How did Europe pull off a stunning road Ryder Cup victory?

Europe has won the Ryder Cup yet again. Despite a spirited charge in Sunday singles by Team USA, Luke Donald’s squad did just enough on the final day to win 15-13 and take the Cup back across the pond. It’s the sixth time in eight Ryder Cups that the Euros have emerged victories, and the ninth time since 2000. So, how did the Europeans manage to win the Cup on foreign soil? And what went wrong for the Americans? GOLF’s writers and editors break it all down below.

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The Europeans held on against the Americans in the 2025 Ryder Cup to become the first road team to win in a decade. Europe had big leads after the first two days before the Americans dominated Sunday singles and closed the gap to two late in the day before ultimately falling 15-13. Players have said before how difficult it is to win a road Ryder Cup, yet Europe got it done this weekend. How did Europe pull it off?

Zephyr Melton, associate game-improvement editor (@zephyrmelton): They executed their plan to perfection on Friday and then just flat-out out-played the Americans on Saturday. (It helps when you're making seemingly every putt you look at.) The Euros regressed to the mean in the final session, but by then the cushion they'd built up was enough to hold on for victory.

Jack Hirsh, associate equipment editor (@JR_HIRSHey): They embraced and relished playing as a team, which is not something that's easy to do in golf. It's very clear that Europe consistently plays greater than the sum of its parts each and every Ryder Cup. The U.S. keeps searching for answers on how to succeed in the Ryder Cup (Europe has won all but three Cups this century) and it's literally staring them in the face.

Josh Sens, senior writer(@joshsens): Agreed, Jack. But I also think that's a deep-rooted cultural thing that's hard to change. This week was like a metaphor for the character of each side: the Europeans romped when it was all about partnering up; the Americans rounded into form when they were going it alone. 

Europe needed only two points to retain the Cup to start Sunday, although the Americans didn’t give up easily, put the first three points on the board and led the majority late. How surprising was Sunday’s effort? And where was that urgency the previous two days? 

Melton: You've got to give the Americans credit, they fought hard on Sunday to make it a heck of a lot closer than most thought it would ever get. With a more talented team (on paper, at least), the singles format was always going to play in their favor, and once they got some momentum, they really got things rolling throughout the afternoon. 

Hirsh: I agree with Zephyr, the American struggle in the Ryder Cup is really confusing given that they typically have the talent advantage. It certainly helped that Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy weren't at their Sunday best, and frankly when you win the first three matches like they did, and in dramatic fashion on 18 like they were, that can have a cascading momentum effect. There was none of that Friday and Saturday.

Sens: I don't think the Americans lacked urgency the first two days. If anything, I suspect they wanted it so badly that they might have been pressing. It's not a shock that they mounted a comeback, in part because the format is better suited to them but also, I would wager, but they were playing like they had nothing to lose.

After a dominating victory at Whistling Straits in 2021, the Americans were crushed two years ago in Rome. Now they’ve been on the wrong side of the scoreboard two years in a row. What didn’t change over the last two years that should have?

Melton: For all that was made about Keegan Bradley breaking the mold as a captain, he seemed to make the same tactical errors that his predecessors fell victim to. The decision to roll out the Morikawa-English foursomes team twice is one that will be scrutinized for quite some time, as will sitting Cameron Young in the first session. While the Euros dial in their plan and stick to it, the Americans always seem to make gut calls that come back to bite them. This year was no different. 

Hirsh: I thought Keegan Bradley was supposed to breakup the boys club? The fact that Collin Morikawa was on the team despite having a terrible season was evidence to the contrary. It just seemed like Bradley was trying to make everyone happy instead of doing what he thought was right. The U.S. needs to blow up its entire Ryder Cup process and start over from scratch. And they should do it quietly. No task force, no pomp and circumstance captain's selection. Just learn from what the Europeans do so well and apply it.

