Friday At Ryder Cup Was Utter Embarrassment For U.S. As American Squad Is Already On Life Support

There is still a lot of golf left. That was the message both Brooks Koepka and team captain Zach Johnson shared after Friday's opening sessions saw the U.S. fall into a 6.5-1.5 hole at the Ryder Cup. While they technically may be right, this U.S. team showed no signs at all that it will take advantage of all the golf still to be played.

The morning's foursome session could not have gone worse for the Americans as they were shut out by the Europeans in more than one way. Not only did the U.S. lose all four matches, it never grabbed a lead in any match. The color red never once appeared on the scoreboard over the span of 64 holes played, it was dominated by European blue.

While an 0-4 start is atrocious, history makes the result a bit less shocking. Heading into Friday's foursomes session the U.S. was just 2-12-2 in the alternate shot format over the course of the last two Ryder Cups played across the pond.

The Americans put together an incredibly disappointing effort in Rome on Friday. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America via Getty Images)

Friday Goes From Embarrassing To Just Plain Bad For The U.S.

The morning foursomes were very much a case of flush it, never talk about it again, and move onto the afternoon fourball. Both sides called on all four of their players who sat out in the morning, but just like in the foursomes, the decision-making from European captain Luke Donald turned out to be far better than Johnson's.

Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth held a 2-up lead over Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton with four holes to play. The Europeans came back to tie the match and secure a half point.

Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka led Jon Rahm and rookie Nicolai Hojgaard 1-up standing on the 18th tee. Rahm made a lengthy eagle putt to tie the match for the Europeans.

Are you seeing the trend here?

Max Homa and Wyndham Clark were 2-up with two holes to play. Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose won the last two holes to tie the match.

To do us all a favor, the fourth match should have been conceded after seven holes with Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick grabbing a 6-up lead before stepping onto the eighth tee. Fitzpatrick was five-under through six holes on his own ball.

Can The U.S. Come Back To Win The 2023 Ryder Cup?

Now, the optimistic U.S. supporter would look at the three tied matches, the fact that Rahm chipped in four times, and the simple law of averages and think that the Americans were just a few shots away from winning three of four matches and making it a respectable 3-5 deficit with 20 points still left on the board.

The realist looks at how things unfolded and realizes not only are the Europeans taking a 6.5-1.5 advantage into the final two days, but also admits that the way in which Team Europe earned the lead could very well be a sign for things to come.

Friday marked the first day in the 44 editions of the Ryder Cup in which the U.S. didn't win at least one match.

Zach Johnson will have to come up with the perfect game plan for the U.S. to have any shot at coming back and making the Ryder Cup competitive. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America via Getty Images)

The only confidence the U.S. could possibly still have on its side is false confidence. Meanwhile, the Europeans likely had to walk into the team room sideways because their chests were so big after the beating they handed out on Friday.

Whether or not you believe history having any bearing on the present, the U.S. does have one sliver of hope in that regard.

A team has led by four points or more after day one on eight separate occasions and the U.S. is the only side to erase that deficit to hoist the cup. The Americans trailed Team Europe 6-2 after the opening day in 1999 before storming back to win 14.5-13.5 at Brookline.

The other side of the coin says that the U.S. hasn't won a Ryder Cup on European land since 1993, and digging out of a five-point hole with that lingering over you may be impossible for this team to overcome.

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