Ryder Cup reaction: Europe whopping favorites to win after historic performance at Marco Simone

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy – And just like that, it was over.

Yes, there’s still a heartbeat left on the American team. The math shows that 20 of 28 points remain up for grabs, with the U.S. side needing to take 12.5 of them to keep the Ryder Cup.

But the historic display Friday at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club put any hopes of a drought-busting U.S. victory on life support. Listed at as a slim +110 underdog entering the opening day of play, the Americans are now hefty +550 longshots after Team Europe raced out to a 6.5 to 1.5 advantage. Europe has gone from +100 to -550, meaning you have to bet $55 for every $10 you hope to win if (when) European Captain Luke Donald gets his hands on the trophy.

Updated odds to win the Ryder Cup (via BetMGM Sportsbook):

-550: Team Europe

+550: Team USA

+1400: Tie

What went wrong for the Americans? In a nutshell, everything. Shut out in the opening session for the first time ever, the U.S. Team seemed out of sorts from the jump while Captain Zach Johnson’s pairings were immediately called into question. The Americans not only lost every match – but also they never led any of the opening Foursomes matches at any point. A total landslide.

The afternoon showed some promise, and at one point it felt like a comeback to a 5-3 overnight score was within reach. But those hopes were snuffed out with three monster putts on the 18th green: first from Viktor Hovland, then Jon Rahm and finally Justin Rose. Each one turned a potential point for the Americans into a tie, and instead of a toss-up we have the current five-point spread.

Everything Donald touched turned to gold, as every European player earned at least a half-point. On the flipside, the Americans didn’t win any of the eight matches contested.

If you strain your eyes hard enough, you can see a path back for the U.S. Team – a 9-7 deficit heading into Sunday Singles isn’t out of the question. But the Americans are absolutely devoid of momentum, reeling from the worst day in their recent Ryder Cup memory and struggling to find a pairing (let alone four) in which they feel confident. Oh, and they’re heading back in the morning to Foursomes, a format where Team Europe has now taken 26.5 of the last 36 possible points on European soil.

It got worse after play concluded, with Johnson implying that his team is battling illness that could be impacting their performance.

“There’s been some unforeseen things that we’ve had to navigate around, which is really unfortunate, in the sense of health,” Johnson said. “It’s not an excuse, because we have depth. But I’ll just say, I’m grateful we have a team doctor.”

So needless to say, it’s an uphill battle just for the Americans to have a shot on Sunday. At this rate, it’s far more likely that they’ll face an historic deficit heading into the final day of play. But if there is a comeback stirring in the U.S. Team room, it will have to begin with Saturday’s Foursomes matches.

Here’s a look at the four matchups for Saturday morning, which will either bolster Europe’s advantage or offer the Americans a chance to chip away at a daunting deficit:

1:35 a.m. ET: Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (U.S.; +110) vs. Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe; -135)

So much of the pre-tournament speculation focused on Thomas’ performance, but he was the savior of their tie in the Four-ball match Friday afternoon. Spieth disappeared down the stretch, failing to finish any of the final four holes. He’ll need to figure it out quickly now in the more difficult format, as the Americans are up against a formidable duo that won a Friday Foursomes match against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. On paper, McIlroy and Fleetwood are the biggest betting favorites of the morning session.

1:50 a.m. ET: Scottie Scheffler/Brooks Koepka (U.S.; -125) vs. Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Åberg (Europe; +100)

The Scheffler/Koepka pairing transfers over from Four-ball to Foursomes, where they’ll run into Luke Donald’s Scandinavian juggernauts. I’m honestly surprised to see BetMGM oddsmakers give the Americans an edge in this one. Hovland and Åberg cruised Friday morning while having as much fun as anyone, and this feels like a duo that could haunt American fans every other year for the next two decades. Hovland has quickly become one of the emotional leaders of Team Europe, so toppling him will prove difficult – but it also could offer a significant boost to any hopes of an American comeback.

2:05 a.m. ET: Max Homa/Brian Harman (U.S.; -110) vs. Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka (Europe; -115)

This match is the closest to a coin flip in the eyes of oddsmakers. Harman and Homa were all out of sorts in their opening Foursomes match, but they’ll get another crack at it against Lowry and Straka, who teamed for an upset win Friday morning over Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa. Homa got a half-point in Four-ball alongside Wyndham Clark, but Clark contributed to the team score far more than Homa did. Harman will need to rekindle some of his Royal

Liverpool accuracy off the tee, while Lowry stole the show Friday afternoon with some of his celebrations. Should his game match his emotions from the afternoon slate, this could be another blue point.

2:20 a.m. ET: Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (U.S.; +100) vs. Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton (Europe; -125)

Johnson sends Cantlay and Schauffele out in the anchor match for the second straight morning. They couldn’t handle McIlroy and Fleetwood, and now they’re up against an equally formidable duo. Schauffele played better of the two Americans in Foursomes, but then he didn’t bring his best stuff to the Four-ball match while Cantlay sat. They’ll both need to be firing on all cylinders for any chance of upsetting Rahm and Hatton, who cruised in Friday’s opening match and will be betting favorites to move their respective records to 2-0-1.

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