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Ryder Cup 2021 live updates: Team USA breaks record for most points scored in modern Ryder Cup

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Richard Heathcote

Few things are left to be decided on Sunday at Whistling Straits. Of them: A) the final margin of victory for Team USA and B) what to call this American beatdown. We have a few ideas, ala "War by the Shore" and "Miracle at Medinah": “Slaughter at the Straits,” “Dire Straits” (for the Europeans) or “The Wipe Out at Whistling.” ("Flushed at Kohler" is pretty good, too.)

In all seriousness, the American side will be out for blood on Sunday—they have a chance to secure the largest point differential in Ryder Cup history (since continental Europe joined GB&I in 1979). They’ll need eight of a possible 12 points to exceed 18½, achieved twice by Europe in 2004 and 2006 and once by the Americans in 1981. No team has won less than 3 ½ points in singles, which is what the U.S. needs to win the Ryder Cup—so like we said, with the Europeans matched up against eight of the top-10 ranked players in the world, this is essentially a wrap. After all, according to the odds, the Americans are favored in 11 of the 12 singles matches (Jon Rahm is the only favorite to beat Scottie Scheffler, per the odds).

Sunday still carries intrigue, starting with the opening match. Rory McIlroy leads the Europeans out in singles for the third consecutive Ryder Cup. He’s lost the first singles match in 2016 (Patrick Reed) and 2018 (Justin Thomas), and after what has been his worst Ryder Cup performance, a first point will be against Xander Schauffele, who’s undefeated thus far.

Shane Lowry should deliver an inspired performance for the Europeans; Jon Rahm vs. Scottie Scheffler should be fantastic; Collin Morikawa vs. Viktor Hovland is a battle of the game’s two brightest young stars; just to name a few. It's a huge Sunday regardless, as Team USA looks to win back-to-back Ryder Cups on home turf since 1979 and 1983.

6 p.m.: It's official: Team USA secures the most points for a Ryder Cup team in the modern era. Daniel Berger defeats Matt Fitzpatrick, 1 up, for the 19-9 win. It's also the first time the U.S. won every session in a Ryder Cup ... there were a lot of firsts, and we'll break them all down in our content on GolfDigest.com. What a complete effort by this American squad -- it's fitting, if this is a start of U.S. dominance in the Ryder Cup, that they achieved the highest point total since 1979. 

5:54 p.m.: Oh boy, Matt Fitzpatrick just handed the U.S. the record for the most points scored in a modern Ryder Cup. Fitzy just hit his approach heavy into the water, and with Daniel Berger finding the green, the U.S. are essentially guaranteed 19 full points. Wow... 

5:52 p.m.: A nice showing of sportsmanship on the 18th green, as Jordan Spieth suggests 'Good, good?' to Tommy Fleetwood with them both about 3 feet away, though Fleetwood was slightly away. Spieth putting in the work for the AON Concession award! That might've secured it😂

5:36 p.m.: Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood both birdie the difficult par-3 17th hole to head to the 18th all-square -- the American has a chance to secure the point that allows Team USA to match the all-time record (18 1/2) for most points at a Ryder Cup.  

Up at the 18th hole, Harris English's approach from the fairway finds the water ... a very surprising development after English led by two after 14 holes. The 48-year-old Westwood wins three of the final four holes to secure the singles win in what could be his final Ryder Cup. Westwood wins: 1 up 🇪🇺

And a surprising short miss for birdie at Matt Fitzpatrick at the 16th hole ... as the European relinquishing his 1-up lead after it looked like he was in great shape with Daniel Berger was in a greenside bunker. Berger finds a way to get up and down for birdie and send the anchor match to the 17th hole all square. 

5:28 p.m.: The U.S. now have the most amount of points in the modern Ryder Cup in sight. With just three matches remaining, Team USA would need 1 1/2 points to reach 19, to surpass the 18 1/2 record.

