Luke Donald will be the first to tell you that the most important factor in Winning a Ryder Cup is for your stars to play as stars. European European team Ryder Cup built a prevailing lead over Americans in Bethpage Black Rory McilroyTommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm as Europe had to be.
“You need your big players to grow up,” Donald said Sunday at Bethpage Black After the 15-13 victory of Europe. “Seeing Rome, Victor (Hovland) was our champion FedExcup. We had Rory. We had Jon. They had 10.5 points without playing together once in Rome.
“This week, Rory has won four out of five. Jon, three out of five. … You can argue that Tommy is probably four out of five. You absolutely need your big weapons to light, and that is what we are proud of, that the great boys of American boys, their weapons, they didn’t get as much as our points.”
For two days in Bethpage BlackThat was true. Mcilroy, Rahm, Fleetwood and Justin Rose were prevailing while Europe built a 12-5 lead after WD on Victor Hovland Sunday due to a neck injury. But Europe’s big weapons were clearly tired of the Ryder Cup mental quarrel. And while their stars fell during Sunday bachelors as the Americans set up a furious rally, Donald needed others to save the day.
Shane Lowry’s Tie with Russell Henley finally secured the European Cup holding, but blue and gold would not conquer Bethpage without two critical matches that stabilized procedures and allowed Lowry to nail the final blow.
The first came from Matt Fitzpatrick, who was thrown across Bryson Dechambeau early in the third match of the day. Fitzpatrick went 5 to seven holes just to watch Dechambeau Rally to connect the match at 17. With Rose, Fleetwood and Rahm already defeated and Mcilroy running in the smoke against Scottie Scheffler, Europe needed Fitzpatrick to save a tie against Dechambeau to catch its breath.
Fitzpatrick, who entered a week with a 1-7-0 Ryder Cup record career, split the right path to 18 and hit his approach with 39 meters. With the pressure raised, Fitzpatrick hit his delay at 10 inches to enter with par and provide a half point for Europe. He finished the week going 2-1-1 and brought Europe closer to victory by stopping one of America’s big weapons to finish what would have been a rapid return.
The moments after Fitzpatrick secured a half point, Ludwig Ã¥berg, who was a rhythm of the Ryder Cup in Rome in 2023, but has since flourished in a star. The latest Sunday bachelors in Europe “Firewall” was the only one to place a blue flag on the board.
“Today, I was proud of the way I played,” Ã¥berg said on Sunday. “And I’m proud to be part of this team. There are 11 boys that I have a tremendous joy I have been a part and a captain that I am so happy that he trusted me, and I am just trying to pay him playing good golf. Yes, today is a day I will remember for a lot, very long.”
As for Fitzpatrick, Ryder Cupper’s four -time heroic will be best remembered not by a quotation or one shot, but by two gestures that will live in pronounced European coils. The first was a festive moment with the European crowd that visited Saturday night after he and Tyrrell Hatton ended up Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay in four balls to give Europeans a seven -point lead.
“I need to cut this short,” Fitzpatrick said for his interview as he and the win of Hatton’s moment building. “I want to go to celebrate with them. The atmosphere is out of this world.”
These are the moments to feed.
Matt Fitzpatrick returned with the specific intention to celebrate with European fans. 😅
A commanding bullet goes Sunday. pic.twitter.com/b0bui19ryg
– BBC Sport (@bbcsport) September 27, 2025
The second came on Sunday as it was locked in a battle with Dechambeau.
After winning the 8th and 9th holes, Dechambeau had cut the advantage of the fitzpatrick to 3. With a wave of red building and American crowd trying to strengthen Dechambeau in a comeback, Fitzpatrick needed an answer. Dechambeau appeared ready to cut the advantage of Fitzpatrick in two when that 12 bird, but the Englishman responded with a bird of it and made the crowd gestures to calm down – this would not be America’s “Miracle in Medinah”.
The firm heroic of Fitzpatrick and Ã¥berg are representatives of the biggest reason for the victory of the Europe’s Ryder Cup-a culture that requires 12 of the best players in the world to control their ego at the team’s room door and do what is required to cement their place in history. It is a culture that has purchases from every single member.
“I think those weeks we spend together are the ones we remember the most and the ones we feed the most because of our time to spend with each other,” Donald said of his success as captain. “This is a large part of my captain is to create an environment where these people are spending the best weeks of their lives, honestly. We will always remember this. We will always go down in history. We talk about all the people who came before us.
“And that’s inspiring to me and that’s what Rory gets and all these 11 other boys get, too.”
And Europe needed everyone to conquer Bethpage and write their names in European history Ryder Cup.
