It’s been a rough two days for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, which trails Europe by a whopping seven points heading into Sunday’s 12 singles matches. The current score: 11.5-4.5 to Europe.
But does the U.S. still have a chance? Theoretically, of course. But points are so hard to come by in the Ryder Cup that epic charges from behind simply don’t happen that often. If we look at the some of the Ryder Cup’s most impressive comebacks over the course of the last several decades, it’s clear that a victory for the U.S. on Sunday would require a performance of historic proportions.
Below, you can find the three biggest Ryder Cup comebacks in the modern era (since 1979).
The largest Ryder Cup comebacks in history
Medinah, 2012
This Ryder Cup is now referred to as the Miracle at Medinah. The U.S. led by four points — 10-6 — heading into Sunday singles. Europe proceeded to win eight of the 12 matches outright, and tied one to secure a 14.5-13.5 victory.
All 12 Ryder Cup Sunday singles matches, ranked
By:
Josh Sens
Several figures from that Ryder Cup are involved in this year’s battle at Bethpage. U.S. Captain Keegan Bradley and European captain Luke Donald played on their respective teams, and U.S. team members Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker and Jim Furyk are serving as vice captains for Bradley. On the European side, both Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose were on the team then and are playing once again at Bethpage.
Brookline, 1999
This is perhaps the most famous Ryder Cup comeback of all that went the way of the Americans. Facing a 10-6 deficit heading into Sunday singles, the U.S. won the first six singles matches on Sunday to bring the score to 12-10 with six matches remaining. Two more U.S. wins made the score 14-12, and a legendary 45-foot putt from Justin Leonard clinched the half point the U.S. needed to win. The final tally: 14.5-13.5 to the U.S.
Oak Hill, 1995
While the deficit in this match wasn’t as large as the others mentioned aove — 9-7 to the U.S. after Day 2 — it’s notable because it’s the only other Ryder Cup in which the trailing team rallied to win outright — and not simply retain — on Sunday.
The U.S. won only four of the Sunday singles matches that year, with one halve. The final score: 14.5-13.5 Europe.
Golf.com Editor
As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Issue, which debuted in February 2018. Her original interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.
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