2023 Ryder Cup results, scores, standings: Europe thrills while dismantling U.S., takes historic Day 1 lead

A relatively quiet morning filled with European flags set the stage for fireworks in the afternoon session of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. After falling down 4-0, the United States battled back and looked poised to trim its disadvantage in a significant manner. Instead, a late charge from Europe’s top players staved off the visiting team.

The Europeans erased American leads in three four-ball matches to end Day 1 at the Ryder Cup with a dominant 6.5 to 1.5 lead .

The five-point advantage ties the largest lead for either side after Day 1 in Ryder Cup history. Friday also marks the first time the United States has completed the first day without winning a match; the Americans’ 1.5 points are from three ties in four-ball matches they previously led.

Europe also became just the second team in Ryder Cup history to start the event 5 to 0, joining the 1947 United States side. It did so by leaning heavily on its stars — and they delivered when the lights were the brightest.

Rory McIlroy & Matt Fitzpatrick made mincemeat of Xander Schauffele & Collin Morikawa in the anchor four-ball match, while Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm — playing separately — simply ripped out the hearts of the Americans time and again across both Day 1 sessions.

The U.S. eyed a 3 to 1 four-ball session victory with American flags flying in the first two matches only for Hovland and Rahm to summon clutch short games that stamped out the flame. It began with a chip-in eagle courtesy of the Spaniard on the par-4 16th — his fourth hole-out from off the green between his two matches.

This squared Rahm & Nicolai Hojgaard, who signed for seven birdies of his own in his Ryder Cup debut, with Brooks Koepka & Scottie Scheffler. A key birdie conversion from Scheffler on the 17th gave U.S. a chance for a massive full point in the second match as the Americans went to the 18th with a 1 UP edge.

They were stuck in the fairway as Hovland and Justin Thomas faced birdie bids on the green below. As he has all summer long, the fist-pumping Norwegian delivered a mighty blow from just outside 25 feet. Thomas followed and calmly rolled his putt in to secure the first half point for the U.S., but it could have been much more as Thomas & Jordan Spieth held a 2 UP lead with five holes to play before the Texan’s swing unraveled.

“It was about time the ball went in,” said Hovland. “I felt like we played some really good golf today, and the Americans played some great golf as well, and they kept pushing us, and yeah, to make a putt like that on the last hole that was huge for the team.”

After hitting his approach to the front of the putting surface, Rahm waited. Koepka played a saucy little chip from the right rough to set up a birdie opportunity inside 5 feet. It was thought this would be to win the match as Rahm faced an unlikely eagle putt.

But nothing is unlikely for Rahm, and nothing was off the table for the two-time major champion on and around the greens Friday. Striking his putt with conviction, Rahm hit his line and would hit the back of the cup, bouncing up in the air and into the middle of the bottom of the cup from outside 33 feet for his second eagle in the last three holes.

He let out a chuckle, and it will undoubtedly be the Europeans laughing tonight with a commanding 6.5 to 1.5 edge.

Justin Rose added insult to injury late overcoming a two-hole deficit with two holes to play. Rose & Robert MacIntyre ultimately pulled even with Max Homa & Wyndham Clark. With his birdie on the last, Rose made sure the U.S. went without a victory across the first eight matches.

“You got 28 points, eight are done, so we got 20 more points,” said U.S. captain Zach Johnson. “Really, we’ve just kind of started the second quarter, or you could argue you’re on your fourth, fifth hole. A lot of golf left. A lot of opportunity left. And I’m confident in that because these guys are for each other, they’re for the common goal, which is to go out there and show off, do it with class, do it with character and obviously nothing but that.”

Fending off an American barrage, Europe scratched out a win in the afternoon four-ball session. There is plenty of golf to be played, but Friday four-ball felt like the Americans’ best punch. The Europeans dodged it with grace and are now in line to extend their 30-year home winning streak.

Here is a breakdown of each match from Day 1 of the 2023 Ryder Cup.

2023 Ryder Cup results, Day 1 | Europe 6.5, U.S. 1.5

Session 1 — Foursomes | Europe 4, U.S. 0

Match 1 | Rahm & Hatton 4&3 over Scheffler & Burns: The Americans trotted out the world No. 1 and his mullet-sporting friend, and they were met with a pair of fiery Europeans. Three birdies across the first seven holes from the home team saw the lead build to 2 UP. Scheffler and Burns did well to stay within touching distance and had a chance to trim the match to one with the Europeans in trouble on No. 10. However, when they needed it the most, Rahm delivered in the form of a chip-in par to tie the hole and suck the air out of the American sails.