Tommy Fleetwood just won the 16th hole to tie up Jordan Spieth. Harris English' 2-up lead after 14 holes over Lee Westwood as disappeared, as the match heads to the 18th all-square. And Matt Fitzpatrick currently owns a 1-up lead over Daniel Berger, playing the 16th hole.

Meanwhile, the celebration is on:

5:05 p.m.: What a week for Dustin Johnson, found his late-summer, early-fall 2020 form to go 5-0-0 in this Ryder Cup after finishing off Paul Casey. In typical DJ fashion, he just told Golf Channel's Steve Sands this - "I didn't expect to go 5-0-0, I didn't even expect to play five matches." Vintage. When you're playing like peak DJ, captain Steve Stricker had no choice but to keep running his top horse out there. 

Back at the 17th, Brooks Koepka wins his match over Bernd Wiesberger. It's now 17.5 to 7.5, a complete rout. 

5 p.m.: Hovland wins the 18th to halve the match with Morikawa, who will now go down in the history books as the man who clinched the final half point to win the 2021 Ryder Cup for the U.S. Decent resume-builder, some would say. 

4:47 p.m.: Major props to Viktor Hovland, who just hit his approach at the 18th to about 10 feet. Morikawa, meanwhile, mis-hit his approach and will have trouble getting up and down for par. You think these matches still don't mean a little something to the Europeans? Hovland is still fighting for a halve, as is Paul Casey, who has taken 4-0-0 Dustin Johnson to the 18th hole. The Englishman is 1 down, and, like Hovland, looking to scrap out a halve. 

4:38 p.m.: And there it is. Morikawa wins the 17th hole, going 1 up in his match against Viktor Hovland and guaranteeing a half point for the United States. That means it's almost officially over. Win or lose for Morikawa on the 18th, and the U.S. still has enough to win the Ryder Cup. USA! USA! 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

4:33 p.m.: WOW. Collin Morikawa hits the shot of the week at the par-3 17th, bouncing it off a mound and leaving himself with a short look at birdie. Hovland still needs to putt for birdie, but if Morikawa is to win this hole, he guarantees himself half a point and wins the U.S. the Ryder Cup. Would be a decent cherry on top an incredible season for the young stud. 

4:17 p.m.: While it already appears to be decided, it's not decided... yet. Having said that, Bryson DeChambeau did just finish off Sergio Garcia at the 16th hole, winning his match 3 and 2. It's now 14-6, USA. All they need is a half of a point to win the Ryder Cup. Who is going to be the clincher? That's the only suspense left. 

3:49 p.m.: Another point on the board, this time for the USA. Scheffler downs Rahm in stunning fashion, and the crowd begins to chant SCOTTIE! SCOTTIE! SCOTTIE! Soon after, Cantlay finishes off Lowry. It's 13-6. The Americans can taste it now. 

3:46 p.m.: Holey moley. Rory hops on NBC for a post-round interview and begins tearing up talking about how much the Ryder Cup means to him. They're not going to win, but he gave everything he had today after a brutal first two days. Really cool to see the Ryder Cup means this much to him. 

3:38 p.m.: Europe has the first point on the board! McIlroy finishes off Schauffele, making it 11-6. But, as Dan Hicks just said on the broadcast, "it's just a matter of time" now. There are six red flags on the board as it stands. They can get to 20 points if they keep it up. Run it up Herman, leave no doubt! 🇺🇸

3:30 p.m.: Rory and Xander halve the 15th with ... bogeys. Yuck. But, nice job by McIlroy, who guarantees himself at least a halve, which means he won't go completely scoreless this week. As for the rest of the matches, the U.S. currently leads nine of them. This might get very ugly, like historically ugly.

3:13 p.m.: Too little, too late, but nice to see some fire from Rory. He just holed a birdie putt on the 14th hole and let out a vicious roar. Xander misses his birdie putt right after and McIlroy wins the hole to take a 3 up lea with four to play. Unfortunately, that's just one of three blue flags on the board. The U.S. leads in the other nine matches. The fat lady was warming up her pipes on Friday night, but now she can officially start singing. 🇺🇸

2:58 p.m.: That might be curtains for Jon Rahm, folks. Scheffler goes 4 up after 11. And some people wanted Kevin Na or Kevin Kisner over him? Yikes. 

