Tommy Fleetwood drove the par-4 16th green, after Rickie Fowler hit his tee shot into the water, and the Englishman calmly rolled his eagle effort to 2 feet, 9 inches.
Fowler conceded the putt, thus ensuring Europe the final half-point it needed to win the 44th Ryder Cup.
The moment Team Europe clinched the #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/IVKwAZm8EG
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) October 1, 2023
By going 2 up with two to play, Fleetwood guaranteed Europe would reach the 14.5 point threshold needed for victory at Marco Simone.
The Europeans began Sunday singles with a five-point lead, needing to earn just four points to continue its home dominance, which dates back to 1997. It has now won seven in a row at home and also avenged its 19-9 defeat two years ago at Whistling Straits.
Here’s how the 12 matches played out at Marco Simone, in order of when they concluded, to showcase the overall competition scoring, with the day starting, 10.5-5.5, Euros:
EUROPE 11.5, U.S. 5.5
Viktor Hovland (EUR) def. Collin Morikawa (U.S.), 4 and 3
Hovland continued his dominant Ryder Cup showing, wrapping up a 3-1-1 week by providing the first singles point of the day.
Hovland and Morikawa tied in singles two years ago in Wisconsin, but this one was never in doubt. The Norwegian was 3 up through six holes and won three more holes on the back nine for a comfortable victory.
Europe 12, U.S. 6
Jon Rahm (EUR) tied Scottie Scheffler (U.S.)
It was the first match out but felt incredibly important as the remaining contests started taking shape. When all the matches were at least a few holes in, the U.S. had put up a lot of red while the Euros appeared locks in a couple of early ones.
The world No. 1 and the world No. 3 went back and forth all day, with the American leading, 1 up, through 11. The putting demons then crept in, as Scheffler missed putts to lose the 12th and 13th holes. But after squaring the match with a dart on No. 14, Scheffler rolled in a 20-footer to regain a 1-up advantage.
He carried that margin into the final hole, the par-5 18th. However, as Rahm hit the green in two and lagged his eagle effort to a foot, Scheffler missed the green right with his second shot and chipped through the green. Unable to hole out for birdie, the match was halved.
Europe 12, U.S. 7
Patrick Cantlay (U.S.) def. Justin Rose (EUR), 2 and 1
Rose was emotional; Cantlay robotic. The machine won. Cantlay – not wearing a hat, of course – built a 3-up lead through 11 holes. Rose won the 12th and 13th, pumping up the partisan crowd in the process.
After Cantlay won the 14th, Rose again cut his deficit to 1 down by making birdie at No. 15. But after a tie at the 16th, the American closed it out with a birdie at the par-3 17th.
Patrick Cantlay birdies the 17th to close out Justin Rose and put a point on the board for the Americans. #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/y2RRYyBQ1H
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) October 1, 2023
Europe 13, U.S. 7
Rory McIlroy (EUR) def. Sam Burns (U.S.), 3 and 1
McIlroy was assassin-like, calm and cold-blooded, following his feisty conclusion to Saturday at Marco Simone. He led after a par at the first and the match was never so much as tied the rest of the way.
McIlroy made six birdies over the first 12 holes to build a 4-up lead. Burns picked up a couple of late wins to apply a little pressure, but McIlroy finished it on the 17th.
After leaving Whistling Straits in tears, McIlroy was Europe’s leading points earner, going 4-1-0.
Europe 14, U.S. 7
Tyrrell Hatton (EUR) def. Brian Harman (U.S.), 3 and 2
In a battle of bulldogs, both literally and figuratively, Hatton got the better of The Open champion.
Hatton picked up his first singles win (in three tries) in part to winning three of the first four holes. Harman cut it to 1 down by the turn, but Hatton won the 11th and 13th holes to regain command.
The Englishman closed it out with a birdie on No. 16 and was his typical, emotional self. At this point, Europe needed just a half-point to regain the cup.
Tyrrell Hatton's emotional celebration after winning his match and bringing Europe within a half-point of capturing the #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/Wl9aK79crb
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) October 1, 2023
Europe 14, U.S. 8
Brooks Koepka (U.S.) def. Ludvig Aberg (EUR), 3 and 2
In his most recent match, Koepka was on the wrong end of a 9-and-7 foursomes thrashing to an Aberg-led team Saturday morning.
Head-to-head, this was no contest. The five-time major champion won three of the first eight holes and was never seriously challenged.
Europe 14, U.S. 9
Max Homa (U.S.) def. Matt Fitzpatrick (EUR), 1 up
Fitzpatrick, 1 down, hit his tee shot into the water at the drivable par-4 16th. Homa, remarkably, followed suit. They tied the hole in bogey.
At the last, still 1 up and needing to win his match to keep the U.S. alive, Homa took an unplayable around the green. He pitched to 7 feet and had that left for par.
Fitzpatrick had a 15-foot birdie putt to tie the match and secure the final half-point needed to win it all for Europe, but he badly missed. Homa responded by nailing his.
Max Homa closes out his match with this putt at the 18th to defeat Matthew Fitzpatrick and keep U.S. hopes alive. #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/9FippgFohf
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) October 1, 2023
Europe 14, U.S. 10
Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Nicolai Hojgaard (EUR), 3 and 2
The 22-year-old rookie got off to quick start, winning two of the first three holes. But the veteran Schauffele won three in a row, beginning at the fifth.
It was even at the turn – after Hojgaard claimed the eighth – and then Schauffele turned it on. He won the 10th, 12th, 15th and 16th holes, losing only one along the way.
Hojgaard was the only European to not win a match all week.
Europe 14, U.S. 11
Justin Thomas (U.S.) def. Sepp Straka (EUR), 2 up
Thomas, sans hat, was giving the home crowd faux tips of the cap with every big putt he made on Sunday. He had a putt to close the match at the 17th, but couldn’t convert. That left him with a 1-up lead with one to play.
As he was trying to salvage his win, and keep the Americans’ slim chance afloat, Fleetwood clinched the cup a few matches behind. Thomas went on to win the 18th to go 1-2-1 as a captain’s pick.
Europe 15, U.S. 11
Tommy Fleetwood (EUR) def. Rickie Fowler (U.S.), 3 and 1
This was the one that ultimately determined the cup, when Fowler ran afoul on 16 and then, surprisingly, gave Fleetwood the cup-clinching putt.
Fleetwood made it an official victory by stuffing his tee shot to 2 feet at the 17th to win.
Europe 16, U.S. 11
Robert MacIntyre (EUR) def. Wyndham Clark (U.S.), 2 and 1
The Euros didn’t run out of gas, like Clark had hoped. This match, ultimately, didn’t matter, with rookie MacIntyre winning three of the first five holes over rookie Clark, and then Nos. 15 and 16 to close it out.
Europe 16.5, U.S. 11.5
Shane Lowry (EUR) tied Jordan Spieth (U.S.)
It was an emotional match with neither player at his best (which was the case all week). There was a time when it seemed like this one could be significant, but it turned out to just be the capper on a dominant European performance.
Lowry won the 16th and 17th holes to go 1 up and then conceded Spieth’s birdie at the last for an appropriate tie.