September 29, 2025 1:23 pm

My Ryder Cup prediction last week was for a draw. As the players teed off for the Sunday singles that prediction looked poor. But by the time the guys came to the last few holes, on the verge of the worst collapse in Ryder Cup history, I was praying for that tie!

It looked easy to begin with

It all started so well. Team Europe won every session on Friday and Saturday. I was even starting to feel sorry for the USA captain, Bradley Keegan. He was about to get grilled by the American press. They would say the course was set up too easy, he shouldn’t have persevered with players like Collin Morikawa and should have got J J Spaun out there for all 5 matches. But the truth is Team Europe simply out-played Team USA.  They hit more greens and holed more putts. But it couldn’t last. The players on Team USA are too good to take that lying down. On Sunday afternoon they roared back. Not easy to begin with, but then a momentum swing started to happen. Matt Fitzpatrick was pulled back from 5 up on DeChambeau to finish level. McIlroy faded and Fleetwood and Rose struggled manfully but eventually came up short.

Now the result has gone the way of Luke Donald’s boys, we can reflect that, the way it ended was probably the best we could have hoped for. It will certainly be a Ryder Cup that will linger long in the memory. If you are not playing the sport but watching on tv, you want it to be entertaining. You want it to get you on the edge of your seat and by golly, it achieved that.

The fans’ behaviour

Much has been said of the New York crowd and the hostility they threw at McIlroy et al. There is no justification for that behaviour. Let us make sure that when the 100 year anniversary of the Ryder Cup is played at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027, the knowledgeable golfing galleries that will attend will cheer loudly and enthusiastically for the Europeans. But they will also applaud and yes even cheer, excellence when it comes from an American golfer. Sport is a great force for cohesion, camaraderie and togetherness.  Sadly a minority of the New York crowd chose to take a different view.

Well played

The summary is of an amazing weekend of sporting excellence and a historic victory that was hard won in the end. Team USA can hold their heads high as they made a real fight of it and were a credit to their nation.

By Jon Woodroffe – Master Professional, World of Golf London

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