Team USA’s Jordan Spieth reacts after making a putt on the 16th hole during a foursomes match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team Europe’s Sergio Garcia reacts after making a putt on the ninth hole during a foursomes match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Players tee off on the first hole as the sun rises during a foursomes match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team Europe’s Sergio Garcia and Team Europe’s Jon Rahm celebrate after winning their foursomes match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team Europe’s Jon Rahm walks to the third green during a foursomes match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team USA’s Justin Thomas and Team USA’s Jordan Spieth celebrate on the 16th hole during a foursomes match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team USA’s Brooks Koepka hits from a bunker on the eighth hole during a foursomes match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team USA’s Daniel Berger and Team USA’s Brooks Koepka react after winning the second hole during a foursomes match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team USA captain Steve Stricker smiles during a four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team Europe’s Sergio Garcia reacts after teammate Team Europe’s Jon Rahm makes a putt during a four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team USA’s Bryson DeChambeau hits to the 12th hole during a four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team Europe’s Tyrrell Hatton reacts after his bunker shot on the 18th hole during a four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team USA’s Collin Morikawa makes a putt on the 15th hole during a four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team USA’s Bryson DeChambeau reacts to his shot on the 15th hole during a four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team USA’s Scottie Scheffler reacts to making his putt and winning the 15th hole during a four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team Europe’s Jon Rahm reacts after making a putt on the 16th hole during a four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team Europe’s Shane Lowry celebrates on the 18th hole after makes a putt and winning their four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
Team USA’s Jordan Spieth reacts to his missed putt on the 15th hole during a four-ball match the Ryder Cup at the Whistling Straits Golf Course Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Sheboygan, Wis.
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — The pressure and drama so typical of the Ryder Cup finally arrived on Saturday, with one big difference. The suspense was whether Europe could try to make a game of it.
The Americans held their own over the final hour as Dustin Johnson completed a perfect week of team play and Scottie Scheffler delivered the biggest putt of his young career.
That staked them to an 11-5 lead, their largest ever against Europe and their biggest in the Ryder Cup since 1975.
No one has ever come back from more than a four-point deficit in Ryder Cup history. That’s the order facing Europe, which has yet to win a session at Whistling Straits.
The Europeans tried, getting another big win from Jon Rahm and a clutch moment from Shane Lowry, who holed a 10-foot par putt on the 18th green and was pumping his arms so furiously in celebration that he finally dropped his putter on the ground.
So much was as stake. So little was gained.
“We’re not in a good position and it’s going to take a beyond monumental effort,” said Ian Poulter, who has failed to deliver a point in two matches. “So we need a couple of miracles.”
“We’re out there fighting as hard as we can,” Lowry said.
The Americans routed Europe again in foursomes Saturday morning — a third straight 3-1 margin — to build a 9-3 lead. And while Europe was ahead in three of the afternoon fourballs, Scheffler’s 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole and his nifty up-and-down for birdie on the next hole carried him and Bryson DeChambeau to victory in the final match on the course.
