GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — The Americans finally can claim victory in at least one match in what has been a one-sided Ryder Cup. British Open champion Brian Harman and Max Homa delivered their first victory by beating Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka.
The Americans never trailed — that’s a first, too. They seized control when Homa hit a beautiful draw with a long iron on the par-5 12th that was inches from going in. And they capped off the 4-and-2 victory when Homa chipped in for eagle on the reachable par-4 16th.
That’s a mere consolation prize at the moment. Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood finally beat Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in 17 holes. That’s the third win this week for McIlroy. That assures Europe will have the lead going into Sunday.
In the anchor match, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are on the verge of rallying from 3 down to square the match.
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Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg have taken their place in Ryder Cup history with the largest margin of victory for an 18-hole match — 9 and 7.
They needed only 11 holes over 2 hours and 20 minutes to beat Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka.
The previous record for foursomes was 7 and 6, most recently when Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley beat Luke Donald and Lee Westwood at Medinah in 2012. The record for a fourballs match is 7 and 5, while the singles record is 8 and 7.
This was a blowout from the start, and the Scandinavian duo didn’t have to work all that hard. The Americans made two double bogeys in the opening three holes. The Americans didn’t win a single hole and made only one birdie, on the reachable par-4 fifth.
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Brooks Koepka isn’t playing like a five-time major champion. And Scottie Scheffler isn’t playing like the world No. 1 at the Ryder Cup on Saturday.
The illustrious Americans were 6 down after eight holes to Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg in the second match, and have yet to win a hole.
There’s European blue all over the scoreboards at Marco Simone, with an American fightback not yet materializing.
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth hacked their way up the par-5 sixth and conceded the hole to Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, who head to the back nine 3-up.
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The Americans needed a fast start to Day 2 of the Ryder Cup after resuming with a five-point deficit to Europe.
They didn’t get it.
All the foursomes matches are out on the course at Marco Simone and the U.S. team is 3 down in the lead match and 4 down in the second match.
The U.S. pushed their drives into the deep rough on the first hole in each of the opening three matches. There were ironic cheers from the grandstand when Patrick Cantlay found the fairway in the anchor match.
Europe’s lead pairing of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood won the first three holes against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, out for Europe in the second match, won the first four holes against world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka.
The Europeans led 6 1/2-1 1/2 after Day 1, tying their best start to a Ryder Cup as they look to reclaim the gold trophy.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf