Europe wins Ryder Cup after stunning U.S. surge falls short

Team Europe has won the Ryder Cup once again. With a 15-13 victory at Bethpage Black, Luke Donald's squad has hoisted the Cup for the second time in a row. 

Credit to Team USA, though - the win did not come easy. 

For much of the week at Bethpage, Team Europe looked to be on its way to a cruise-control victory. The team from across the pond won the opening session 3-1 and did not look back. After Friday, the lead stood at 5.5-2.5. By the time a chippy four-ball session finished on Saturday, the lead had ballooned to 11.5-4.5.

“What we saw yesterday and what we saw today was unprecedented,” remarked NBC analyst Brandel Chamblee. “Not only do they have the largest lead ever, they are doing it on foreign soil.”

It has long been said that winning a Ryder Cup on foreign soil is one of the most difficult feats in golf (it’s happened just twice since the turn of the century), but this Team Europe was making it look easy. With a commanding seven-point lead heading into the singles session (the score stood at 12-5 after the rarely invoked envelope rule following a Viktor Hovland injury), Team USA would need a miracle during the final session.

For a brief moment on Sunday, that miracle didn't seem all that far-fetched.

The Americans captured the first two matches of the singles session - thanks to clutch birdies from Cameron Young and Justin Thomas on the 18th hole - while Bryson DeChambeau fought to earn a hard-earned half. With several more U.S. players holding late leads, red began to spread across the leaderboard. The path to victory, though narrow, was beginning to take shape.

As the first matches teed off on Sunday morning, the Americans had just a 1.5 percent chance to win the Cup. After a furious Sunday charge, those odds steadily increased. And as Match 8 between Shane Lowry and Russel Henley stepped to the 18th tee, the European lead had shrunk to just two points.

Ultimately, the comeback bid was not meant to be. Just after 5:15 p.m. local time, Shane Lowry rolled in a birdie putt on the 18th green to win the hole and earn a half point to retain the Cup for the Euros.

"It was the most stressful 12 hours of my life," Donald said. "Shout out to the Americans and Keegan and his captaincy. We knew they'd be tough, [but] I didn't think they'd be this tough on Sunday. They fought so hard. Respect to them." 

As the final putt dropped, Lowry let out a ferocious roar, dropped his putter and jumped around the green. After a hug with his caddie and handshake with his opponent, Lowry draped an Irish flag over his shoulders and soaked in the moment.

“That was the hardest couple of hours of my life,” Lowry said. “I just can’t believe it. The Ryder Cup means everything to me.”

With the win, Europe has now lifted the trophy after six of the past eight Ryder Cups, and nine of the past 12 - and Donald made a little history of his own. With a second-consecutive winning Ryder Cup captaincy, he joins Tony Jacklin as the only other European captain to win on home and foreign soil.

For Team USA, it will be two long years before they get a chance to exact revenge at Adare Manor.

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