Maddie Meyer/PGA of America/PGA of America via Getty Images
The United States is on the precipice of winning the Ryder Cup after a strong showing against Team Europe on Saturday at Whistling Straits Golf Course in Haven, Wisconsin.
Team USA, which needs 14.5 points to earn the win, now leads 11-5 after Saturday morning foursomes and Saturday afternoon four-ball.
The pairing of Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa won both of its matchups Saturday to bring Team USA on the brink of its first Ryder Cup win since its 2016 victory at Hazeltine National Golf Club (Chaska, Minnesota).
Team Europe’s stars were Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, who defeated Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger in foursomes before taking down Koepka and Jordan Spieth in four-ball.
Here’s a look at what went down Saturday.
Saturday Morning Foursomes
Jon Rahm/Sergio Garcia (Team Europe) def. Brooks Koepka/Daniel Berger (Team USA), 3 and 1
Dustin Johnson/Collin Morikawa (Team USA) def. Paul Casey/Tyrrell Hatton (Team Europe), 2 and 1
Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (Team USA) def. Viktor Hovland/Bernd Wiesberger (Team Europe), 2 up
Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay (Team USA) def. Lee Westwood/Matthew Fitzpatrick (Team Europe), 2 and 1
Saturday Afternoon Four-Ball
Jon Rahm/Sergio Garcia (Team Europe) def. Brooks Koepka/Jordan Spieth (Team USA): 2 and 1
Shane Lowry/Tyrrell Hatton (Team Europe) def. Tony Finau/Harris English (Team USA): 1 up
Scottie Scheffler/Bryson DeChambeau (Team USA) vs. Tommy Fleetwood/Viktor Hovland (Team Europe): 3 and 1
Dustin Johnson/Collin Morikawa (Team USA) def. Ian Poulter/Rory McIlroy (Team Europe), 4 and 3
Saturday Morning Foursomes Recap and Highlights
Johnson and Morikawa won each of their first three holes, with DJ capping that run with a 47’5″ chip from the intermediate:
Ryder Cup USA @RyderCupUSA
GO OFF <a href=”https://twitter.com/DJohnsonPGA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@DJohnsonPGA</a>! ????????????<a href=”https://twitter.com/MichelobULTRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@MichelobULTRA</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ULTRAMoment?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ULTRAMoment</a> <a href=”https://t.co/fHqjlDnO6V”>pic.twitter.com/fHqjlDnO6V</a>
Johnson and Morikawa were four up before Casey and Hatton won the 11th, 13th and 14th holes.
Hatton executed a perfect bunker shot on the 13th:
Ryder Cup @rydercup
Back nine birdie charge ????<a href=”https://twitter.com/TyrrellHatton?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@TyrrellHatton</a> and <a href=”https://twitter.com/Paul_Casey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Paul_Casey</a> worked up a 13.74% win gain after winning three holes in a row. <a href=”https://twitter.com/bp_America?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@bp_America</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/RyderCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#RyderCup</a> <a href=”https://t.co/wPVftdUCiB”>pic.twitter.com/wPVftdUCiB</a>
Casey nailed a 105-yard shot on the 14th for the eagle:
However, Team USA won the 15th hole and held steady from there for the 2 and 1 win.
The Berger/Koepka vs. Rahm/Garcia matchup was an instant classic. Team USA won each of the first three holes, but USA and Europe were all square after nine holes after Garcia’s 40’7″ effort here:
Ryder Cup @rydercup
Two holes in row for Team ????????<br><br>They level the match and gain a 33.94% win probability over the last four holes. <a href=”https://twitter.com/bp_America?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@bp_america</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/RyderCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#RyderCup</a> <a href=”https://t.co/HEd2pLy96M”>pic.twitter.com/HEd2pLy96M</a>
Team Europe ended up winning 3 and 1 after winning four more holes on the back nine.
Spieth and Thomas found themselves down three holes to Viktor Hovland and Bernd Wiesberger after six, but USA and Europe found themselves all square after 10 holes. Europe won the 11th, but USA took four of the final five holes for the two-up win.
The big shot was this Thomas approach on the par-five 16th to set up Spieth’s eagle putt:
Ryder Cup USA @RyderCupUSA
Feeding off each others energy! <a href=”https://twitter.com/JustinThomas34?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@JustinThomas34</a> club ???? set up <a href=”https://twitter.com/JordanSpieth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@JordanSpieth</a> ???? <a href=”https://twitter.com/MichelobULTRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@MichelobULTRA</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ULTRAMoment?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ULTRAMoment</a> <a href=”https://t.co/o7A2EM8jCJ”>pic.twitter.com/o7A2EM8jCJ</a>
Team USA led 9-3 after the morning session.
Saturday Afternoon Four-Ball Recap and Highlights
There wasn’t much action in the Shane Lowry/Tyrrell Hatton vs. Tony Finau/Harris English matchup, with the two sides halving 15 holes.
However, Lowry unleashed a fantastic 25-foot birdie putt on No. 3 to give Europe the early edge en route to the one-up win.
Hatton later joined his teammate with his own long putt:
An exuberant Lowry closed the deal:
Rahm and Garcia kept their feet on the gas, with the former player nailing a 44’10” birdie putt on the fourth hole to give Europe an early two-up lead.en route to the 2 and 1 win.
Rahm’s flat stick stayed hot en route to the group’s second Saturday victory:
Garcia also hacked this shot out of thick rough on the 17th to help the cause:
The team of Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau got the job done in a 3 and 1 win. DeChambeau had to work some magic for this birdie after hacking a shot out of the bush:
Ryder Cup USA @RyderCupUSA
What is it about <a href=”https://twitter.com/b_dechambeau?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@b_dechambeau</a> and the 5th hole this week?!?<br><br>Friday: 417 yard drive ???? <br>Today: ???? from the bush<a href=”https://twitter.com/MichelobULTRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@MichelobULTRA</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ULTRAMoment?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ULTRAMoment</a> <a href=”https://t.co/ivMPN9wxsI”>pic.twitter.com/ivMPN9wxsI</a>
DeChambeau later hit a 29’5″ birdie putt on the 10th hole to tie the match:
Ryder Cup USA @RyderCupUSA
Highlight Factory ????<a href=”https://twitter.com/b_dechambeau?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@b_dechambeau</a> drains it from downtown to move the match to a tie. <a href=”https://twitter.com/MichelobULTRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@MichelobULTRA</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ULTRAMoment?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ULTRAMoment</a> <a href=”https://t.co/UvnScFgHNe”>pic.twitter.com/UvnScFgHNe</a>
Scheffler and DeChambeau ended up closing the day with the victory, giving Team USA the six-point edge going into Sunday.
Now the two teams will engage in 12 singles matchups on Sunday. Television coverage starts at noon ET.
All statistics via the official Ryder Cup website.
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