2:41 p.m.: If not for Rory McIlroy, this would be an absolute dusting right now. The Northern Irishman is doing his job, leading 3 up through 12 over Xander Schauffele, one of the Americans' best players this week. Europe fans have to be wondering - where was this McIlroy all week? His 0-3-0 Friday/Saturday essentially ended any real shot the Euros had at this thing. 

As if it wasn't bad enough, their top player, Jon Rahm, has run into a buzzsaw in Scottie Scheffler, who leads 3 up through 10 holes in one of the stunners of the day. At this point, Europe might need an act of God to flip this event. 

2:29 p.m.: Credit to Paul Casey for hanging in as long as he has, but Dustin Johnson just rolled in a medium-sized birdie putt to take a 1 up lead through six holes. Of the first six matches on the golf course, the United States now leads in FIVE of them. Woof. 🇺🇸

2:25 p.m.: Early on, it looked like Europe was going to be able to count on an easy, full point from Viktor Hovland. That match has completely flipped, as Collin Morikawa now leads 2 up. Not great, Bob. 

2:17 p.m.: That's a strong start from Matt Fitzpatrick who is looking for a nice finale to his second Ryder Cup. team's Europe's final player today takes a lead after one hole over Berger. Match 12: Matthew Fitzpatrick, 1-up through one over Daniel Berger.  🇪🇺

2:07 p.m.: Final matchup time with all 24 players now on the course. It most likely won't affect the final outcome but Matthew Fitzpatrick and Daniel Berger tee off and we're truly in the home-stretch now. 

And there's a long putt from Bryson to take an even bigger lead on Sergio Garcia. DeChambeau hit a 9-iron 217 yards—because of course he did—and put himself in perfect position to take another hole. Match 4: Bryson DeChambeau, 2-up through 7 over Sergio Garcia. 🇺🇸 

2:00 p.m.: Two holes, two wins for Justin Thomas. JT walks in a putt on the first hole and then hits a long putt on the second. The Whoop metrics are high! Match 9: Justin Thomas, 2-up through 2 over Tyrrell Hatton. 🇺🇸

No one's feeling it more than Patrick Cantlay right now. He's into it. Actually, Shane Lowry may give him a run for his money a par putt of his own? Lowry's certainly having fun this weekend. And no one can take that away from him.

1:51 p.m.: Harris English and Lee Westwood will start the tenth match of the day (with two more coming soon) to continue the smorgasbord of golf. This has been the first Ryder Cup for English while Westwood is taking part in his 11th. Fun matchup there.

“Guys, I’m still going for the green. Calm down!” Bryson DeChambeau after switching clubs. The man is playing to the crowd right now and the crowd is loving it. A clutch putt from Scheffler will allow him to retain his lead over Jon Rahm. Scottie Scheffler is still up 3 with that 3-footer.

1:42 p.m.: We have some action in the Poulter-Finau matchup. Ian Poulter birdies the first—great shot—to take a one hole lead early on against the strong competition. Match 8: Ian Poulter, 1-up through one over Tony Finau. 🇺🇸 

1:33 p.m.: And what's this? More golf? Yes, please. Tyrell Hatton and Justin Thomas tee off to start Match 9. At the moment, the U.S. lead three matches, the Europeans lead four, and the other one remains tied. It's going to be a fun stretch-run for the Whistling Straits crowd.

