Europe took a wide lead against the United States on the first day of the 44th edition of the Ryder Cup, the prestigious biennial golf event, already standing out with a five-point margin, this Friday at the Marco Simone Golf, near Rome.
The Europeans dominate after the first day by 6.5 to 1.5, before the last two days, Saturday and Sunday. The first team to reach 14.5 points will be awarded the test.
Led especially by the Spanish Jon Rahm and the Norwegian Viktor Hovland, the Europeans took the first four games played in the morning shift on Friday in foursomes format [los dos jugadores del mismo equipo participan de manera alterna con la misma bola]. Never before has a European team started in such a brilliant way in the competition.
In the afternoon, dedicated to fourballs [cada jugador lo hace con su propia bola, el mejor de los cuatro en liza gana el punto para su equipo]the Americans took off a little, but without winning any game.
In those fourballs, Rahm together with the Dane Nicolai Hojgaard tied with Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler. In a decisive moment, Rahm told his partner to “do it for Seve” Ballesteros, the legendary Spanish golfer who died in 2011 and five-time winner of the Ryder Cup – one of them as captain.
Jon Rahm, with Nicolai Hojgaard (right).
Ettore Ferrari. Efe
“We think about the game in a similar way and we react in a very similar way, we understand each other. It’s like having the same brain,” explained the Basque golfer about his duo with Hojgaard.
Koepka accused Rahm of “behaving like a child” during that duel and Europe’s captain, Luke Donald, came to his player’s defense: “Jon is a passionate person, but I didn’t see him act any other way.”
The breaking record of the United States at the start of the Ryder
It is the first time in the history of this event, created in 1927, that the United States finishes on a Friday without any victory.
“It’s not the first day we expected (…) We’re going to try to sleep and remobilize ourselves to try to win as many points as possible on Saturday,” he admitted. Justin Thomas.
As a good connoisseur of this competition, which he is competing in for the fourth time, his compatriot Koepka knows that the Ryder often lends itself to plot twists or comebacks.
“We have to continue fighting. You never know what can happen and on Saturdays of the
Ryder Cup are always very long days,” he wished.
The United States won the last edition of the Ryder Cup, in Wisconsin in 2021, but has not won on European soil since 1993. Before the dispute of this 44th edition, the United States leads the history with 27 victories and 14 losses, in addition to two ties.
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With AFP
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