An emotional Rory McIlroy was reduced to tears as the United States regained the Ryder Cup with a record-breaking performance at Whistling Straits.
Trailing 11-5 heading into Sundayās 12 singles matches, Padraig Harringtonās European team needed a comeback greater than 2012ās āMiracle at Medinahā to retain the trophy, with the home side requiring just three-and-a-half points.
But, although McIlroy belatedly found some form to beat Xander Schauffele in the opening match, the scoreboard was soon a sea of American red as Steve Strickerās side stormed to an utterly dominant 19-9 victory, the biggest winning margin in the modern era.
š Rory McIlroy as you may never have seen him before, unable to speak despite winning his point today
ā Sporting Life (@SportingLife) September 26, 2021
"I love these guys so much. I should've done more for them this week."pic.twitter.com/6o8vWJSLjH
The writing had been on the wall over the first two days of American dominance and victories for Scottie Scheffler over the previously unbeaten Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay against Shane Lowry took them to the brink of victory.
Bryson DeChambeau, who eagled the first hole after driving the green, ended Sergio Garciaās unbeaten record with a 3 and 2 victory to make it 14-6 and it fell to Collin Morikawa to effectively secure victory with eight matches still on the course.
The Open championās birdie on the 17th guaranteed him half a point against Viktor Hovland ā subsequently confirmed on the last ā and the home celebrations, which Justin Thomas had started by downing beer on the first tee on Saturday afternoon, could officially begin.
DJ makes history! š šŗšø
ā Sky Sports Ryder Cup (@SkySportsGolf) September 26, 2021
Dustin Johnson defeats Paul Casey to become the first American to go 5-0-0 in a #RyderCup since Larry Nelson in 1979! š„
šŗ Sky Sports Ryder Cup
š± Live blog š https://t.co/olgrFc5M2v pic.twitter.com/cj2jvEJ3jZ
World number two Dustin Johnsonās victory over Paul Casey made him the first American player to compile a perfect 5-0 record since Larry Nelson in 1981, while there were also wins for Brooks Koepka, Thomas and Daniel Berger.
Ian Poulter maintained his proud unbeaten singles record with a 3 and 2 win over Tony Finau and Lee Westwood beat Harris English, while Tommy Fleetwood halved his match with Jordan Spieth.
Matt Fitzpatrick looked set to halve his match with Berger and ensure the winning margin only equalled the previous best of nine points, only to dump his approach to the 18th into Seven Mile Creek in front of the green.
āWe are disappointed but the US played well,ā Harrington said. āThey outplayed us, they were a strong team that got their plan right and got some momentum going. We always knew it was going to be a tall order.ā
Asked if he regretted any of his decisions, Harrington added: āNo, thatās the one thing that I have. Iām very comfortable with all the decisions. Itās a small consolation but it is one.ā
McIlroy had been benched for the first time in his Ryder Cup career after two defeats on the opening day and lost again on Saturday afternoon, but birdied the first hole against Olympic champion Schauffele and was never headed.
Asked to describe the challenge of playing in front of the partisan crowd, McIlroy struggled to compose himself before saying: āI love being a part of this team and I wish I could have done more for them this week.
āIām glad I put a point on the board for them but I just canāt wait to get another shot at this.ā
McIlroy, who famously described the Ryder Cup as an āexhibitionā before making his debut at Celtic Manor in 2010, added: āIāve never cried about what Iāve done as an individual, I couldnāt give a s***.
āItās been a tough week but the more and more I play in this event I realise itās the best event in golf bar none. No matter what happens after this I am proud of every single one of the players that played this week, I am proud of our captain and vice-captains.ā
Rahm had been in brilliant form over the first two days, partnering Garcia to three wins and also halving his match alongside Tyrrell Hatton, but ran into an inspired Scheffler who birdied the first four holes and never eased up.
š¬ "Don't set me off, don't get me going!" š¢
ā Sky Sports Ryder Cup (@SkySportsGolf) September 26, 2021
š¬ "Today was to give something back. You just don't know if you get the opportunity to go again."
Ian Poulter - Mr Ryder Cup š
The #TeamEurope legend reflects on a difficult few days, and has warm words for PƔdraig Harrington pic.twitter.com/vP6qjg4l9X
Lowry briefly led against FedEx Cup winner Cantlay but never recovered from losing the fourth, fifth and sixth and eventually lost 4 and 2.
Cantlay was one of six rookies on the US team and warned Europe that the new generation of American stars would provide stiff opposition for years to come.
āThis is definitely different,ā Cantlay said. āI woke up this morning and I was trying to tell the guys, letās get to 20 points because this is going to be the next era of Ryder Cup team for the US side.
āWe have a lot of young guys and I think they are going to be on teams for a long time and I wanted to send a message.
āI think the young guys on this team get along really well. Everybody gets along. The atmosphere is light but I know everyone has that killer instinct and we are going to bring that to future cups.ā
Have to admire that from Westwood. Convinced it's his final Ryder Cup match. He'd lost his previous six, spanning a period of seven years. This was it. He was two down with four to play, and he won three of the last four holes to win the match. Brilliant.
ā Ben Coley (@BenColeyGolf) September 26, 2021
Victorious captain Stricker praised his side for making the journey to Whistling Straits for practice rounds a fortnight ago and even suggested their unity extended to the feuding DeChambeau and Koepka.
āThey had a mission this week and you could tell, they played great and they came togetherā, Stricker said. āI mean, Brooks and Bryson wanted to play together, thatās how much it came together. That shows a lot about this whole team.
āFrom day one, it was about out-preparing (Europe), right, getting the guys here, getting them on the same page. This is a new era for USA golf. They are young. They come with a lot of passion, a lot of energy, a lot of game. They are just so good.ā