Scheffler's Ryder Cup woes deepen as U.S. falters in early sessions

Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1, extended a Ryder Cup slump that has followed him from Rome to Bethpage Black, becoming the first American to lose a match in each of the event's first four sessions. The former gold standard of U.S. form briefly flashed in the fourball but faded again in Saturday's Friday-to-Saturday shift, as Scheffler and Russell Henley fell to Viktor Hovland and Bob MacIntyre, 1 up, in foursomes. The American team found itself under pressure in multiple formats as Europe pressed its edge on home soil.

Scheffler has not tasted victory in his past eight Ryder Cup matchups and is the first top-ranked player to lose more than two matches in a single Ryder Cup. He led for a total of three of his 65 holes at Bethpage Black before the late-morning margin collapsed. In the fourball session, Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau started with two birdies but were unable to hold off Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose, who won 3&2. Scheffler opened strong, but Rose surged with six under-par holes in the opening stretch, erasing the early U.S. advantage. The pattern repeated in the week’s other format, as Scheffler and Henley fought to stay in contention but ultimately fell short in an alternate-shot match. His run in the event’s fourball/ foursomes cadence has been marked by a lack of late leverage, with Scheffler and his partners losing all four matches in the alternate-shot format and winning just six of 59 holes overall in that format.

We battled hard out there,” Scheffler said after the latest setback. “The guys we played against just played great.” His comments reflected a familiar refrain from a U.S. side trying to steady a rapidly tilting momentum tide on a course where Europe’s veterans have carried the load so far.

The fourball match that paired Scheffler with DeChambeau also underscored the volatility of Team USA’s decisions. The American duo opened with early momentum but could not sustain it against Fleetwood and Rose, who extended his Ryder Cup winning percentage with a 3&2 victory. The results left Scheffler with a historically challenging ledger: winless in eight Ryder Cup matchups entering the weekend, with his latest performances amplifying the perception that the world No. 1 has not yet found a reliable rhythm in this team format.

Keegan Bradley, the U.S. captain, faced sharp questions after opting to reuse two losing pairings from Friday’s lopsided foursomes for Saturday’s morning session. Morikawa and Harris English, who had combined for one hole won the previous day, were sent back into the lineup as the U.S. tried to salvage momentum. The decision backfired in the front nine, as Rory McIlroy and Fleetwood raced to a four-hole advantage after eight holes, leaving the bench warmers to contend in other matches. The early results in this session left Bradley far from the results he hoped to achieve with a plan he insisted would hold firm under pressure.

Bradley’s rationale for reusing Morikawa and English — who had not clicked together in the previous round — drew skepticism from observers and analysts. “We’re sticking to our plan,” the captain said. “We’re not going to panic. We’re not going to panic and make those sort of mistakes. We’re going to stick to what we know. We have a lot of confidence in them.” Still, the front nine exposed the difficulties of trying to replicate a previous pairing’s success, as Morikawa and English trailed McIlroy and Fleetwood by four after eight holes, with other U.S. players watching from the bench.

Europe’s success on Saturday’s foursomes continued as McIlroy and Fleetwood improved to 5-0-0 in the format, while Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton also moved to 5-0-0. The pairings’ dominance on the course kept the European team in front in the early session, widening the gap in the overall competition. Fleetwood, in particular, has ascended to the top echelon of Ryder Cup records, now holding the best career win percentage (11-3-2) for any European player with at least 10 matches in the event’s history. Luke Donald, the European captain, summed up the moment by emphasizing the pressure on his remade lineup’s star performers.

“You need your superstars to perform at their highest,” Donald said. “And they certainly have done that.”

The momentum shift in Saturday’s play left the United States with an uphill battle heading into the closing sessions of the Ryder Cup. The results and the coach’s decisions will ripple through the team’s preparation, as the Americans seek to turn the tide and salvage a competitive result on the weekend. Scheffler’s trajectory remains a focal point, given his status as the world’s No. 1 and his recent tournament history, including his 2023 Rome experience, which elicited tears and a notable emotional response that stands in contrast to his “world-beating” status when he plays in individual events.