FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler earned a dubious distinction when he and Bryson DeChambeau lost 3 and 2 to Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose in Saturday afternoon fourballs at the Ryder Cup.
Scheffler became the first player in modern Ryder Cup history (since 1979) to play in the first four sessions of the competition and lose all four.
When a player starts poorly at a Ryder Cup, teams will often sit him for a session on Saturday, hoping for a reset. That was never an option for Scheffler, whose dominance of the sport since 2022 — 19 PGA Tour wins, with four major championships and two Players Championships — has prompted comparisons to Tiger Woods at his peak.
But also like Woods, Scheffler has been beatable in team play. He is now 0-6-2 across the past two Ryder Cups and 2-6-3 overall.
United States captain Keegan Bradley said Friday that there was no reason to panic about Scheffler’s performance. He lost 5 and 3 in foursomes while paired with Russell Henley and 3 and 2 in fourball alongside J.J. Spaun.
Still, the Scheffler drought was a big reason why the Europeans hold a huge 11 1/2-4 1/2 lead over the United States.
While some pointed to Scheffler’s partners as the culprit, Scheffler has had more than his share of miscues.
Paired with Henley again for Saturday morning foursomes, Scheffler missed the green at No. 2 from 110 yards away. “Come on, Scottie, get it together!” a young woman called out after Europe’s Robert MacIntyre birdied to take an early lead in the match.
At No. 18, MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland led 1 up but the U.S. could still salvage half a point by winning the hole and tying the match. Scheffler sprayed his approach far right into a native area, and some U.S. fans booed.
Bradley paired Scheffler with his other star player, DeChambeau, in the afternoon perhaps looking for a spark. Although Scheffler started the round with a pair of birdies, they didn’t win the U.S. any holes as Rose caught fire and birdied six of the first eight.
Scheffler drove into the trees at No. 7 and came up short with his second shot, giving himself a very awkward stance near the side of a bunker. The ensuing chip rolled 20 feet away from the hole.
By the end of a testy match that saw DeChambeau get in a shouting match with Fleetwood, Scheffler had not won a single hole.
“Bryson and I did some good stuff out there. We were into a tough matchup today,” Scheffler told a pool reporter. “Those guys played great. They made a ton of putts and really tip of a cap to them. They played better than we did.”