ENERGY! Patrick Cantlay hits a putt on the sixth to take a 3-up lead on Shane Lowry. He turns to the crowd and requests some applause. Fun moment there for Team USA. Match 2: Patrick Cantlay, 3-up through six over Shane Lowry. 🇺🇸 In quick succession, Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele make big putts to drop the European lead. DJ and Paul Casey are even now and Schauffele only trails by 2 now. Match 1: Rory McIlroy, 2-up through 6 over Xander Schauffele. 🇪🇺

1:28 p.m.: This could be a big moment for Xander Schauffele, trying to pick up some momentum as he trails Rory McIlroy. Rory misses the green on the par-3 7th and Xander follows that up with a strong drive of his own. That's followed up on the broadcast by Jon Rahm stopping the bleeding and picking up a hole after a (kind of stunning at this point) Scheffler missed putt. Match 3: Scottie Scheffler, 3-up through five over Jon Rahm. 🇺🇸

1:19 p.m.: That's quite the shot from Patrick Cantlay. The American pitches it to a foot of the hole and Lowry concedes. He's feeling it right now. Match 2: Patrick Cantlay, 2-up through 5 over Shane Lowry. 🇺🇸

Morikawa nails a fantastic 13-foot birdie putt, but that doesn't faze Viktor Hovland who hits a clutch putt of his own and maintains his 2-up lead.

1:10 p.m.: One of or maybe the best player for Team USA this go-around, Dustin Johnson misses a putt to take a 1-up lead on Paul Casey. Everyhing's still tied in Match 6.

Huh. Scottie Scheffler will take a four-hole lead on Jon Rahm ... after four holes. His birdie putt is conceded by Rahm after quite the dart. He's putting on a show right now. Match 3: Scottie Scheffler, 4-up through four over Jon Rahm. 🇺🇸

1:07 p.m.: Maybe Patrick Cantlay shouldn't wear hats. The American takes a one-hole lead on Shane Lowry with some more magnificent putting. He wins the fourth with a 3-footer. Match 2: Patrick Cantlay, 1-up through four over Shane Lowry. 🇺🇸

12:57 p.m.: After a botched Xander Schauffele putt, Rory McIlroy will take a 2-up lead on the U.S. phenom. This is the McIlroy we were expecting this weekend. May have shown up too late for the European side, but at least he's having a good start on Sunday. Match 1: Rory McIlroy, 2-up through four over Xander Schauffele. 🇪🇺 

It's been an okay Ryder Cup for Collin Morikawa who goes down one hole early to Viktor Hovland. He'll give up the first after a lipout par putt. Match 4: Viktor Hovland 1-up through one over Collin Morikawa. 🇪🇺 Around the same time. Scottie Scheffler extends his lead over World No. 1 Jon Rahm. This is quite the start for Scheffler who was one of the few Americans to be the definitive underdog in a singles match. Match 3: Scottie Scheffler, 3-up through three over Jon Rahm. 🇺🇸

12:52 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler makes it 2-up through two on Jon Rahm with a birdie at the par-5 second hole. That would be a devastating result for Team Europe, but that shouldn't necessarily be a surprise. Scottie Scheffler won the WGC-Match Play earlier this year, and he's played inspired golf all week in his Ryder Cup debut. It's early but it's a hole for the World No. 1. Match 3: Scottie Scheffler, 2-up through two over Jon Rahm 🇺🇸

12:46 p.m.: So not only did Bryson DeChambeau drive the green at the first hole, he pays off his 350-some-odd drive with an eagle putt from about 35-40 feet. Absolutely electrifying ... that's the second USA flag on the board. Match 1: Bryson DeChambeau 1 up over Sergio Garcia through one.  🇺🇸

12:39 p.m.: Bryson DeChambeau just landed his drive onto the first green in the opening match against Sergio Garcia. Landed it. It's about 340 to the front ... and that was at least 10 yards deep. Sergio hit a good one, too, but he's about 60 yards back in the fairway. By the way, someone yelled "You're the worsttttt!" at Sergio before he teed off. That didn't go over too well. 

