Tale of the Tape: Ryder Cup, Day 3

GUYANCOURT, France -- Europe won six of the final seven matches in Sunday’s Singles to reclaim the Ryder Cup, beating the U.S. 17.5 to 10.5 in a dominating performance at Le Golf National. It’s the sixth consecutive Ryder Cup on home soil that Europe has won; the last time the U.S. has won in Europe is 1993. Francesco Molinari completed the best week ever by a European player, remaining undefeated as he beat Phil Mickelson 4 and 2.

BEST MATCH

Both Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy expected that their opening match in Singles would be a key one, setting the tone for the rest of the day. Certainly it was a tight one, with neither player going more than 2-up. And it was riveting, as the match reached the 18th hole. But as it turned it, it did not impact the outcome, as Thomas’ 1-up win was one of just four on the day for the Americans. Still, it had plenty of interesting moments, particularly at the final hole. With the match all square, Thomas found the fairway off the tee while McIlroy found a half-buried lie near the lip of the fairway bunker. He tried to punch out sideways to the fairway, but his ball dribbled back into the bunker. Then on his third shot, his ball came out low, clipped the lip, and ran into the water on the other side. Once Thomas safely found the green with his approach, McIlroy conceded the hole and the match. Don’t expect it to be the last time these two players face each other in a Ryder Cup match.

BEST AMERICANS

The U.S. had four winners on Sunday – Thomas, Webb Simpson, Tony Finau and Patrick Reed. Thomas had to knock off McIlroy and Simpson beat Justin Rose, the recent world No. 1. But the most impressive American performance was from Finau. The Ryder Cup rookie put together six birdies and won nine holes in a bogey-free round to throttle previously unbeaten Tommy Fleetwood 5 and 4 in the fifth match of the day. “I played incredible golf today. I was controlling the ball nicely and made some putts. It was a really hard time for Tommy to get in the match,” Finau said.

BEST EUROPEANS

The Europeans had seven winners on Sunday. Jon Rahm had the thrill of a lifetime, knocking off Tiger Woods 2 and 1. Ian Poulter remained undefeated in Ryder Cup singles, beating world No. 1 Dustin Johnson 2 up by winning four of the last six holes. But the most impressive performance was by Ryder Cup rookie Thorbjorn Olesen. He sat out both sessions on Saturday but had a key victory over Jordan Spieth in the seventh match, winning 5 and 4 in a match that was vital to slow the early U.S. momentum. Olesen made five birdies and never trailed for the last 11 holes to beat Spieth, who had won three points in the team session. “I played great on the front nine,” Olesen said. “Holed some really, really good putts and the crowd were mental. It's been so much fun.”

BEST STAT

Sergio Garcia became the most successful Ryder Cup player in history with 25.5 points ahead of previous record holder Sir Nick Faldo (25). Jordan Spieth is now 0-3 in Ryder Cup singles and 0-3 in Presidents Cup singles.

ROOKIE REVIEW

USA

Bryson DeChambeau (0-3-0) – Despite fighting all the way to the final hole well after the Ryder Cup had been decided and throwing a dart on 18 DeChambeau was left without a point after Alex Noren drained a huge putt for a 1-up win.

Justin Thomas (4-1-0) – The MVP of the American team. Thomas was a rookie in name only as he showed he could be the man to build a team around for the next decade and some. Took down Rory McIlroy 1-up in the opening singles match.

Tony Finau (2-1-0) – Justified his selection as a captain’s pick with two earned points … the only two earned from all four of team USA’s picks. Finau gave Tommy Fleetwood a 6 and 4 thrashing in singles which was pretty incredible after the first two days of dominance for the Englishman.

EUROPE

Tommy Fleetwood (4-1-0) – A stud on debut in the Ryder Cup despite being hammered 6 and 4 by Tony Finau in singles. Prior to that he teamed with Francesco Molinari to become just the second pairing ever to go 4-0 in a single Ryder Cup and the first ever Europeans to do so. Takes the record for most points earned by a European rookie in Ryder Cup history.

Alex Noren (2-1-0) – Put some impressive icing on the cake but making a long-range birdie putt on the 18th in the anchor match to win 1-up over Bryson DeChambeau. His accuracy was huge throughout the week.

Tyrrell Hatton (1-2-0) – Was unable to keep Patrick Reed from securing a point – going down 3 and 2 in singles.

Thorbjorn Olesen (1-1-0) – After being benched all day Saturday Olesen showed he certainly wasn’t sulking as he made short work of Jordan Spieth in Sunday’s singles. Took care of Spieth 5 and 4 to ensure he added his first Ryder Cup point to his personal tally.

Jon Rahm (1-2-0) – Provided one of the biggest highlights of his short career with a singles win over Tiger Woods. Rahm ensured every single European player contributed at least a point with a famous 2 and 1 win.