Luke Donald described the Ryder Cup singles session as the most nerve-wracking 12 hours after Team Europe edged past Team USA at Bethpage Black. Ludvig Aberg was the sole European victor in the singles matches as they triumphed 15-13 courtesy of crucial half points secured by Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre.
The tension mounted less than an hour before play commenced, with Hovland pulling out due to a neck problem. That handed both sides an additional half point, leaving Europe requiring just two more points to retain the trophy they claimed in Rome two years prior and two-and-a-half for outright triumph.
Following the opening four sessions, they desperately needed every point they had accumulated from their advantage built during Friday and Saturday’s foursomes and four-ball encounters. Donald admitted that his squad hadn’t anticipated that Sunday’s challenge would be so tough.
“It’s got to have been the most stressful 12 hours of my life,” the European captain told Sky Sports. “Shout out to the Americans, and Keegan [Bradley] 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, and all the respect to them.
“But this means a lot to me and the team, we came here knowing that the task would be very difficult. Couldn’t be prouder of these guys, what they’ve gone through, how they come together.
“How they’re playing for history, how they’re playing for the people that come before them. And they’ll be talked about for generations to come as something that will go down in history, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Team USA captain Bradley added, “They’re a tough group, and we didn’t play our best the first couple of days. We did today. That was a really fun day. We had all of our fun in one day here at Bethpage.”
