The Ryder Cup is in European hands once again.
Sterling performances from superstars Rory McIlroy and John Rahm, plus Europe’s new darling Viktor Hovland, set them on course for victory in Rome and they duly delivered.
For the USA, world No1 Scottie Scheffler was far from abysmal but his inability to live up to his own high standards summed up their disappointing display.
Here, Matt delivers his full player ratings for both teams from the 2023 Ryder Cup...
Team Europe
Ludvig Aberg (Sweden) - 7
Age 23. P4. W2. L2. T0. Pts2.
The most inexperienced player in Ryder Cup history had made himself a must pick by winning the European Masters just before team selection. Captain Donald called him a “generational talent” and you can see why. Produced a great partnership with Hovland, which looks like one for the future, but was undone by Koepka.
Matt Fitzpatrick (England) - 6
Age 29. P3. W1. L2. T0. Pts1.
The former US Open winner struggled in previous Ryder Cups, playing in only the foursomes or singles. But Donald used him in the fourballs and on the Friday he consigned playing partner McIlroy to being a passenger such was his brilliance. In the singles, he was pitted against the in-form Homa and came up just short.
Tommy Fleetwood (England) - 8
Age 32. P4. W3. L1. T0. Pts3.
So often, Fleetwood gives off the impression he is out for a casual Sunday stroll — even in the height of a Ryder Cup battle. He and McIlroy are nigh-on the perfect partnership and they seemed to take genuine pleasure from playing alongside each other. Plus, he was the man to officially regain the Ryder Cup for Europe.
Tyrrell Hatton (England) - 8
Age 31. P4. W3. L0. T1. Pts3½.
The Englishman played down his importance in his post-round interviews, insisting he had been dragged along in his partnerships with both Rahm and Hovland. But the reality is that he did not lose a match. The one thing is that it is hard to tell if one half of Team Angry is five up or five down at any given moment in a match.
Nicolai Hojgaard (Denmark) - 6
Age 22. P3. W0. L2. T1. Pts½.
One of four European rookies, he more than equipped himself in both his fourball matches. Alongside Rahm, he claimed to merely be an understudy but he kept Europe in it in some crucial holes. He did well to take the fight to Schauffele in the singles but that defeat meant he finished with the fewest points in the team.
Viktor Hovland (Norway) - 9
Age 26. P5. W3. L1. T1. Pts3½.
Came into this Ryder Cup as the sport’s form player and, over three days, he did little to change that view. He was arguably Europe’s leading player and was superb as he led the way in inflicting a 9&7 win over Scheffler and Koepka, the one blip being the heavy defeat that followed in the subsequent fourballs.
Iconic 😂
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) October 1, 2023
Viktor Hovland, Team Europe's only single man, with the team's wives 😄#RyderCup pic.twitter.com/kJ0Wc1Njo3
Shane Lowry (Ireland) - 6
Age 36. P3. W1. L1. T1. Pts 1½.
Seems like a modern-day Mr Ryder Cup. Relished his partnership with Straka as they played some lovely golf. Also proved one of Europe’s biggest cheerleaders when not competing. Plus, should the golf career not work out, he might be able to pursue a life as a bouncer after helping stop McIlroy getting in more of a scrap.
Robert MacIntyre (Scotland) - 6
Age 27. P3. W2. L0. T1. Pts 2½.
The Scot struggled throughout the build-up to this Ryder Cup despite having previously shone on the Marco Simone golf course. In truth, he had to be carried by Rose in the Friday fourballs but sunk two vital putts in Saturday’s fourballs for a win alongside Rose, who was the ideal mentor as the rookie eventually found his form.
Rory McIlroy (N Ireland)- 9
Age 34. P5. W4. L1. T0. Pts4.
Might partly be remembered from this event for his car park bust-up but he showed plenty of fight on the course, too. He came within a whisker of a clean sweep of five points had it not been for Cantlay’s late-in-the-day heroics in the Saturday fourballs. A good recovery from his Whistling Straits nightmare.
Jon Rahm (Spain) - 9
Age 28. P4. W2. L0. T2. Pts3.
Riled in the build-up when it was put to him that former captain Paul McGinley said the Spaniard needed to improve his winning percentage markedly. In the end, he did not lose a match and was among the pick of the players invoking the spirit of Seve Ballesteros. Will be remembered for two great saves on 18, including in the singles.
Justin Rose (England) - 7
Age 43. P3. W1. L1. T1. Pts1½.
At 43 years old, the elder statesman by some distance in this competition proved one of the most important. He seemed to relish the drama. There was a lengthy putt in the fourballs on the 18th on day one, which wrested back a half-point with MacIntyre. Just 24 hours later, he pulled off the drama on 16, this time for a win.
Sepp Straka (Austria) - 6
Age 30. P3. W1. L2. T0. Pts1.
