session have gone 7-1, while the U.S. last overcame as poor of an opening session in 1971.
The U.S. salvaged a point when Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay broke a tie after the 16th hole to finish 2-up over Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland, reviving the desperate crowd.
“We saw a lot of blue on the board,” Schauffele said, “and we knew it was crucial to get a point.”
President Donald Trump’s appearance before the afternoon session did nothing to spur the U.S.
Even with New Yorker Cam Young and Justin Thomas putting on a clinic against Aberg and Nicolai Højgaard, winning 6 & 5, the U.S. couldn’t get close.
J.J. Spaun was dragged down in his Ryder Cup debut by Scheffler, who didn’t record a birdie through 12 holes, and took defeat against Rahm and Sepp Straka at the 16th hole. The crowd slowly showed more life — Thomas and DeChambeau repeatedly tried to rile up the tame home crowd — but the scoreboard encouraged silence.
Fleetwood and Justin Rose secured a full point on the 18th hole of the penultimate match, edging DeChambeau and Ben Griffin, before Cantlay and Sam Burns settled for a tie against Shane Lowry and McIlroy, who ended the day by missing a 13-foot putt to win the hole, flipping his club in disbelief.
The players then shook hands and exited the green, the sun already sunk behind the trees at the final hole.
Darkness on Black.
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