Team USA’s Ryder Cup hopes dashed on nightmare day one for ‘golden generation’

Rome might not have been built in a day – but it's more than enough time for a team's hopes of winning the Ryder Cup to be demolished.

Which might just have been what happened to Team USA, having walked straight into a European wrecking ball at Marco Simone Golf Club. Here on the outskirts of the 'City of Romance', Luke Donald's golfing gladiators fell in love with their games to leave America's dazed dozen heartbroken.

Not least Justin Thomas, who stormed off the 18th green in the setting sun looking like he'd seen a ghost. He'd been spooked by Jon Rahm, who nailed a monstrous putt at speed to secure an unlikely half and stretch Europe's lead to a commanding 6-1.

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Minutes earlier, Viktor Hovland had done a similar thing to secure another tie for Europe against the odds. History seeps from every corner of the Italian capital, and here were Europe writing some of their own on a quite astonishing opening salvo in the biggest clash in golf.

Had Europe taken inspiration from a pep talk the night before from Novak Djokovic, who took the Wimbledon trophy into the team room? Or the simple motivation of revenge for what happened last time out at Whistling Straits?

Who knows. But Europe performed like men possessed from start to finish, to leave US captain Zach Johnson wondering around the course looking shell-shocked.

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And no-one was more inspired than Matt Fitzpatrick. The Englishman's relationship with the Ryder Cup had been a miserable one before yesterday, with two appearances yielding no points and five defeats.

But he was so good in the afternoon fourballs that he didn't even need much help from world No.2 Rory McIlroy to take down US superstars Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

Fitzpatrick produced a putting masterclass to blitz his rivals with five birdies and an eagle on the spin as the European duo charged to a 5&3 win. All McIlroy had to do was look on and applaud – which he duly did.

Heroes in blue were not hard to find, keeping the scoreboards bedecked in the same colour. The foundations were laid in the morning foursomes from first light.

Roared on by 5,000 fans in the coliseum of a grandstand around the first tee, Europe produced an opening clean sweep of wins for the first time ever to surge into a 4-0 lead.

The clock hadn't even reached 11.30am, but the partnerships of Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton and Hovland and debutante Ludvig Aberg had eaten their opponents for breakfast. Johnson must have felt like swigging a stiff drink come lunchtime.

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But the utter dominance of Europe refused to subside. To such an extent it took until 2.01pm for the US team to lead in a match for the first time, thanks to Justin Thomas's birdie on the sixth hole.

But the advantage lasted just 11 minutes, before Hovland levelled the match again with a birdie of his own on the next hole. For the visitors, it was humbling, embarrassing and crushing in equal measure.

This was a team from the so-called 'golden generation' of American golf, one with 15 Majors and 89 tournament wins between them. A group of blokes living through a total nightmare instead of the American dream – and looking cooked under the burning sun.

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