Ryder Cup 2025, Saturday fourballs recap: Europe takes record lead after emotional and testy session

The American crowd dialed up the temperature (too much in many spots), some spectators got kicked out, and emotions boiled over for members of both teams on Saturday afternoon at Bethpage Black.

And yet, Europe withstood it all, winning the second fourballs session, 3-1, and taking a record seven-point lead, 11.5-4.5, entering Sunday singles at the 45th Ryder Cup.

“This is the seventh time that Iâ€ve been involved directly with a team … and I have to say, thatâ€s the best Iâ€ve ever seen,†said Paul McGinley, NBC analyst and European team advisor. “Over the first two days is the best performance Iâ€ve ever seen. I mean, the resilience that these guys have shown, the character theyâ€ve shown on top of a brilliant golf game is just phenomenal.â€

“I donâ€t think America had a chance the way that weâ€ve played.â€

McGinleyâ€s Golf Channel colleague Brandel Chamblee took it a step further: “Youâ€re watching the greatest performance of any team since it became continental Europe and the United State.â€

The previous record since 1979, when the format moved to five sessions and 28 points, was six, done twice.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry got more than they deserved from the galleries but won anyway by birdieing each of their last five holes. Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose drew the ire of their opponents, mainly Bryson DeChambeau, but won anyway thanks largely to Roseâ€s eight birdies. Even with the Americans gutting out a win over previously 3-0 Jon Rahm in the third match, an anchor point by Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton, who subbed in late for an injured Viktor Hovland and birdied his last four, ensured a fourth straight session victory.

“Theyâ€re playing unbelievable golf,†Xander Schauffele said after teaming with J.J Spaun for the Americans†lone afternoon point. “I think if you look at it – the course is set up relatively easy, and theyâ€re making a lot of birdies and weâ€re not. Theyâ€re just beating us flat out, and Iâ€m just happy to get a point with J.J. Weâ€re going to try and have small victories right here, and a little bit of red on the board is a win today.â€

Hereâ€s how this emotional and testy Saturday afternoon four-ball session played out:

Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry (Europe) def. Justin Thomas/Cameron Young, 2 up

McIlroy and Lowry reached their breaking points with the New York crowd in this one. Extra security was called in as the heckles grew more personal and more vicious. The broadcast picked up McIlroy, who told a heckler to “shut the f— up†in the morning session, saying, “Iâ€m not putting until they shut up,†as spectators were counting the number of seconds it took McIlroy to play on the fourth green.

Aside from the extracurriculars, Lowry punched back at the crowd with a 20-foot eagle make at the par-5 fourth, and with McIlroy still with a 6-footer for birdie, he rolled one in from 8 feet at the par-4 fifth to put the Europeans 2 up. But the Americans wouldnâ€t go away. Young, arguably the Americans†best player so far, got a hole back with a 36-foot birdie make at the par-4 seventh. Thomas then got in on the action, hooping one from 20 feet to win the par-4 ninth and tie the match.

The multiplying security quelled the crowd slightly on the back nine as the match stalled with traded pars. Finally, though, McIlroy birdied from 9 feet at the par-3 14th and Thomas missed from 6 feet to give the Europeans not only a 1-up lead but also painted the leaderboard fully blue for the first time all afternoon.

Lowry birdied three of the last four holes with McIlroy birdieing the only hole during that stretch that his partner didnâ€t, No. 16. That kept the Americans, who also birdied Nos. 15-17, at bay. And Lowry sealed the emotional point with a 5-foot birdie at the last.

“Iâ€m so proud of this guy,†McIlroy said. “He was with me – he was there for me all day. Iâ€m drained, to say the least, and he dug in big time when he had to. I chipped in when I could here and there, but the credit goes to this man today.â€

Asked if some of the spectators went over the line, McIlroy shrugged it off: “Itâ€s not for me to say. People can be their own judge of whether they took it too far or not. Iâ€m just proud of us for being able to win today with what we had to go through.â€

Tommy Fleetwood/Justin Rose (Europe) def. Scottie Scheffler/Bryson DeChambeau, 3 and 2

The McIlroy match wasnâ€t the only one filled with drama. Hoping to unlock his two superstars, Keegan Bradley paired Scheffler and DeChambeau – and it worked early as the American duo played the first six holes in 6 under. Unfortunately for the U.S., that results in only a 1-up lead.

Rose stuck his tee ball at the par-3 third to 5 feet and birdied the hole to give he and Fleetwood the first lead of the match. DeChambeau came within inches of an albatross on the next, and he rolled in a 6-footer for birdie at the par-4 fifth to win that hole as well.

