Collin Morikawa and Harris English failed to vindicate Keegan Bradley’s decision to send them out in the foursomes for the second day running at the Ryder Cup, with the pair losing once again to Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.
It is fair to say that eyebrows were raised when Keegan Bradley opted to keep Collin Morikawa and Harris English together on Saturday morning at Bethpage Black.
The pair were completely outclassed by Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood on Friday. Nevertheless, Bradley insisted he was confident sticking with the pair, both of whom have registered two runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour this season.
Unfortunately, they did not fare a lot better. McIlroy and Fleetwood continued their flawless record together in the event, with a 3&2 victory.
Collin Morikawa takes the positives from a second defeat to Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood
The Americans did win the opening hole. But the second hole was the final time they had the honour until the 15th, by which time Europe were 3 up.
Team USA would win 15 as well, but it would only delay what felt inevitable. However, speaking after the loss, the pair suggested that they can take plenty of encouragement from the way they stayed in the contest as long as they did.
“We gave it a good fight. We could have easily taken a knee there in the middle of the round, and we didn’t. Gave it our best effort, which is what I’m proud of. I’m proud of Collin who stepped up and hit some good shots, made a few putts. You just want to give yourself a chance, and I feel like we did that. They were tough. They were tough the last two days. They didn’t give us anything,” English said.
“Shooting 6 plus under par alternate shot is pretty tough to beat. Could have made a few more putts yesterday. We finally started making some today. But against that duo, they’ve played really well together. They’re a tough team to beat.
“We left a few out there, but we gave it our best shot.”
Morikawa added: “Yeah, unfortunately weren’t able to get a point on the board. We fought. It was nice to obviously start off 1 up through one, but those guys made a lot of putts, and we kind of just had a little middle of the stretch where we started missing some putts and hitting a few bad shots, and that’s going to cost you against two of their best players essentially.
“But it was nice; what we felt on the last couple holes was really nice, and hopefully we can use that into this afternoon and tomorrow.”
Collin Morikawa’s Ryder Cup record is becoming a real concern for Team USA
Morikawa’s form over the last two Ryder Cups has to be considered a concern. He was nearly flawless on his debut in 2021, as he won 3.5 points from four matches – including boasting a perfect record alongside Dustin Johnson.
But he has won just one point from six matches since.
Morikawa started the 2025 season in such impressive form, and should have ended his current wait for a win.
It is now looking like this season will be one Morikawa will be largely pleased to see the back of.
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