Sens: Whenever the Americans lose, fans and players and pundits on this side of the Atlantic spend a lot of time agonizing over what went wrong, as if there has to be some hidden explanation, or some question that a task force can resolve. In this case, I think one of the explanations is that the Europeans had the better team. I'm not talking about World Rankings or any other power metrics. I'm talking about a mix of Ryder Cup veterans and young talent, most of them in good form, all of them absolutely thirsting for this event. Several top Americans, meanwhile, came into this event out of form. I think it reflects a particular kind of American arrogance to think that there must be some other reason, as if we can't accept that the other team was simply stronger.

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What was the best (and worst) captain’s decision of the week by both Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley?

Melton: The previously mentioned Morikawa-English pairing was Bradley's biggest head-scratcher. Running it back on the second day was borderline malpractice. I think the Euros played it about as well as they could have.

Hirsh: Yeah I can't think of a bigger blunder in recent Ryder Cup history than running Morikawa-English back against the same Euro team. It was like Bradley was conceding two wins to FleetwoodMac because they were so good. I also don't understand why Ben Griffin played just two matches, give the guy a chance, you did pick him to play.

I can't think of poor decision by Luke Donald this week. He's been class for the last three years since being named captain and the Euros would be wise to keep running it back with him. Can you believe he wasn't even supposed to be captain in 2023?

Sens: The Morikawa-English repeat was definitely a head-scratcher. But the course setup also appeared to be a factor. Conventional wisdom seems to be that the Americans are the bigger hitters who benefit from a bomb-and-gouge course. But as Edoardo Molinari of the European braintrust said before the event, he felt like the relatively easy setup played into the Europeans hands. I think it's telling that the Europeans were so dominant in the opening six holes, which are some of the easiest on the course. The Americans fared better when the holes got tougher. In the future, maybe they'd be better off setting up a stiffer test.

Who or what was the biggest surprise of the week for each team?

Melton: Scottie going 1-4-0 is definitely up there for the Americans. For the Euros, I'll go with Viktor Hovland's health.

Hirsh: How about Cam Young? Maybe "surprise" is the wrong word, but this was as much his coming-out party as his win last month. Hopefully this is the start of a tear that we all saw coming from him after his rookie season. Could also put Bryson DeChambeau's 1.5-point dud here too. 

I'm with Zephyr here, tough news to learn Viktor has been dealing with a neck issue.

Sens: I can't top those. But probably worth mentioning J.J. Spaun on the American side. Not a shock that he played so well. But for his first go around in a Ryder Cup, he looked remarkably comfortable. On the flip side, I'd say Jon Rahm coming up relatively flat in his last two matches, given how deadly he'd been leading up to them.

Bethpage Black is known for its incredible difficulty, but the U.S. squad moved up tees and mowed down the rough to make it a birdie-fest over three days. What are your thoughts on that movie both from a strategic standpoint and TV-viewing experience?

Melton: Neutering the Black made for a pretty bland viewing experience, IMO. Golf balls stuck where they landed and off line shots were seldom punished. I've played the course dozens of times and I've never seen it so benign. It took a lot of intrigue out of the event.

Hirsh: It was terrible. Why go to a notoriously tough golf course (one of the hardest in the world) only to make it easy? I would have loved to watch a Ryder Cup where par might win some holes. What does it matter? Yes fans love birdies, but they love watching players grind too. Do people not like watching the U.S. Open?

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Sens: Agree. The obsession with birdies ignores the fact that par is irrelevant. It's match-play, for cripes sake. In the heat of the Ryder Cup, the excitement doesn't come from putting for birdie. It comes from putting for one less than your opponent. The setup was disappointing in that respect. That said, the soft conditions compounded the problem, and it wasn't something anyone could control. 

Is the envelope rule one that should stay? Or does it need to be changed? 

Melton: Perhaps each team should have an on-site alternate in case of injury. It seems like the most logical solution. 

Hirsh: I don't hate that idea Zeph, but I actually also don't hate the envelope rule. I don't think a team needs to be penalized for injury, especially for an event considered an "exhibition." It's a decent compromise and it worked out in the end this week. In fact, I think it probably benefited the Americans.

Sens: I could live with either of those proposals. Or, each team puts out a captain or assistant captain to fill the slots.

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