ROME – The City of Eternal Light may not have been built in one day, but the Ryder Cup in Rome may have been lost in one after Team Europe jumped out to a 6 ½ – 1 ½ lead over the Americans.
It equals the biggest day one lead in Ryder Cup history (1975 and 2004) and marked the first time in history that the United States have failed to win a single match in a Ryder Cup matchday.
It was a dominant performance by the Euros, who lead after the first session for the first time since 2006. In fact, it was a clean sweep and the U.S. didn’t hold a lead in any match until Justin Thomas made a birdie on the sixth hole in the first match of the afternoon session.
Here are four more things to know from Day One of the 44th Ryder Cup.
Europe’s Big 3 deliver
World Golf Hall of Fame member Lee Trevino claims that the key to winning a Ryder Cup is for your top three players to perform the way up to their ability.
Europe’s Luke Donald got a great showing from Jon Rahm (1-0-1), Rory McIlroy (2-0) and Viktor Hovland (1-0-1) on the first day of play.
“They are superstars. They are studs. They are three of the top four players in the world,” Donald said. “You need your superstars firing. You need them playing well. Without that, it’s really an uphill…
