Europe
Ludvig Aberg – Played 4, Won 2, Lost 2
Erratic on Saturday and one of the weaker European players stats wise, as he struggled on the first two days, but when push came to shove, he delivered with Europe’s only win from their strong opening players, beating Patrick Cantlay. Rating: 6
Matt Fitzpatrick – Played 4, Won 2, Lost 1, Halved 1
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Came into the Ryder Cup with a terrible overall record but more than made amends this week with inspired golf, particularly his approach play. On Friday, he took on the world number one Scottie Scheffler and outplayed him, but fell from 5 up against DeChambeau in singles when a point would have ended it. Rating: 8
Tommy Fleetwood – Played 5, Won 4, Lost 1
Has become a Ryder Cup stalwart and proved unbeatable for the first two days with rock solid partners in Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. Cool and collected, he allows others to shine alongside him, while he is capable of big moments himself, holing important putts and peppering pins with his towering irons. Rating: 9
Tyrrell Hatton – Played 4, Won 3, Halved 1
A formidable partner with Jon Rahm as expected given their LIV team connections, Hatton is a different animal in the team environment, he stepped up to the plate with Hovland’s injury as a late sub to play with Fitzpatrick in fourballs and got the half point that won the Ryder Cup outright. Rating: 8
Rasmus Hojgaard – Played 2, Won 0, Lost 2
Only played once the first two days, didn’t play particularly well and lost but he will have learnt a lot from the experience. His distance from the tee gave him a lot of opportunities in fourballs, but didn’t make much impact. Rating: 4
Viktor Hovland – Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Playing through an injury, he was not the beast that he was in Rome, but he still made a big impact by matching Scheffler shot-for-shot with approaches in the Saturday foursomes and made a big putt on 17 with the match on the line which proved crucial. Was ruled out Sunday. Rating: 6
Shane Lowry – Played 3, Won 1, Halved 2
The greatest Irish draw since Italia 90. Shane Lowry holed the putt to retain the Ryder Cup with a clutch birdie at 18, to go with birdies at 15 and 16 to haul in an inspired Henley. With McIlroy on Saturday, he sheltered McIlroy with eagle-birdie-birdie with the heat on, then three birdies in four to close out tight match. Legend. Rating: 8
Bob MacIntyre – Played 3, Won 1, Halved 1, Lost 1
Not a key figure that rankings may have suggest he might be but didn’t need to be with others shining around him. Played steady golf in foursomes and meshed well with Hovland and he played his part in an important win over Scheffler and Henley on Saturday morning. Rating: 6
Rory McIlroy - Played 5, Won 3, Halved 1, Lost 1
To go unbeaten over the first two days while being subjected to horrendous abuse was a testament to the resilience of the man. Time and again when it was required he delivered, most notably in foursomes on Saturday, when he told a fan to shut up and then hit a wedge to three feet. Understandably he was wrecked by Sunday and lost to Scheffler. Rating: 8
Jon Rahm – Played 5, Won 3, Lost 2
Finally the Rahm we know and love after the move to LIV seemed to diminish his focus in big events. Made so many match-changing interventions in the first two days, highlighted by chipping in from a seemingly impossible spot on the 8th on Saturday morning. Ran out of steam on Sunday. Rating: 8
Justin Rose – Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1
Gutsy is the word. Inspirational in the last away win in Medinah, he put in one of the greatest putting performances in Ryder Cup history on Saturday, gaining almost five shots on the field with the putter as he knocked in birdie after birdie. Even in narrowly losing to Young, he showed fight. Rating: 8
Sepp Straka – Played 3, Won 1, Lost 2
Did not have the form that saw him win twice on the PGA Tour this season but still a decent foil for Rahm in fourballs, particularly on the opening day when he dovetailed nicely to make key contributions the few times that Rahm slipped up. Poor in singles. Rating: 4
USA
Sam Burns: Played 3, Halved 2, Lost 1
Not a great captain’s pick, understood to be Scheffler’s mate yet never picked to play alongside him. His approach play was the worst of the US players, but fought hard against MacIntyre in singles. Rating: 5
Patrick Cantlay – Played 5, Won 1, Lost 3, Halved 1
His cold, emotionless style of golf or indeed general perspective to life seems to strangely suit the Ryder Cup where chaos ensues and he stays consistent. Hard to beat in team formats, but gave up some American momentum by losing to Aberg in singles. Rating: 6
Bryson DeChambeau – Played 5, Won 1, Lost 3, Halved 1
Good week for DeChambeau’s personal brand, despite not having a brilliant record. Brandel Chamblee called him a “captain’s nightmare” before it, but he brought good energy and passion, especially when fighting back to get a half with Fitzpatrick from 5 down after 7. Rating: 6
Harris English – Played 2, Lost 2
Unfortunately for English, he did not get the chance to redeem himself on Sunday, as a rare Ryder Cup rule came in due to Hovland’s injury he had to sit out the match. His pairing with the off-form Collin Morikawa was a disaster but fighting a losing battle against the brilliant Fleetwood and McIlroy twice. Rating: 4
Ben Griffin – Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Maybe underused by Bradley given his form on the PGA Tour, but was hardly outstanding in the fourballs with DeChambeau on Friday to force his way into the reckoning. Beat Hojgaard in singles to show his worth, which could have been important only for Lowry ahead of him. Rating: 6
Russell Henley – Played 3, Lost 2, Halved 1
A spirited singles display demonstrated why he is third in the world, but did not mesh well with Scheffler and seemed to struggle with the length of the course. Played great on Sunday, but ultimately remembered for leaving a putt short to extend the Ryder Cup. Rating: 5
Collin Morikawa – Played 3, Lost 2, Halved 1
A questionable captain’s pick given recent form, he was not helped by Bradley’s poor choice to match him up with English in a combination that left him with the most birdie putts. That ruthlessly exposed his sub-standard putting game, with several efforts not even threatening the hole. Rating: 4
Scottie Scheffler – Played 5, Won 1, Lost 4
His strengths tee to green were negated by a ridiculously easy set-up, but still he failed to lead as by far the world’s best player. Saved face by beating Rory McIlroy, as apart from that, he failed to show up in big moments. Rating: 5
JJ Spaun – Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1
Strange such a consistent player was not chosen for foursomes, but the US Open champion showed his class late on Saturday with everything falling apart around him, birdieing the final hole to get a rare point on the board. No surprise he also won his singles. Rating: 7
Justin Thomas – Played 2, Won 2, Lost 2
Massive birdie on 18 to take the Fleetwood scalp in the singles, and brings great energy to the contest. Missed too many putts on the first two days, but gelled well with the rookie Young. Rating: 7
Cameron Young – Played 4, Won 3, Lost 1
The best American player by far, came with a good course history having grown up in New York and delivered as a rookie. Led the fight for Bradley and held off Rose in the top singles match. The breakout star of the week. Rating: 9
Xander Schauffele – Played 4, Won 3, Lost 1
A serious gamer who was middle of the pack for stats, yet leaves with three points. Not at his 2024 best, but still hard to beat in matchplay as he never gives you an inch. Big singles scalp in Rahm. Rating: 7
Captains
Luke Donald – A masterclass from start to finish – dignified in communication, logical decisions in pairings and instilled a focused, winning mentality. He will go down as one of the greatest Ryder Cup captains. Singles was nervy but not his fault. Rating: 9
Keegan Bradley – A lot of strange decisions all week, deserves credit for rallying strong singles performance but only highlighted missed point opportunities in team matches. Morikawa and English pairing twice was typical of his confused captaincy. Rating: 5
