Ireland’s Shane Lowry‘s tie with Russell Henley in the eighth match gave the Europeans their 14th point, guaranteeing they would retain the Ryder Cup after they won in Italy two years ago.
Lowry made a 6-foot birdie on the 18th hole — after Henley left a 10-footer short — setting off a wild celebration for the visitors.
“I’ve been so lucky to experience amazing things in this game, but that was the hardest couple of hours of my whole life, honestly,” Lowry said. “I just can’t believe it. I can’t believe that ball went in. I stood over it going, ‘This is it.'”
After Lowry’s tie with Henley, England’s Tyrrell Hatton then tied Collin Morikawa in the 10th singles match, giving the Europeans the 14.5 points needed to win the Ryder Cup.
It was after the victory at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Rome that McIlroy boldly predicted the Europeans would capture the next Ryder Cup in America, where they hadn’t won since 2012.
sports