Donald claimed it had been his thinking long before the Ryder Cup but there were still a few raised eyebrows when it was announced the Austrian was one of the foursome pairings with Lowry. Anyway, Europe’s duo proved a great match-up, winning one foursomes and only undone in the second by an inspired Homa.
Luke Donald (Captain, England) - 9
Overlooked for the captaincy in favour of Henrik Stenson before the Swede was stripped of the role after joining LIV Golf. Donald stepped in and worked wonders. His foursomes and fourballs pairings were nigh-on perfect and he even struck the right tone and right handling of the situation after McIlroy had his car park bust-up.
Team USA
Sam Burns - 6
Age 27. P3. W1. L2. T0. Pts1.
The man with the long locks and USA shaved into the side of his head had an abysmal first day when playing with Scheffler. Redeemed himself to become one of the team’s form men later on Saturday, cupping his ears to the crowd at one point when he had silenced them. Held his own in a fight with McIlroy in the singles.
Patrick Cantlay - 8
Age 31. P4. W2. L2. T0. Pts2.
Cap-gate became one of the most memorable moments of this edition after claims he refused to wear his over a Ryder Cup money row. He said the story was nonsense. His caddie then had a row with McIlroy. All the while, Cantlay played like a man possessed and was one of the US success stories, albeit in the latter half of the event.
Wyndham Clark - 5
Age 29. P3. W1. L1. T1. Pts 1½.
There is an argument the US Open champion could have been used more by his captain after picking up 1½ points in his two matches before the singles. In truth, he was often holding on to the coat tails of Homa and then Cantlay but he still made vital contributions in both fourballs. But in the singles he was beaten 2&1 by MacIntyre.
Rickie Fowler - 4
Age 34. P2. W0. L2. T0. Pts0.
Rocked up for the opening foursomes with Morikawa but, after a 2&1 loss to Lowry and Straka, was not called upon again. The reason given was he had fallen foul of a mystery virus and kept himself away from team-mates in order to avoid passing it on. Playing against Fleetwood, he was the man who saw the Ryder Cup slip away.
Brian Harman - 7
Age 36. P4. W2. L2. T0. Pts2.
The Open champion, the so-called Butcher of Hoylake, was not quite in the same form as the summer but he still became a formidable partnership with Homa. One of the great putters in the modern game, the putts did not drop in quite as quick succession as they did in his surprise first Major triumph.
Max Homa - 9
Age 32. P5. W3. L1. T1. Pts3½.
Gives the impression he can sink just about any putt and, for much of this Ryder Cup, he backed that up. If more Americans had played like Homa, the result might have been different. Lost just once over five matches, some feat given the eventual scoreline. Looks a future Major champion and was comfortably the best American.
Brooks Koepka - 6
Age 33. P3. W1. L1. T1. Pts1½.
The sole LIV golfer here, there was excitement in the US camp about what he might achieve. But he never really fired until the singles, was a co-recipient of that infamous 9&7 loss and created a spat after the first day when he accused Rahm of childlike behaviour while everyone else appeared confused what he was talking about.
Collin Morikawa - 5
Age 26. P4. W1. L3. T0. Pts1.
One imagines that Morikawa’s heart must have sunk when he read the order of play for the singles and realised he was up against the inspired Hovland. Morikawa has gone from being a Major champion to struggling with even the basics of his game. He did come good, however, in the back nine of the Saturday fourballs.
Xander Schauffele - 5
Age 29. P4. W1. L3. T0. Pts1.
Was supposed to be the safe bet for the US in the pairings with his close friend Cantlay. It was perhaps unlucky they came face to face in the opening day foursomes against an inspired Fleetwood and McIlroy. Johnson stuck by him, playing him in three of the four opening matches and he finally repaid that with a singles win.
Scottie Scheffler - 6
Age 27. P4. W0. L2. T2. Pts1.
The world No1 did not fire to the extent that the US had hoped. He was spotted on camera in tears after the Hovland-led 9&7 obliteration on Saturday, which saw him surprisingly dropped. He recovered to get embroiled in a thrilling ding-dong with Rahm in the singles, which resulted in a half.
Jordan Spieth - 5
Age 30. P4. W0. L2. T2. Pts1.
Had pushed for the inclusion of Thomas but, while his close friend looked good, Spieth struggled. He has been erratic off the tee at different points in his career and had a series of horror moments when the pressure mounted. Remarkable to think he did not win a match in any fourballs or foursomes.
Justin Thomas - 7
Age 30. P4. W1. L2. T1. Pts1½.
A controversial pick by Johnson in many people’s eyes but he repaid the faith. He might not have been a high points scorer but he singularly kept him and playing partner Spieth in much of their matches for far longer than had looked possible. In the singles, he proved too strong for Straka to finally get a win.
Zach Johnson (Captain) - 6
The criticism will no doubt begin in earnest back in the US when the inquest begins into what went wrong. There were questions about his preparation, his picks and some of his handling of the media and an initially mystery illness in the US camp was a bit odd. That said, he was let down by his star turns not shining as well as they ought to.
