2023 Ryder Cup Day 3: A Delayed Inevitability

The 2023 Ryder Cup has been won by Team Europe following three days of top-tier play in stark contrast to that of their American opponents.

Team USA did have an opportunity late Sunday afternoon as the 12 singles matches slowly shifted in the favor of the underdogs. Momentum is everything in team golf matches, and things got interesting when Scottie Scheffler halved his match with Jon Rahm in the day’s opening pairing. However, this would be short-lived as the 10.5 - 5.5 European lead to begin Sunday proved to be insurmountable.

The final tally of 16.5 - 11.5 in favor of Europe really didn’t feel even that close when you consider the three days in total. Captain Luke Donald’s squad was superb from top to bottom, with the possible exception of rookie Nicolai Hojgaard, who would finish his debut with only a half-point to his record. Names like Rahm, Hovland, Fitzpatrick, Fleetwood and of course McIlroy proved to be leaders throughout the event, securing important wins day after day.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Ryder Cup without some off-course drama.

Reports of a rift in the American locker room due to Patrick Cantlay’s alleged complaints about “not being paid" to play in the Ryder Cup would ultimately be denied by the golfer, but the social media damage had been done. By the time the fans in Rome opened their Twitter accounts, mocking chants and hatless gestures toward Cantlay became a bigger deal than it should have been. Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, getting involved was just weird, spiraling into a confrontation with McIlroy that spilled into the parking lot Saturday night.

Reports then surfaced that LaCava and McIlroy met early Sunday to “patch things up,” which Rory would later deny ever happened when asked following his singles match victory. Truly, this was an all-time low for poor reporting by the larger media outlets on site.

All of that nonsense is an afterthought, of course, as the clearly better European team continued the streak of victories on home soil. Post-round interviews unfolded as you would suspect, with both team captains praising the other out of a necessary display of sportsmanship. Players will be over-served, press conferences will get messy, and notable sound bytes will be converted into memes.

And to think: we get to do all of this again in two years in New York City.