While the Ryder Cup always has the potential to throw up a number of surprises, few would have ever imagined that Scottie Scheffler would go into the Sunday singles at Bethpage still awaiting his first point of the week.
Scottie Scheffler had another incredible season on the PGA Tour, winning two more major titles. And, while it was not the most prestigious win of his year, his victory at the Procore Championship sent an ominous warning to Team Europe ahead of the Ryder Cup.
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Ultimately, the world number one had a week to forget in New York.
Scheffler was on the losing side in all four sessions over the first two days. His only point came on Sunday as he beat an exhausted Rory McIlroy, helping Keegan Bradley‘s men threaten to stage the most incredible comeback.
Scottie Scheffler’s Ryder Cup struggles explained by Jon Rahm
It is not the first time Scheffler has looked a shell of himself on the Ryder Cup stage. He failed to win any of his four matches in Rome in 2023.
That will be a concern for the American captain at Adare Manor in 2027. But Jon Rahm believes that there is a very simple explanation behind Scheffler’s struggles in September.
Speaking on Subpar, Rahm suggested that Team USA just did not stand a chance against Europe over the first two days.
“I saw a lot of highlights. We made so many putts those first two days. I think Justin Rose on those Friday fourballs was gaining five strokes putting. He was making everything,” he said.
“I was putting great. I was chipping in. Same with Tyrrell, putting amazing. The way Rory and Shane were playing, it was incredible. You don’t want it to stop, but I think it was just roles reversed.
“And on Sunday, everything was going right for the US and nothing was going right for us. Thankfully, we had the lead. There was about an hour there where it was bad.
“For people that say that [about Scheffler not winning over the first two days], I think it was Bryson and Scottie, they were eight under through 12 and they were two down. What are you going to do?
“There’s nothing you can do against good golf. It is what it is.”
The putting performance from Justin Rose set to go down in Ryder Cup folklore
Rahm is indeed correct that Rose produced one of the most remarkable putting performances, potentially of all time during the most recent Ryder Cup.
It was Saturday afternoon where Rose gained 4.56 strokes on the greens, according to Data Golf.
The only other player who gained more than two strokes putting in a single session was actually Sepp Straka. That came on Sunday, making J.J. Spaun‘s victory all the more impressive.
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If there was any doubt – admittedly, there was none – Rose cemented himself as a Ryder Cup legend that Saturday afternoon in New York.
European fans may have been fearful had they been told before the event started that Rose and Tommy Fleetwood would take on Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau in the penultimate session.
But Fleetwood and Rose were absolutely sensational. Even the best player on the planet – someone destined to go down as an all-time great – could not keep up.
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