How did Europe achieve a beautiful Ryder Cup victory?

Europe has again won the Ryder Cup. Despite a lively indictment in Sunday singles by Team USA, Luke Donald’s team did just enough on the last day to win 15-13 and take the cup back over the pond. It is the sixth time in eight Ryder cups who have become the euros, and the ninth time since 2000. So how did Europeans succeed in winning the cup on foreign ground? And what went wrong for the Americans? Golf’s writers and editors are all expanding below.

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The Europeans held against the Americans in the Ryder Cup 2025 to become the first road team that won in a decade. Europe had major clues after the first two days before the Americans dominated singles on Sunday and closed the gap until two late on the day before they finally fell 15-13. Players have previously said how difficult it is to win a Road Ryder Cup, but Europe did it this weekend. How did Europe manage?

Zephyr Melton, Associate Game-Improvement Editor (@zepyrmelton): They implemented their plan on Friday to perfection and played the Americans on Saturday. (It helps when you apparently make every putt that you look at.) The euros have returned to the average in the last session, but by that time the pillow they had built up was enough to hold the victory.

Jack Hirsh, Associate Equipment Editor (@Jr_bresany): They embraced and enjoyed playing as a team, which is not something that is easy to do in Golf. It is very clear that Europe consistently plays larger than the sum of its parts every Ryder Cup. The US continues to look for answers about how to succeed in the Ryder Cup (Europe has won three except three cups this century) and it is literally staring into the face.

Josh Sens, senior writer ((@joshsens): Agreed, Jack. But I also think that a deep -rooted cultural is that it is difficult to change. This week was like a metaphor for the character on every side: the Europeans were all about collaboration; The Americans came in shape when they went alone.

Europe only needed two points to keep the cup to start on Sunday, although the Americans did not easily give up, put the first three points on the board and let the majority led. How surprising was Sunday’s effort? And where was that urgency in the past two days?

Melton: You have to give the Americans the honor, they fought hard on Sunday to make it a lot closer than most thought it would ever come. With a more talented team (on paper, at least on paper), the singles format would always play in their favor, and as soon as they got some momentum, they really got things rolling all afternoon.

Hirsh: I agree with Zephyr, the American battle in the Ryder Cup is really confusing, given that they usually have the talent benefit. It certainly helped that Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy were not on Sunday, and to be honest when you win the first three games as they did, and in a dramatic way in 18 as they were, that can have a step -by -step momentum effect. There was nothing of that Friday and Saturday.

Sens: I don’t think the Americans had no urgency for the first two days. I suspect they wanted it so badly that they might have printed. It is not a shock that they have mounted a comeback, partly because the size is better suited for them, but also, I would bet, but they played as if they had nothing to lose.

After a dominant victory at Whistling Straits in 2021, the Americans were crushed in Rome two years ago. Now they are on the wrong side of the scoreboard for two years in a row. What has not changed in the past two years?

Melton: For everything that was made about Keegan Bradley who broke the mold as a captain, he seemed to make the same tactical mistakes as his predecessors who became the victim. The decision to roll out the Morikawa-English Foursomes team twice is one that will be investigated for some time, just like Sitting Cameron Young in the first session. While the euros burden their plan and stick to it, the Americans always seem to do lower belly that come back to bite them. This year was no different.

Hirsh: I thought Keegan Bradley should break the boys’ club? The fact that Collin Morikawa was in the team, despite the fact that he had a terrible season, was the opposite of the opposite. It seemed that Bradley tried to make everyone happy instead of doing what he thought was good. The US must blow up its entire Ryder Cup process and start all over again. And they should do it quietly. No taskforce, no selection of pump and circumstance captain. Just learn from what the Europeans do so well and apply it.

