One of the most remarkable passages of play during the 2023 Ryder Cup actually came on Friday afternoon as Europe looked to build on their 4-0 victory in the morning.
Luke Donald‘s men absolutely flew out of the blocks at the 2023 Ryder Cup, winning all four matches in the opening session for the first time ever. With that, they would have surely been braced for an American fightback in the afternoon.
It did indeed come. Rory McIlroy and Matthew Fitzpatrick thumped Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. But Europe needed three big putts on the final hole to salvage a half point in each of the other three matches of the session.
Viktor Hovland was the first to find the bottom of the cup to avoid defeat, while Justin Rose ensured that Europe would go unbeaten for the opening day. In between, Jon Rahm managed to make an eagle in his match alongside Nicolai Hojgaard against Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka.
How Jon Rahm was left furious during his Ryder Cup match with Scottie Scheffler
Rahm had already made an eagle by chipping in on 16, but Europe actually found themselves one down with one to play. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Spaniard admitted on Una Famiglia that he was furious when he let a good birdie chance slip through his grasp on the penultimate hole.
“Going into 17, leaving that putt short, dead centre of the hole was one of the most painful things I’ve done in my golf career. And then watching Scottie make it on top of me. I’m walking up 18 and I am p—-d, p—-d. But while we’re on the fairway, I see Viktor Hovland make his putt to tie the match in the group in front of us,” he said.
“Part of me is thinking, man that’s not going to happen two times in a row for Europe, that’s not going to happen. Luckily I was able to swing as hard as I wanted. Hit a great drive and gave myself a good chance.
“Nicolai just had to say the magic words. He knows what to say, he knows how to push my buttons. He says, ‘just do what Seve would do’, and I was like, ‘oh Jesus’.”
How Rahm and Scheffler fared in their three matches in 2023
Remarkably, Rahm and Scheffler faced off three times during the 2023 Ryder Cup, with the pair also in the same match on Friday morning.
On that occasion, Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton got the better of Scheffler and Sam Burns.
Meanwhile, they would get the chance to face off in a rematch of their 2021 singles match at Whistling Straits, which Scheffler won as USA went on to win by a record margin.
At Marco Simone, Scheffler produced his best display of the week to earn half a point in the top match, leaving Rahm 0-1-1 in singles matches against the world number one.
It would not be a surprise if the Spaniard was desperate to get the chance to make it third time lucky at Bethpage in 2025.
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