Shane Lowry makes it two European flags on the board in the first two matches after a birdie on the par-5 second hole. Lowry goes 1-up over Cantlay through 2. 🇪🇺

Xander Schauffele avoids another lost hole at the third hole, with Rory's birdie bid missing on the low side. Xander ran his birdie attempt by, leaving him like four feet or so. Xander makes it to remain 1 down to Rory through 3. 🇪🇺

12:36 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler hits a fantastic second shot to about four feet and takes the early 1-up lead against World No. 1 Jon Rahm, who hit a sub-standard pitch to about 30 feet. Match 3: Scottie Scheffler 1-up through 1 over Jon Rahm. 🇺🇸

Back at the third hole, Rory McIlroy has looked like peak Rory McIlroy so far. He just hit his 6-iron to about 9 feet at the par-3 third hole. Xander hits a good one but is about 20 feet away.

12:28 p.m.: Xander doesn't hit a great pitch shot at the second, but he holes his 11-footer for birdie after Rory missed his eagle attempt. It'll be a halve with birdies in this high-powered opening match. Match 1: Rory remains 1-up through 2. 🇪🇺

12:23 p.m.: The momentum (very) early is very strong for the European side. After winning the first hole, Rory has hit his second shot justtt off the green at the par-5 second hole. He'll use putter from about 15-20 feet away. Xander Schauffele also hit a very good second shot but it's in the greenside rough on the rightside. Not too much green to work with ... but he'll need to get up and down to avoid going two down early to Rory, who looks like a different player on Sunday.

Patrick Cantlay caught his second shot from 65 yards away thin—and his approach ran through the green. He left himself a tough little pitch, but he sticks it to about a foot for a conceded par. Shane Lowry didn't really apply the pressure with his second shot, leaving about 25 feet for birdie. Lowry misses and the second match is all square through one.

12:14 p.m.: We haven't been able to say this so far at Whistling Straits: Rory McIlroy has a lead. He hit a solid pitch to about five feet and knocked in his birdie putt—his first birdie putt on his own ball all week. That put the pressure on Xander Schauffele, who either blocked his putt to the right or it just broke more than he thought. Either way, it's an early 1-up lead for Europe in the opening match—absolutely essential if the Europeans are going to pull off the miracle of all miracles. Match 1: Rory McIlroy, 1 up through one over Xander Schauffele 🇪🇺 

12:05 p.m.: They are off! It's been a forgettable Ryder Cup for Rory McIlroy, but his opening tee shot is a great one—driving it into the right greenside rough to start. Xander Schauffele matches him with an equally great tee ball ... his tight draw rolling just in front of the green. These will be relatively straightforward up-and-downs for birdie to start. But nothing is straightforward on Ryder Cup Sunday. We'll get an early sign of these guys' nerves here.

12 p.m.: We are minutes away from the Rory McIlroy/Xander Schauffele singles match from teeing off. And the scene on the first tee is raucous as it has been all week!

Here are the singles matches on tap at Whistling Straits (all times eastern):

MATCH 1 (12:04 p.m.): Xander Schauffele vs Rory McIlroy

MATCH 2 (12:15 p.m.): Patrick Cantlay vs Shane Lowry

MATCH 3 (12:26 p.m.): Scottie Scheffler vs Jon Rahm

MATCH 4 (12:37 p.m.): Bryson DeChambeau vs Sergio Garcia

MATCH 5 (12:48 p.m.): Collin Morikawa vs Viktor Hovland

MATCH 6 (12:59 p.m.): Dustin Johnson vs Paul Casey

MATCH 7 (1:10 p.m.): Brooks Koepka vs Bernd Wiesberger

MATCH 8 (1:21 p.m.): Tony Finau vs Ian Poulter

MATCH 9 (1:32 p.m.): Justin Thomas vs Tyrrell Hatton

MATCH 10 (1:43 p.m.): Harris English vs Lee Westwood

MATCH 11 (1:54 p.m.): Jordan Spieth vs Tommy Fleetwood

MATCH 12 (2:05 p.m.): Daniel Berger vs Matt Fitzpatrick

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