Sens: When the Americans lose, fans and players and experts spend a lot of time on this side of the Atlantic about what went wrong, as if there should be a hidden explanation, or a question that a Task Force can solve. In this case I think one of the statements is that Europeans had the better team. I am not talking about world rankings or other wealth statistics. I am talking about a mix of Ryder Cup veterans and young talent, most of them in good form, all absolutely thirst for this event. Meanwhile, several top Americans came from this event in shape. I think it reflects a certain kind of American arrogance to think that there should be another reason, as if we cannot accept that the other team was simply stronger.

What was the best (and worst) captain of the week by both Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley?

Melton: The aforementioned Morikawa-English coupling was the biggest main screw in Bradley. The decline on the second day was borderline -wan practices. I think the euros have played as well as they could have had.

Hirsh: Yes, I can’t think of a bigger blunder in the recent Ryder Cup history than to return Morikawa-English to the same euro team. It was as if Bradley allowed Fleetwoodmac’s victories because they were so good. I also do not understand why Ben Griffin only played two games, gives the man a chance, you chose him to play.

I can’t think of a bad decision by Luke Donald this week. He has been a class for the past three years since he was appointed captain and the euro would be wise to keep running back with him. Can you believe that in 2023 he shouldn’t even be a captain?

Sens: The Morikawa-English repetition was definitely a head-scratcher. But the course setup also seemed to be a factor. Conventional wisdom seems to be that the Americans are the larger batters who benefit from a bomb-and-gouge course. But as Edoardo Molinari of the European Brainrust said before the event, he felt like the relatively easy attitude that was played in the hands of Europeans. I think it says that the Europeans were so dominant in the first six holes, which are some of the easiest on the track. The Americans did better when the gaps became more difficult. In the future, they might be better off setting up a stiffer test.

Who or what was the biggest surprise of the week for each team?

Melton: Scottie goes 1-4-0 is certainly there for the Americans. For the euros I go with the health of Viktor HOVOLAND.

Hirsh: What about Cam Young? Perhaps “surprise” is the wrong word, but this was just as his coming party as his victory last month. Hopefully this is the start of a tear that we all saw coming out of him after his Rookie season. Also here Bryson Dephambeau’s could place 1.5-point Dud’s Dud.

I am here at Zephyr, heavy news to hear that Viktor has had to deal with a neck problem.

Sens: I can’t surpass it. But probably worth mentioning JJ Spaun on the American side. No shock that he played so well. But for his first round in a Ryder Cup, he looked remarkably comfortable. On the other hand, I would say that Jon Rahm pops up relatively flat in his last two games, considering how deadly he had worked towards them.

Bethpage Black is known for his incredible difficulty, but the American team went up T-pieces and mowed the rough to make it a Birdie festival in three days. What do you think of that film, both from a strategic point of view and the TV view experience?

Melton: The black made of a pretty silly viewing experience, imo. Golf balls stuck where they landed and offline shots were rarely punished. I have played the course dozens of times and I have never seen it so good. It cost a lot of intrigues from the event.

Hirsh: It was terrible. Why go to a notoriously tough golf course (one of the most difficult in the world) to make it easy? I would have liked to see a Ryder Cup where par some holes could win. What does it matter? Yes, fans love birdies, but they also like to watch players who grind. Don’t people like to watch the US open?

Sens: Agree. The obsession with Birdies ignores the fact that par is not relevant. It is Match-Play, because of crimes. In the heat of the Ryder Cup, the excitement does not come from placing Birdie. It comes from placing one less than your opponent. The setup was disappointing in that respect. That said, the soft circumstances made the problem worse, and it wasn’t something that someone could control.

Is the envelope rule one that should stay? Or should it be changed?

Melton: Perhaps every team should have an on-site alternative in case of injury. It seems the most logical solution.

Hirsh: I don’t hate that idea, but I don’t really hate the envelope rule either. I don’t think a team should be punished for injuries, especially for an event that is considered an ‘exhibition’. It is a decent compromise and it finally succeeded this week. I even think it would probably improve the Americans.

Sens: I could live with one of those proposals. Or each team turns off a captain or assistant captain to fill the slots.