Match 2 | Hovland & Aberg 4&3 over Homa & Harman: Hovland welcomed the other three rookies in this match with a chip-in birdie on the first hole. The FedEx Cup champion set the tone for the rest of the day throwing a flurry of fist pumps and bailing out Aberg early as he traversed early nerves. The Swede got into the action with some crucial putts including a birdie bid on No. 9 to grab a 3 UP lead. Their ball striking proved to be too much for the Americans to mount any sort of comeback.

Match 3 | Lowry & Straka 2&1 over Morikawa & Fowler: The third match of the morning looked more like a ground-and-pound Big Ten football game. The golf wasn’t high quality from either side with Fowler & Morikawa’s front-nine 3-over 38 causing them fall behind four holes at the turn. Both Americans had their shortcomings, but it was Fowler’s inability to cash in on the greens that ultimately tipped the scales in the European’s favor. Straka’s birdie putt on the par-5 12th to tie the hole when the Americans were in tight for eagle was the final blow before he polished off the match on the 17th.

Match 4 | McIlroy & Fleetwood 2&1 over Cantlay & Schauffele: Four heavyweights stepped into the arena, and the most competitive contest was the result. McIlroy & Fleetwood hit the cover off the golf ball all morning, and a poor shot from Cantlay on the par-4 8th allowed them to grab the lead heading into the inward half. An American birdie on the 14th trimmed the lead to one. Cantlay & Schauffele looked keen to square up the match on the 15th when they faced 25 feet for birdie and McIlroy & Fleetwood still had 20 feet for par. Fleetwood’s par conversion made Schauffele’s tickler longer, and the often-reliable putter lipped his effort, effectively nixing the U.S. chances in the match. McIlroy ended the affairs in emphatic fashion with a laser into the par-3 17th to set up the team’s fifth birdie.

Session 2 — Four-ball | Europe 2.5, U.S. 1.5

Match 5 | Spieth & Thomas TIED Hovland & Hatton: The worst-kept secret was that Spieth & Thomas would lead off the afternoon session, and Luke Donald matched with two heavy hitters. It was a tight contest throughout as they went to the par-5 12th tied. The Americans tacked on another win with Spieth’s birdie on 13, but the three-time major champion vanished near after. This left the load on Thomas, who answered the bell but was overpowered by Hovland & Hatton. Squandering a 2 UP lead with five to play, the Americans will have a bad taste in their mouths at dinner while the Europeans know they just got away with a heist.

Match 6 | Koepka & Spieth TIED Rahm & Hojgaard: Jon Rahm caught fire late, but the Europeans wouldn’t have been in the position if it wasn’t for the 22-year-old Dane. Hojgaard was absolute nails in his first Ryder Cup match as he carried the Spaniard on the front side and took it to Koepka & Scheffler on his own. The match was tied through 11 before Koepka began to peak his head. Back-to-back birdies from the five-time major champion signaled his arrival and gave the U.S. a late edge. Rahm’s eagles on 16 and 18 sandwiched Scheffler’s birdie on 17 to put a bow on an all-time classic.

Match 7 | Homa & Clark TIED Rose & MacIntyre: The Americans grabbed the first 2 UP lead for their team with a birdie on the par-4 9th, but the Europeans would not go quietly into the night. Rose was vintage down the stretch. Simply vintage. The oldest man in the competition won three of the final four holes on his own to take a sure-fire American flag off the board and tie the match. If Hovland & Rahm didn’t break the back of the Americans, Rose may have done it here.

Match 8 | McIlroy & Fitzpatrick 5&3 over Schauffele & Morikawa: This one was over early. McIlroy assumed the role of spectator and allowed Fitzpatrick to shine. The Englishman who came into the competition with a 0-5-0 record — and without a four-ball match under his belt — made his presence felt immediately. Fitzpatrick made over 100 feet worth of putts in his first six holes to get to 6 under on his own ball. McIlroy got in on the fun with a birdie of his own on the par-3 7th to build their lead to 6 UP. The Americans fought hard around the turn, but the rest of the match was a formality.

Keep on scrolling for updates from Day 1 at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.

Rick Gehman, Kyle Porter recap a wild Day 1 of the 2023 Ryder Cup. The crew recaps both sessions and Europe’s fast start at Marco Simone. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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