Ryder Cup recap: Results from all Saturday Foursome, Four-ball matches

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy – Too little too late? Or the start of a miracle at Marco Simone?

It was just over a decade ago that Europe stunned the U.S. in the “Miracle at Medinah.” The deficit entering that final day in 2012 was 10-6, matching the largest comeback in Ryder Cup history.

The Americans will need to do better in Italy. No team has ever come back from a five-point deficit, but that’s what the U.S. Team faces. They trail Europe 10.5-5.5 ahead of Sunday Singles at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

While the chances of a comeback remain slim, they aren’t nonexistent. That meaningful distinction is thanks to a rousing Four-ball session that finally saw the U.S. Team win a session and cut into Europe’s large lead. Patrick Cantlay delivered evening heroics, Max Homa continued his ascension and Sam Burns and Collin Morikawa bounced back from poor Friday performances.

The U.S. needs to win 8.5 of 12 points on Sunday to retain the Ryder Cup.

Read below for recaps from all of Saturday’s matches:

SATURDAY P.M. FOUR-BALL

Match 1: Sam Burns/Collin Morikawa (U.S.) def. Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Åberg (Europe), 4 and 3

No pairing is more illustrative of the shift in play by the U.S. than Sam Burns and Collin Morikawa.

Neither played during the morning Foursomes session after going a combined 0-3-0 on Friday. Burns won just one hole in his lone match with Scottie Scheffler in Foursomes, while Morikawa lost a tight first session before getting blown out, 5 and 3, by Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick in the afternoon.

Still, captain Zach Johnson entrusted them against the undefeated duo of Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg, and they delivered.

The Americans won four of the first five holes with birdies, all coming from Burns. Morikawa helped pour it on late, adding birdies at nine and 11 and an eagle at 12 to go 6-up.

Åberg made back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 to keep the match alive. He had a chance to do it again on 15, but his 12-foot birdie putt burned the edge.

Player records: Burns (1-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 Four-ball); Morikawa (1-2-0 overall, 1-1-0 Four-ball); Hovland (2-1-1 overall, 0-1-1 Four-ball); Åberg (2-1-0 overall, 0-1-0 Four-ball)

Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. 3.5, Europe 9.5

Match 2: Max Homa/Brian Harman (U.S.) def. Tommy Fleetwood/Nicolai Højgaard (Europe), 2 and 1

It’s a pair of Ryder Cup rookies that will be remembered as the U.S. Team’s best duo. After earning the Americans’ first match win in the morning session, Homa and Harman added another in Four-ball.

The pairing of Homa and Harman finished 9 under to take down Tommy Fleetwood and Nicolai Højgaard.

It was Homa who secured it for the U.S. down the stretch. He stuck his second shot to two feet on the par-5 12th and made an eagle to win the hole. Then, with Europe in position to win the 15th, Homa chipped in from off the green, his second of the day, to take a 3-up lead with three to play.

Fleetwood holed out for an eagle on the 16th to win the hole and keep the match alive, but Homa’s par on 17 secured the victory. Homa is now 6-1-1 in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup combined.

Player records: Homa (2-1-1 overall, 1-0-1 Four-ball); Harman (2-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 Four-ball); Fleetwood (2-1-0 overall, 0-1-0 Four-ball); Højgaard (0-1-1 overall, 0-1-1 Four-ball)

Score at match's conclusion: U.S. 4.5, Europe 9.5

Match 3: Justin Rose/Robert MacIntyre (Europe) def. Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (U.S.), 3 and 2

In what was supposed to be a transitional year for Europe, one in which a new generation of players would take the reins, it was the 43-year-old veteran Justin Rose who slammed the door shut on any talk of a U.S. comeback.

Rose, the oldest player in the field, made clutch putt after clutch putt on Saturday. The last, a 19-foot birdie on the 16th hole, finished off the match.

Rose has conjured the form that made him a Ryder Cup stalwart throughout the last decade. He didn’t qualify or receive a captain's pick for Europe in 2021, but he’s seemingly crammed enough big moments in two days for two Ryder Cups. Rose, in his sixth Ryder Cup, made six birdies on his own ball Saturday, four of which won holes. He was the catalyst in swinging the match midway through, holing birdies on the ninth and 10th holes to flip the match from 1-down to 1-up.

And he did it against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, the leaders of the U.S. Team. The Americans didn’t win any holes on the back nine. For the first time in their Ryder Cup careers, Thomas and Spieth are winless heading into Sunday singles.

Player records: Rose (1-0-1 overall, 1-0-1 Four-ball); MacIntyre (1-0-1 overall, 1-0-1 Four-ball); Thomas (0-2-1 overall, 0-1-1 Four-ball); Spieth (0-2-1 overall, 0-1-1 Four-ball)

Score at match's conclusion: U.S. 4.5, Europe 10.5

Match 4: Patrick Cantlay/Wyndham Clark (U.S.) def. Matt Fitzpatrick/Rory McIlroy (Europe), 1-up

If the Americans make a run on Sunday, Patrick Cantlay’s Four-ball performance will prove pivotal in their resurrection.

Cantlay birdied the final two holes, including a 43-footer on 18, to flip the match from 1 down to a 1-up victory. It secured the U.S. Team its first session win and some much-needed momentum entering singles. Cantlay and Clark never led the match until that final birdie drop, though they never let Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick get comfortable. Europe never had more than a 1-up lead.

The task remains large. No team has ever overcome a five-point deficit on Sunday. But in a week that has seen Europe deal gut punch after gut punch to the U.S., losing the final match could have been the knockout blow.

Cantlay ensured there were at least a few more jabs to throw.