But Rose was cooking. He needed just eight putts in his first eight holes, and his 7-foot birdie at No. 7 and 21-foot birdie that he walked in at No. 8 flipped the match back to Europe, 1 up. Fleetwood earned a conceded birdie to win the par-4 10th after he hit his approach 182 yards to 10 inches and Scheffler hit the base of the flagstick with his approach, his ball instead bouncing back off the green.

DeChambeau did his best to rile up the crowd by going crazy after birdieing the par-4 11th from 12 feet; both Euros had already missed their par putts, and the loss cut their lead in half, to 1 up. But they got it right back at the par-4 12th, where Scheffler drove it into the left trees and both Euros threw darts at the hole. Rose didnâ€t have to putt after Fleetwood drained his 6-footer for birdie to retake the 2-up lead. Scheffler rebounded with a wedge shot to 4 feet at the par-5 13th, but Fleetwood canned a 26-footer for birdie that would tie the hole.

Rose stretched the lead to 3 up with a 16-foot birdie at the par-3 14th, and then things got testy on the 15th green as Rose told DeChambeauâ€s caddie, Greg Bodine, to back off as the American player-caddie duo were going through their reads while it was Roseâ€s turn to putt. U.S. team members took issue, and even after Rose and DeChambeau traded birdie makes, players, caddies and captains from both sides exchanged words all the way to the 16th tee.

After the Europeans closed out the match in 16 holes, DeChambeau and Scheffler declined to comment, but Rose said, “It was a shame that the match got to that point because it was actually a really great match. I was waiting to putt, the boys were obviously working on their read, obviously going through a lot of their sort of whatever, calculations and bits and pieces, so I sort of waited a few seconds and then I felt like they came up again and … I was like, ‘Itâ€s my putt,†right, or however I said it. Maybe I didnâ€t say it as politely as I could have said it in the moment, but by no means was there any disrespect or anything like that, but obviously it was taken the wrong way.

“Yeah, I donâ€t think we should dwell on that, honestly. I said to the boys, ‘If you want me to say, excuse me, please, then yeah, my bad.â€â€

J.J. Spaun/Xander Schauffele (U.S.) def. Jon Rahm/Sepp Straka, 1 up

Other than Schauffeleâ€s eagle at the par-5 fourth hole, where he canned a 41-footer, there were few American highlights on the front nine as Straka elevated his game alongside Rahm.

After Rahm birdied the first, Straka won holes with 12-foot birdie makes at Nos. 2 and 7. Rahm then added a birdie from 8 feet at No. 9 to turn 2 up.

Spaun showed shades of Oakmont by getting a 41-footer for birdie to drop to win the par-4 10th, and it took seven holes for the U.S. to finally draw level thanks to Nos. 13-15 all being tied with birdies. Rahm missed an 8-footer for birdie at No. 17, allowing Spaun to roll in his 3-footer to tie the match.

A hole later, Spaun earned his first career Ryder Cup point by making a 3-footer for birdie at No. 18. The U.S. win knocked Rahmâ€s record this week to 3-1.

Tyrrell Hatton/Matt Fitzpatrick (Europe) def. Sam Burns/Patrick Cantlay, 1 up

Each of the first eight holes were tied with 1-under golf, and it wasnâ€t until Fitzpatrick rolled in an 8-footer for birdie at the par-4 ninth that one of these duos got on the board.

Burns, whoâ€d earned a halve but struggled in Friday fourballs, poured in a 36-footer for birdie at the par-4 10th, but Fitzpatrick answered from 32 feet to maintain the 1-up lead for Europe. Burns later chipped in at the par-3 14th to win the first hole of the match for the U.S. and square things back up.

Then it was the Cantlay and Hatton show. Hatton subbed in late for the injured Viktor Hovland, who is dealing with a neck issue, and he combined with Cantlay to make six birdies, including five outside of 10 feet, on Nos. 15-17, all of which were tied.

A potential session tie was reversed on No. 18, where both Euros stuffed approach shots inside 3 feet – Fitzpatrick did so from the fairway bunker – while Cantlay spun one pin high and off the green and Burns couldnâ€t convert a birdie try from 22 feet.

“It was definitely a slow burner for this group,†Hatton said. “We couldnâ€t really hold a putt, all of us, and then just kind of really came alive in the last five holes.â€

Added Fitzpatrick: “I think heâ€s under selling it big time. That was by far one of the best afternoons Iâ€ve ever had on a golf course, by far, by far.â€

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