Ryder Cup Day 1: Europe Takes Commanding 6.5 to 1.5 Lead over USA

Day 1 of the Ryder Cup has officially concluded, and it went according to plan for the Europeans, who took a 6.5 to 1.5 lead over the Americans in Italy.

Of the eight matches that have taken place so far, the Americans have failed to win a single one despite having multiple leads in the second Four-Ball session.

The team of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth heavily relied on the former, as Spieth failed to get any momentum going, and Thomas silenced any doubt as to whether he was the correct pick for Captain Zach Johnson.

Justin Thomas staring down the crowd after a big balls putt

pic.twitter.com/tcViNWifFd

— Joe Pop (@JoePops_) September 29, 2023

The Europeans were surged by the play of Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm, who both made clutch putts on the 18th hole to halve their matchups.

Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick managed to end their match with Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele early as they took a commanding lead through the front nine. They were able to close the show 5&3.

The results from this afternoon’s four-balls on the opening day.#RyderCup pic.twitter.com/jBbCKrYuen

— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) September 29, 2023

Full Results from Four-Ball:

• Hovland/Hatton tied with Spieth/Thomas
• Rahm/Hojgaard tied with Scheffler/Koepka
• MacIntyre/Rose tied with Homa/Clark
• McIlroy/Fitzpatrick beat Morikawa/Schauffele 5&3

Full Results from Foursomes:

• Rahm/Hatton beat Scheffler/Burns 4&3
• Hovland/Aberg beat Homa/Harman 4&3
• Lowry/Straka beat Fowler/Morikawa 2&1
• McIlroy/Fleetwood beat Schauffele/Cantlay 2&1

Cover Image via Ryder Cup