Europe quiets U.S., up 3 after Day 1 of Ryder Cup

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Europe's biggest stars showed up -- and the American team's didn't -- on the opening day of the 45th Ryder Cup on Friday, which is why the U.S. will have to climb out of another big hole over the final two days at Bethpage Black.

European stars Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm didn't lose a match in the first two sessions, while Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau failed to earn a point, allowing the Europeans to take a 5.5-2.5 lead.

After going 3-1 in the Friday morning foursomes (alternate-shot) matches, the Europeans won two and tied one of the four four-ball (best ball) matches in the afternoon.

"Incredible day," European team captain Luke Donald said. "To win this morning was huge for us, and we all know how important it is to get off to a good start. We know how strong the U.S. were in foursomes. Guys grinded to win the session again this afternoon. That's another tick in our box, and I'm very happy where we are."

The deficit would have been worse for the Americans if McIlroy hadn't barely missed an 11½-foot birdie try on the 18th hole of the final four-ball match. McIlroy and Ireland's Shane Lowry halved the match with Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns, who also missed an 11½-foot birdie attempt on 18.

"The boys played really good this afternoon," American captain Keegan Bradley said. "Europe made a lot of putts. Happy with the way we're playing. Hopefully, it'll turn and our putts will go in tomorrow."

The teams will play the same schedule Saturday, followed by 12 singles matches Sunday.

The Europeans need 14 points to retain the Ryder Cup after their 16.5-11.5 victory in Rome in 2023. The Americans need 14.5 points to take it back.

It won't be easy for the U.S. team. The Europeans have won each of the past six Ryder Cups in which they had a lead after the opening day. The last time they didn't get it done was in 1999, when they squandered a 6-2 lead in a 14.5-13.5 loss at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.

For the Americans to have any chance to come back, they'll have to get Scheffler going in the right direction. On Friday, he became the first world No. 1 (since 1986) to lose both his matches on the opening day of the Ryder Cup without either match reaching the 17th hole.

After Scheffler and Russell Henley fell in a 5-and-3 foursomes match to Sweden's Ludvig Åberg and England's Matt Fitzpatrick, Scheffler and U.S. Open winner J.J. Spaun dropped a 3-and-2 decision to Rahm and Austria's Sepp Straka in four-ball.

Scheffler struggled with his putter for most of the day -- he didn't make a birdie in the four-ball match until the par-5 13th to halve the hole.

"We gave ourselves plenty of opportunities," Scheffler said. "It really just came down to me not holing enough putts. We put up a good fight at the end. The guys just really turned it on on the back nine, but it really came down to us not taking advantage of the holes early in the match that we needed to."

Scheffler, whose 13 victories on the PGA Tour the past two seasons include three majors, is winless in his past six Ryder Cup matches. He went 0-2-2 in Italy two years ago.

Perhaps no one could have beaten Rahm on Friday. The two-time major champion has fallen to No. 73 in the world ranking because he's not earning points for his finishes in LIV Golf League events, but he's still playing like one of the best golfers on the planet.

Rahm is unbeaten in his past nine pair matches, tied for the second-longest streak by a European player in Ryder Cup history, according to ESPN Research. He has lost only one of his past 12 Ryder Cup matches overall.

"The morning, 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. That's what we did."

Fleetwood, who captured his first PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship on Aug. 24, continues to be a thorn in the Americans' side, as well. Fleetwood and McIlroy made easy work of Collin Morikawa and Harris English in a 5-and-4 victory in foursomes, then Fleetwood and Justin Rose handed DeChambeau and Ben Griffin a 1-up loss in a four-ball match.

Rose, 45, made a 9½-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to put away the Americans.

"The scoreboard is what counts, and I think just our team as a collective, I think we obviously feel very prepared, and we've been looking forward to this day for a long time now," Fleetwood said. "So to have got off to a good start feels great. Their team is stacked with amazing players. So whoever it is, the match is going to be difficult, and the points mean so much."

The Americans got a big boost from Ryder Cup rookie Cameron Young, who set the Bethpage Black scoring record as a 20-year-old. Young didn't play Friday morning, but he carried Justin Thomas to a 6-and-5 victory over Åberg and Denmark's Rasmus Højgaard in four-ball.

Young, who picked up his first PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 3, made five birdies in the round. He and Thomas made three straight birdies to end the match on the 13th hole.

Young became the first American to win his first Ryder Cup by a margin of six holes or more since Phil Mickelson in 1995.

"It's pretty special," said Young, who grew up in Scarborough, New York, and is the son of a PGA of America professional. "I love this place, and this is a team we worked really hard to make. We're just super grateful. To have the opportunity to play today alongside him in front of these fans is pretty special."

Thomas also bounced back after struggling in a foursomes match in the morning.

"I really just kind of sat back and watched the show," Thomas said. "I tried to help when I could, but I'm just so happy for Cam [and] I'm proud of him. Playing in your first Ryder Cup is really hard, but playing in front of your home fans I would imagine is even harder, but he definitely played like the veteran today."