Player records: Cantlay (1-2-0 overall, 1-0-0 Four-ball); Clark (1-0-1 overall, 1-0-1 Four-ball); Fitzpatrick (1-1-0 overall, 1-1-0 Four-ball); McIlroy (3-1-0 overall, 1-1-0 Four-ball)

Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. 5.5, Europe 10.5

SATURDAY A.M. FOURSOMES

Match 1: Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) def. Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (U.S.), 2 and 1

In France, it was Moliwood. In Italy, it is Fleetwood Mac.

The partnership of McIlroy and Fleetwood is quickly becoming a lethal one. The duo took care of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, the heart and soul of the U.S. Team. That came a day after handling Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, widely considered the Americans’ best pairing entering the week.

Europe never trailed in the match, grabbing control immediately with wins at the first three holes. The Americans cut the lead to 1 up after 14 holes, but a pair of putts from McIlroy sealed the deal.

The first came on the par-4 15th. McIlroy drained a winding 25-foot putt for birdie to win the hole. Then, after the Americans answered with a win at 16 and Fleetwood blew his birdie chance 13 feet by at 17, McIlroy sunk the comeback to end the match.

McIlroy is the only golfer 3-0-0 this week.

Player records: McIlroy (3-0-0 overall, 2-0-0 Foursomes); Fleetwood (2-0-0 overall, 2-0-0 Foursomes); Thomas (0-1-1 overall, 0-1-0 Foursomes); Spieth (0-1-1 overall, 0-1-0 Foursomes)

Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. 2.5, Europe 8.5

Match 2: Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Åberg (Europe) def. Scottie Scheffler/Brooks Koepka (U.S.), 9 and 7

No Ryder Cup Foursomes match has ever failed to reach the 12th hole. Well, until Saturday.

It was a scene Åberg called “quite surreal” as he and Hovland wrapped up the largest victory in Foursomes Ryder Cup history, 9 and 7, on the par-4 11th green.

A poor approach by Koepka at the 11th left Scheffler without much of a shot in deep rough behind the green. His pitch-out rolled off the front edge of the green and Koepka’s attempt to chip in for par raced past the hole. Then the hats came off.

It was a fitting end to the thorough beatdown. Europe consistently applied pressure that the U.S. couldn’t meet. Europe went par-par-bogey-birdie to start the match and won every hole. Scheffler and Koepka shot 7-over in 11 holes. When it was time to close the door, Europe did. They birdied each of their last four holes.

Hovland and Åberg finished unbeaten in Foursomes this week. They won 15 of the 26 holes they played and lost just two.

The victory Saturday surpassed the previous Foursomes record of 7 and 6 set three times, most recently by Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson over Luke Donald and Lee Westwood in 2012.

Player records: Hovland (2-0-1 overall, 2-0-0 Foursomes); Åberg (2-0-0 overall, 2-0-0 Foursomes); Scheffler (0-2-1 overall, 0-2-0 Foursomes); Koepka (0-1-1 overall, 0-1-0 Foursomes)

Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. 1.5, Europe 7.5

Match 3: Max Homa/Brian Harman (U.S.) def. Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka (Europe), 4 and 2

It took 11 matches, but at long last, the Americans notched their first win.

Tied after nine holes, Max Homa and Brian Harman went birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie to jump out to a 3-up lead that they held down the stretch. Homa chipped in for an eagle at the par-4 16th to finish it.

Homa and Wyndham Clark tied Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre in Four-ball on Friday.

It was a back-and-forth match on the front nine, neither team leading for more than two holes before the other answered. That changed on the par-4 10th. Homa hit his approach to 8 feet, and Harman sank the putt. On the short par-4 11th, Harman pitched their second shot within 6 feet, and Homa holed the putt to go 2-up. Then, on the par-5 12th, Homa stuffed his 221-yard approach to 10” for a tap-in eagle.

It’s the first full point for the U.S. Team after mustering only three ties on Friday.

Player records: Homa (1-1-1 overall, 1-1-0 Foursomes); Harman (1-1-0 overall, 1-1-0 Foursomes); Lowry (1-1-0 overall, 1-1-0 Foursomes); Straka (1-1-0 overall, 1-1-0 Foursomes)

Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. 2.5, Europe 7.5

Match 4: Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton (Europe) def. Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (U.S.), 2 and 1

Jon Rahm walked it off.

Standing on the par-3 17th with a 1-up lead, Rahm launched his tee ball high in the air, landed it a few paces from the hole and cozied it up within 7 inches of the hole.

That guaranteed at least a half point for Europe – Xander Schauffele’s missed 4-footer sealed the outright win. Ball game.

It was the latest in a growing list of triumphant moments for Rahm. He holed out three times on Friday, including on the first of two eagles he made in the final three holes of his Four-ball match. The second eagle came on the 18th hole as the Spaniard buried a 33-foot putt to eke out a tie against Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka and quell any momentum the U.S. hoped to take into Saturday.

It was a similar story today.

Trailing for most of the match, Cantlay and Schauffele charged on the back-nine, winning the 12th, 13th and 14th holes to tie the match. Although the European lead was large, it gave momentary hope to the Americans that a win in the final match of Foursomes and a strong Four-ball session could keep their hopes alive.

That ended, like it has some many times this week, with Rahm’s heroics.

Player records: Rahm (2-0-1 overall, 2-0-0 Foursomes); Hatton (2-0-1 overall, 2-0-0 Foursomes); Cantlay (0-2-0 overall, 0-2-0 Foursomes); Schauffele (0-3-0 overall, 0-2-0 Foursomes)

Score at match’s conclusion: U.S. 2.5, Europe 9.5