Rory McIlroy found himself at the center of both action and controversy as Europe controlled the opening day of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Europe took a strong lead early in the rivalry. Rory McIlroy’s performance on the course proved decisive in some of the closest matches and moments, setting the stage for heated arguments between fans and analysts.
That was a solid start to the day, and it looked like it would be a great day for McIlroy, who made consecutive birdies on No. His remarkable performance, along with that of fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, handed them a two-hole lead. They beat the cocky Americans Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns like a drum. The mood quickly changed after McIlroy dropped an F-bomb on live TV. The strong response to the heckles from this New York audience produced a backlash, primarily from climate hawk advocates.
Even in the face of controversy, McIlroy started driving the daylights into the course. He and his European teammate Tommy Fleetwood took down Americans Collin Morikawa and Harris English in dominating fashion. Her decisive 5&4 victory helped the Europeans clinch the overall win. Approaching the end of the day, McIlroy was in a must-make 10-footer that would have put his team up six points. He lost it on the last green with a narrow miss and halved his point instead.
Other European pairs joined them in the stunning performance department as well, between the free and the short. Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose came from behind to clinch a narrow victory over Ben Griffin and Bryson DeChambeau, while Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton played exceptionally well, overcoming a deficit to defeat DeChambeau and Justin Thomas 4&3. Rahm’s performance was particularly notable as he followed up a successful foursomes match and teamed with Sepp Straka for a strong 3&2 victory against Scottie Scheffler and JJ Spaun.
Even now, Ludvig Åberg and rookie Rasmus Hojgaard fell prey to difficult conditions. They ended up getting blasted anyway, losing 6&5 to Justin Thomas and Cameron Young. For those keeping score, Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland went down in their match against Xander Schauffele and Cantlay 2 extra holes. Perhaps none were bigger than the jaw-dropper Matt Fitzpatrick and Åberg just laid on world number one Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley 5&4. This victory contributes to Europe’s increasing domination in this year’s competition.
By the end of Day 1, Europe had taken a commanding lead in the Ryder Cup. With riveting performances and nail biting drama, the first weekend of the second annual SheBelieves Cup laid the groundwork for a thrilling final stretch of tournament play.
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