Europe won this raucous Ryder Cup in Rome, but only just. Fired up by clashes between the two teams on Saturday night, USA came out battling in the Sunday singles and threatened to pull off a miracle at Marco Simone. Match after match turned red on the board but Europe held back the sea, and it was left to one of the most popular members of the team, Tommy Fleetwood, to finish the job in an understated moment on the 16th green.
Rickie Fowler had found the water from the tee, so when Fleetwood hit the shot of his life into the heart of the green and rolled his eagle putt close, the American conceded the hole, and with it the Ryder Cup. That was match 11 of 12, showing just how deep America took the contest. “I didn’t want it to come down to one of us at the back,” Fleetwood said. “I’m so proud. I couldn’t wish for a better bunch of people to do with this. We are one gigantic family and the bonds you make last a lifetime.”
