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ST.-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Europe reclaimed the Ryder Cup on Sunday, defeating the United States 17 ½ - 10 ½.
The clinching moment came when Phil Mickelson knocked his tee shot on the 16th hole into the water, doffed his cap and conceded his singles match to Francesco Molinari, who won 4 & 2.
The Europeans were defeated in the previous competition, two years ago at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. But they have not lost the Cup, golf’s premier team trophy, at home since 1993, when Tom Watson captained an American team that prevailed at The Belfry in England.
Since then, the Europeans have won six straight on their side of the Atlantic, hoisting the cup in Spain, England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and now in France on the rolling, watery Albatros course at Le Golf National here in the western suburbs of Paris.
Molinari’s victory over Mickelson made him the first European golfer in history to record a perfect 5-0 record in a single Ryder Cup. Molinari, the Italian veteran, won his first major championship at the British Open at Carnoustie in July and his dream season is now even dreamier.
But Sunday, like the two days of play that preceded it, was a team effort for Europe, which won four of the five sessions in France.
All 12 of the European players accounted for at least one point while neither Mickelson nor Tiger Woods were able to score a single point for the United States.
Woods arrived in France on an emotional high after winning his first tour event in five years at the Tour Championship in Atlanta. But he went 0-4 at Le Golf National, where he last played as an amateur.
He struggled for consistency and energy, and on Sunday, he was beaten in singles by John Rahm, 2 and 1. Woods evened the match with a birdie on the par-4 12th hole, pumping his fist, but he then bogeyed the next two holes to put himself back in a hole, swearing after he missed a short putt at 14.
Rahm, a fiery Spaniard and former Arizona State star playing in his first Ryder Cup, showed signs of nerves of his own down the stretch. But he was able to close out Woods on the 17th hole.
“It’s disappointing because I went 0-4, and that’s four points to the European team,” Woods said. “And I’m one of the contributing factors to why we lost the Cup, and it’s not a lot of fun. It’s frustrating because we came here, I thought we were all playing pretty well, and I just didn’t perform at the level that I had been playing, and just got behind early in the matches and never got back.”
At age 42, Woods’s record in the Ryder Cup is now 13-21-3, which is also a reflection Europe’s dominance of the event during his career.
Europe has won seven of the last nine Ryder Cups: the only defeats during that span coming in 2008 at The Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky and in 2016 at Hazeltine after the United States formed a task force to try and improve their performances: a group that Mickelson and Woods were both deeply involved in.
But beating the Europeans at home has remained beyond Mickelson’s and Woods’s reach throughout their careers. And it is far from certain that either will play in another Ryder Cup in Europe.
The Europeans built a commanding 10-6 lead heading into Sunday’s 12 singles matches and though two teams have rallied from such deficits to win in the last 20 years, the Americans could not come close to managing it.
The U.S. did make a brief push in the early afternoon by winning three of the first four singles matches.
Justin Thomas, a Ryder Cup rookie, won an 18-hole duel with Rory McIlroy in the opening match to win 1-up. Webb Simpson surprised Justin Rose, one of the European leaders, with a 3 and 2 victory. In a duel between Ryder Cup rookies, Tony Finau overwhelmed Tommy Fleetwood 6 and 4.
That made it 10 ½ to 9 ½ shortly before 4 p.m., but the Europeans soon regained control with Rahm, Thorbjørn Olesen, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Molinari, Henri Stenson and Alex Noren all winning their singles matches.
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