Heartbroken United States golf stars will go back to the drawing board in search of their first Ryder Cup win in Europe since 1993 after a resounding 17.5-10.5 defeat Sunday.
The American squad, featuring 11 of the world’s 17 top-ranked players, dropped seven of the last eight singles matches at Le Golf National in their worst loss since 2006.
Here, we rate the 12 players from the losing team.
Bryson DeChambeau
P: 3 W: 0 L: 3 H: 0. Pts: 0
Tony Finau
P: 3 W: 2 L:1 H: 1. Pts: 2
A better rookie performance from the big-hitter, he saved his best till last with a 6&4 win over a clearly drained Fleetwood. 6
Rickie Fowler
P: 4 W: 1: L: 3 H: 0. Pts: 1
Flattered to deceive again. Failed to generate any chemistry or good form with partner Johnson over the first two days and was always behind against Garcia in singles. 4
Dustin Johnson
P: 5 W: 1: L: 4: H: 0. Pts: 1
Hugely unimpressive for the world number one, who made numerous visits to Le Golf National’s water hazards and could barely hole a putt until the last round when it was too late. 2
Phil Mickelson
P: 2 W: 0 L: 2 H: 0. Pts: 0
Came into the event in poor form and it was never likely to improve under such testing circumstances. Was hopelessly wayward and, after bizarrely being picked in Friday’s foursomes, was benched Saturday and was no match for a rampant Molinari in singles, losing four holes to bogey. 2
Patrick Reed
P: 3 W: 1 L: 2 H: 0. Pts: 1
USA’s self-styled Captain America failed to live up to his billing, looking horribly out of sorts. Appeared more interested in playing up to his pantomime villain caricature right up until the last with his solitary win over Hatton after the cup had already been lost. 3
Webb Simpson
P: 3 W: 2 L: 1 H: 0. Pts: 2
America’s steady man, he pulled off a good victory over Rose in the singles while also managing to get a point with Watson despite his troubles. 6
Jordan Spieth
P: 5 W: 3 L: 2 H: 0. Pts: 3
Could not have done much more in his partnership with Thomas, taking three points from a possible four. Putter went cold against Olesen in a demoralising singles victory. 7
Justin Thomas
P: 5 W: 4 L: 1 H: 0. Pts: 4
The USA’s star performer. Never looked like he was out of a hole, making clutch putts from everywhere. A dogged competitor whose singles battle with McIlroy was an important morale-booster for his side. 8
Brooks Koepka
P: 4 W: 1 L: 2 H: 1. Pts: 1.5
Never lived up to his billing as the player of the year and looked a shadow of the player who won two majors this summer. 5
Bubba Watson
P: 3 W: 1 L: 2 H: 0. Pts: 1
Never looked happy with the tight set-up of Le Golf National and that was reflected in his play. A 5&4 thrashing in the singles summed up his week. 3
Tiger Woods
P: 4: W: 0 L: 4 H: 0. Pts: 0
Came into the event on the back of his first win in five years but that appeared to have taken a physical and emotional toll and he never got close to the form which rejuvenated his career this year. Iron play was not as sharp and he was poor off the tee. 2
