Watch complete highlights recapping the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, where the US team won back the Cup for the first time since 2008.
Arnold Palmer’s spirit was a big part of the 2016 Ryder Cup. The King, passed away the Sunday before the matches and every player from both sides felt the loss.
As a tribute to a former Ryder Cup player and captain, Palmer’s 1975 captains bag sat on the first tee with three woods in the bag, commemorating Palmer’s life as the matches teed off.
The backstory of the biennial matches, was that U.S. Captain Davis Love III got another chance to bring the Ryder Cup back to U.S. shores after the misfortune of the 2012 matches at Medinah.
His team didn’t disappoint. Winning two of the four team sessions by 7-1, the USA squad looked stronger and more in control than the European squad that European Captain Darren Clarke brought to Hazeltine.
The European Team was comprised of six rookie, the most since 2010 and they would struggle with a combined 7-9-1, but if you took out the clear man of the match, Thomas Pieters of Belgium, the other five rookies were 3-8-1.
With only two rookies on Love’s USA side the hand writing was on the wall early with the USA sweeping the Friday morning foursomes session 4-0 and never looking back.
It was the fourth time they had swept the foursomes session, the last time was in 1975 at Laurel Valley Golf Club, ironically under the captaincy of Palmer.
While the Europeans would stay within shouting distance at 5-3 after the first day and 9.5. to 6.5 after the second day, they could not muster the strength to overcome an American team that just two years earlier were embarrassed by the Europeans, 16.5. to 11.5 in Gleneagles Scotland.
The USA won the singles 7.5 to 4 1/5 and the match for the 26th time 17 to 11.