Europe look to Ryder Cup 2025 after sweeping win at Rome

Europe’s top stars delivered when it mattered the most as the hosts regained the 44th Ryder Cup at Rome’s Marco Simone Golf Club with a dominant 16.5 to 11.5 scoreline over the United States on Sunday.

And a spark has clearly been lit with the continent’s top player, world number three Rory McIlroy announcing at the post0event press conference that they were ready to retain their title at New York’s Bethpage Black in two years tine.

“I think one of the biggest accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said, to plenty of desk-thumping by his team mates. “And that's what we're going to do at Bethpage.”

Winning an away Ryder Cup has become something of a quest, the Holy Grail of golf. The US have not won in Europe since Tom Watson led the Americans to a narrow, two-point victory at the Belfry in

It had been 30 years since Europe last fell in a Ryder Cup at home, when Tom Watson captained a U.S. squad led by Raymond Floyd, Payne Stewart and Corey Pavin to a 15-13 victory at The Belfry in Warwickshire on 1993.

For their part, Europe last registered a triumph on US soil in 2012 in what is now remembered in golf folklore as the “Mircale at Medinah”, where the visitors led then by current vice-captain Jose Maria Olazabal came back from the dead to stun the hosts 14.5 to 13.5 at the Medinah Country Club in Illinois.

And now McIlroy has laid down the marker for Bethpage in 2025. Meanwhile, the American wait for victory in Europe will have to wait at least another four years.

Meanwhile, at Rome, it was Europe’s top guns, McIlroy, Jon Rahm of Spain and Norway’s Viktor Hovland who set the template for the team’s charge with 10.5 points from nine wins, three halves and just two defeats as opposed to their US counterparts Scottie Scheffler (world no. 1), Partick Cantlay (five) and Xander Schauffele (six), who earned a combined four points from three wins, two halves and seven losses.

The hosts’ trio received great support down the order with Ryder Cup rookies Ludvig Aberg, Robert Macintyre, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka all stepping up when it was needed.

Acknowledged Europe captain Luke Donald, “I'm just so happy for these 12 guys, they gave everything this week. They were a pleasure to be around. They made my life very easy and they played like superstars.”

“Our guys hung in there like I knew they would. The first two days were key to us to building our lead,” Donald said on the BBC later.

“The Americans are so strong in singles but we were 12 strong. Everyone contributed. I just love these guys - you need your superstars to show up and they did. I've put everything into it and I'm just so glad they were able to win."

On Sunday, Hovland set the ball rolling with an easy 4&3 win over Collin Morikawa and McIlroy followed up with a 3&1 decision over Sam Burns while Rahm battled to a crucial half-point against Scheffler in what resembled a heavyweight world championship boxing bout. It needed a 18th and final hole leveller from the burly Spaniard and left Scheffler as the first winless world number 1 in Ryder Cup records.

“I think I did a really good job at the end,” Rahm said later. “Seeing those scores, refocused at the task at hand. Played good at end. Too bad it wasn't good enough to win but I'll take a halve.”

The US fought bravely but the odds were always stacked against them. Though Europe seemed to be running away with the Sunday singles it was not as easy as the final scoreline made it look.

With Max Homa, Schauffele, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas all winning in the middle of the 12-match lineup the issue looked to be still in the balance before Tyrrel Hatton beat Brian Harman and Tommy Fleetwood edged Rickie Fowler that Europe started to breath easy.

Acknowledged Donald afterwards, “The Ryder Cup, there's always lots of swings and emotions and changes. At one point, I was looking at the board trying to figure out how we get to 14½ points, but in the end, we got there easily.”