Match recaps from Wednesday: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

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GUYANCOURT, France — Europe won six of the final seven matches in Sunday’s Singles to reclaim the Ryder Cup, beating the U.S. 17.5 to 10.5 in a dominating performance at Le Golf National. It’s the sixth consecutive Ryder Cup on home soil that Europe has won; the last time the U.S. has won in Europe is 1993. Francesco Molinari completed the best week ever by a European player, remaining undefeated as he beat Phil Mickelson 4 and 2. BEST MATCH Both Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy expected that their opening match in Singles would be a key one, setting the tone for the rest of the day. Certainly it was a tight one, with neither player going more than 2-up. And it was riveting, as the match reached the 18th hole. But as it turned it, it did not impact the outcome, as Thomas’ 1-up win was one of just four on the day for the Americans. Still, it had plenty of interesting moments, particularly at the final hole. With the match all square, Thomas found the fairway off the tee while McIlroy found a half-buried lie near the lip of the fairway bunker. He tried to punch out sideways to the fairway, but his ball dribbled back into the bunker. Then on his third shot, his ball came out low, clipped the lip, and ran into the water on the other side. Once Thomas safely found the green with his approach, McIlroy conceded the hole and the match. Don’t expect it to be the last time these two players face each other in a Ryder Cup match. BEST AMERICANS The U.S. had four winners on Sunday – Thomas, Webb Simpson, Tony Finau and Patrick Reed. Thomas had to knock off McIlroy and Simpson beat Justin Rose, the recent world No. 1. But the most impressive American performance was from Finau. The Ryder Cup rookie put together six birdies and won nine holes in a bogey-free round to throttle previously unbeaten Tommy Fleetwood 5 and 4 in the fifth match of the day. “I played incredible golf today. I was controlling the ball nicely and made some putts. It was a really hard time for Tommy to get in the match,â€� Finau said. BEST EUROPEANS The Europeans had seven winners on Sunday. Jon Rahm had the thrill of a lifetime, knocking off Tiger Woods 2 and 1. Ian Poulter remained undefeated in Ryder Cup singles, beating world No. 1 Dustin Johnson 2 up by winning four of the last six holes. But the most impressive performance was by Ryder Cup rookie Thorbjorn Olesen. He sat out both sessions on Saturday but had a key victory over Jordan Spieth in the seventh match, winning 5 and 4 in a match that was vital to slow the early U.S. momentum. Olesen made five birdies and never trailed for the last 11 holes to beat Spieth, who had won three points in the team session. “I played great on the front nine,â€� Olesen said. “Holed some really, really good putts and the crowd were mental. It’s been so much fun.â€� BEST STAT Sergio Garcia became the most successful Ryder Cup player in history with 25.5 points ahead of previous record holder Sir Nick Faldo (25). Jordan Spieth is now 0-3 in Ryder Cup singles and 0-3 in Presidents Cup singles. ROOKIE REVIEW USA Bryson DeChambeau (0-3-0) – Despite fighting all the way to the final hole well after the Ryder Cup had been decided and throwing a dart on 18 DeChambeau was left without a point after Alex Noren drained a huge putt for a 1-up win. Justin Thomas (4-1-0) – The MVP of the American team. Thomas was a rookie in name only as he showed he could be the man to build a team around for the next decade and some. Took down Rory McIlroy 1-up in the opening singles match. Tony Finau (2-1-0) – Justified his selection as a captain’s pick with two earned points … the only two earned from all four of team USA’s picks. Finau gave Tommy Fleetwood a 6 and 4 thrashing in singles which was pretty incredible after the first two days of dominance for the Englishman.  EUROPE Tommy Fleetwood (4-1-0) – A stud on debut in the Ryder Cup despite being hammered 6 and 4 by Tony Finau in singles. Prior to that he teamed with Francesco Molinari to become just the second pairing ever to go 4-0 in a single Ryder Cup and the first ever Europeans to do so. Takes the record for most points earned by a European rookie in Ryder Cup history. Alex Noren (2-1-0) – Put some impressive icing on the cake but making a long-range birdie putt on the 18th in the anchor match to win 1-up over Bryson DeChambeau. His accuracy was huge throughout the week. Tyrrell Hatton (1-2-0) – Was unable to keep Patrick Reed from securing a point – going down 3 and 2 in singles.  Thorbjorn Olesen (1-1-0) – After being benched all day Saturday Olesen showed he certainly wasn’t sulking as he made short work of Jordan Spieth in Sunday’s singles. Took care of Spieth 5 and 4 to ensure he added his first Ryder Cup point to his personal tally. Jon Rahm (1-2-0) – Provided one of the biggest highlights of his short career with a singles win over Tiger Woods. Rahm ensured every single European player contributed at least a point with a famous 2 and 1 win. 

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Numbers were being circled on scorecards at every turn of the head during Friday’s second round of The Northern Trust, which only made the frustration level that much higher for a pair of heavyweights, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas. Neither could shift into drive at Liberty National Golf Club in the Playoffs opener. But at least DeChambeau, 1-under through 11 holes, had it in neutral. His playing competitor, Thomas couldn’t even do that. One day after opening with a sizzling 8-under 63, he was 3-over for his first eight holes. “I had no clubface control,” said Thomas, who missed the fairway with five of his first six drives, though give him credit, he was fair to fans on both sides of the course. “I started missing it left, missing it right.” Fortunately, Thomas had the luxury of a wonderful Thursday score to fuel his engines and offer comfort that things can change in a hurry with these lads. “I was patient. I still wasn’t forcing anything,” said Thomas. “I know I can make a lot of birdies, that it’s still early in the tournament.” Turning to play Liberty National’s front nine, fortunes changed in a hurry as DeChambeau played the last seven holes in 5-under to shoot 65, while Thomas played his last five in 5-under to get home in 69. Nowhere did the explosive finishes resonate more loudly than at the 612-yard, par-5 eighth hole when Thomas matched DeChambeau’s eagle in a sequence of shots that had them smiling and high-fiving one another. It was a more improbable eagle for DeChambeau, who drove it in rough right of the fairway and laid up to about 60 yards. The wedge was perfect, finding the bottom of the jar on the third hop. More conventional, but equally impressive was Thomas’ second shot from 286 yards that came to rest 12 feet from the hole. “I hit 5-wood. We didn’t think it had any chance of getting it up (onto the green). The play was just to try to hit it in that far right bunker,” said Thomas, who wasn’t about to chastise himself for being wrong. His 5-wood was enough club, and his eagle putt was pure, and the pleasantries were on. “We were just joking,” said Thomas, who had initiated a conversation up to the green with DeChambeau after the hole-out. Then came the matching eagle and even more smiles and more chatter. “After I made my putt, we looked at each other and said, ‘Good halve,’ ” laughed Thomas, who took note of the sprint in his playing competitor’s step. “He definitely had some fun the last two holes hitting driver.” Pushing to 10-under 132, Thomas was within two of Tony Finau’s clubhouse lead, while DeChambeau got to 6-under 132, which will be a half-dozen off the lead, but a vast improvement from where he had been a short while earlier. “I’ve always been pretty good at changing things on the fly, or at least making something work,” said Thomas. “Finally did on those last five or six holes.”

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