Team USA falls behind Europe early in Ryder Cup 2025 after challenging morning

Ryder Cup Update from Farmingdale, New York

It seems like Team USA had a rocky start on Friday at Beth Page Black. Surprisingly, for the first time ever in Ryder Cup history, Team Europe claimed victory in all three initial matches held on American soil, giving them a solid early lead of 3-0. To retain the Cup, Europe requires 14 points.

The final five matches of the day ended in a tie at 2.5-2.5, but honestly, Europe is in a favorable position right now.

In the morning, the first three games concluded early, not even reaching the 16th hole. However, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele managed to pull off a birdie on 18, salvaging some pride and securing points for the U.S.

The afternoon seemed to tilt in favor of Team USA, driven by Tommy Fleetwood, who is quickly solidifying his place as a Ryder Cup legend. Fleetwood made a birdie on the 14th and then another on the 16th, leading to Europe’s fifth point after a commanding win against Jon Rahm.

It wasn’t a great day for homegrown talents like Cameron Young and Justin Thomas, who faced defeat in the morning alongside Bryson DeChambeau, suffering a whopping 6&5 loss to Rudy Guede and Rasmus Højgaard. Cantlay and Sam Burns managed to halve the last match of the day, which was somewhat of a relief.

Rahm and Fleetwood’s strong showing resulted in a stunning record of 4-0-0 on Friday. It’s kind of interesting because, just a month ago, Fleetwood hadn’t even won a PGA Tour event, but now he’s sitting at 9-3-2 in his Ryder Cup appearances. Team Europe’s captain, Luke Donald, mentioned he sees Fleetwood as a “world-class” player.

After the play on Friday, Donald emphasized that while Fleetwood took some time to find his groove, he’s confident that this learning experience will only make him stronger moving forward. He added that Fleetwood thrives in a team environment and is definitely an asset to have. Meanwhile, Scotty Scheffler and DeChambeau struggled, finishing 0-4-0, without even reaching hole 17, despite Schauffele being the top-ranked player in the world.