Record lead! McIlroy and Co. dash US hopes

Team Europe is on the verge of winning the 2025 Ryder Cup after a historic Saturday. On the Bethpage Black Course in New York, the Europeans crushed the hopes of the home team with a masterful performance. They extended their lead to 11.5 points to 4.5 - the largest margin ever achieved after the four team sessions in the era since 1979.

Europe need just 3 points to win or 2.5 points to defend in the twelve individual matches on Sunday to take the trophy back across the Atlantic.

Dominance despite hostile atmosphere at the Ryder Cup

The guests from Europe secured a 3-1 victory in both the morning foursomes and the afternoon four-balls on the second day of the tournament.

Captain Luke Donald was impressed by his team's mentality and emphasized that he could not have imagined this situation: "Every time the Americans launched an attack, we came back. The resilience and confidence these guys show is really incredible." The Europeans' success is all the more remarkable given that they had to withstand the most intense atmosphere in recent years. The crowd created a sometimes hostile atmosphere that required the deployment of security forces. Several European players reported disruptive visitors to the security.

McIlroy and Fleetwood make history

The European superstars didn't let the hostility get in their way and became the pillars of success.

• Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood also won all their matches on Saturday and go into the singles with a perfect record of 4-0-0.
• McIlroy, who was visibly taken aback by the verbal attacks, called on the spectators to show them the necessary respect when hitting.
• His partner Shane Lowry described the atmosphere as intense and explained: "This is what I live for. This is it. This is why I get up in the morning."

On the American side, world number one Scottie Scheffler epitomized the plight of the home team. He became the first player in the current format to lose all four of his team matches (0-4-0).

The decisions on Saturday afternoon

The tension came to a head in the afternoon.

• Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose secured their third point together with a 3&2 victory over Scheffler and DeChambeau. The match was overshadowed by a heated argument between Rose and DeChambeau's caddie, which Rose later explained: he had tried to control his surroundings on the course as the necessary space was not respected.
• The only US point in the four-ball session was scored by J.J. Spaun and Xander Schauffele thanks to strong Birdies on the last two holes to win 1-up against Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka.
• The final point was set by the duo Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton in a dramatic finish on the 18th hole for a 1-up win against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay - and thus established the record lead of seven points.

Comeback hope vs. historical fact

Team USA faces the biggest challenge in Ryder Cup history. So far, no team has been able to make up more than 4.0 points before the singles. A win for the USA would require ten of the twelve points.

US captain Keegan Bradley tried to motivate his players with a historic sports comparison: "28 to 3. I was at that Super Bowl. What a cool thing to have witnessed live." He was alluding to the legendary comeback of the New England Patriots.

Bradley acknowledged the Europeans' performance and said he saw "historic quality" putts from them. His player Xander Schauffele summarized the sober reality: "They play incredible golf. They make a lot of Birdies and we don't. They beat us outright."

Nevertheless, Bryson DeChambeau was combative: "Anything can happen. I know it's pretty one-sided, but it would make a great comeback story."