2023 Ryder Cup score: Team Europe triumphs, extends Team USA's drought

Team Europe has won the 2023 Ryder Cup, defeating Team USA with a final score of 16.5-11.5. The competition all came down to nearly the very end of the third and final day of the biennial Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome. The win extends the three-decade drought for Team USA in Europe.

Sunday featured the only singles action of the competition. Team Europe needed just four more points to take back the Ryder Cup after the Americans won in 2021. The Americans fell short of a late comeback attempt despite strong efforts in their singles matches.

The first two days of the competition featured early dominance from Team Europe.

The Europeans swept the Americans in Friday morning's foursomes play then stole another point in the afternoon's four-ball match play.

Saturday started similarly, with Team Europe winning all but one of the morning foursomes; Americans Max Homa and Brian Harman prevented the sweep. The early dominance meant a 9.5-2.5 deficit for Team USA, tying the largest lead in Ryder Cup history since the five-session schedule started in 1963. But the Americans swung some momentum their way by winning three of four four-ball matches of their own on Saturday afternoon.

Nevertheless, Team USA fell short in the end. The American team has not won a Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993.

How to watch: 2023 Ryder Cup: Schedule, where to watch on TV, streaming as US takes on Europe

Ryder Cup Final Day score and leaderboard:

Team Europe has won the Ryder Cup over lead Team USA 16.5-11.5.

Europe needed 14.5 points to take the Ryder Cup back. Team USA needed 14 to save a tie. Having won the previous iteration of the competition, the U.S. would have retained the cup with a tie.

Team Europe wins 2023 Ryder Cup, 16.5-11.5, after Tommy Fleetwood's win clinches 15th point

English Tommy Fleetwood won the 16th and 17th holes over American Rickie Fowler to give Team Europe the last point they needed to clinch the 2023 Ryder Cup.

The Team Europe win has kept alive the 30-year streak of European wins when hosting the Ryder Cup.

Justin Thomas wins another point for Team USA

The U.S. Team is still on the brink of a Ryder Cup loss, but Justin Thomas delayed Team Europe's celebration by holding off Austrian Sepp Straka through a full 18 holes.

The American team is up to 11 points to Europe's 14.

Xander Schauffele gives Team USA another singles win

After trailing Danish golfer Nicolai Højgaard through four holes, American Xander Schauffele stormed back to win another point for the U.S. in 16 holes.

Schaufeele's back-to-back birdies on holes 15 and 16 were enough to give the U.S. team another necessary victory as they try to stave off a Team Europe win.

Max Homa keeps U.S. hopes alive with a tight victory

Moments after Matt Fitzpatrick missed a putt that would have won the Ryder Cup for Team Europe, American Max Homa nailed a crucial putt on the 18th hole to keep Team U.S. alive in his first Ryder Cup appearance.

Homa managed to save par after a rough start — no pun intended — to the final hole. Team Europe is still just half a point from victory with the U.S. needing to run the table in the remaining five matches to retain the cup with a tie.

Brooks Koepka earns another point for Team USA

The U.S. Team has been pushed to the brink, but Brooks Koepka gave them a bit of hope with a win over Ludvig Åberg to get one more point for the Americans.

Koepka only lost two holes to the 23-year-old Swede en route to a necessary U.S. victory.

Team Europe half a point from Ryder Cup victory with Tyrrell Hatton's win

English golfer Tyrrell Hatton has pushed Team Europe to the verge of a Ryder Cup win by defeating the American Brian Harman in 16 holes.

Hatton led from start to finish after winning the first hole and keeping Harman at bay for the remainder of the match. In the end, he won the match by hitting a beautiful shot out of a bunker on 16 before Harman missed a birdie putt on the hole.

Rory McIlroy wins another point for Team Europe

Team Europe are now just 1.5 points away from taking the 2023 Ryder Cup after Irish golfer Rory McIlroy defeated Sam Burns in 17 holes on Sunday.

McIlroy took a commanding lead early and never gave it up.

Patrick Cantlay secures a much-needed point for Team USA

With Team Europe knocking on the door of winning the 2023 Ryder Cup, American Patrick Cantlay kept the U.S. Team's hope alive by defeating Justin Rose in 17 holes. The score stands at 12-7 with Team Europe in the lead and 2.5 points from winning the tournament.

Cantlay secured his victory with a birdie putt on 17.

Jon Rahm ties Scottie Scheffler with clutch win on 18

Spaniard Jon Rahm and American Scottie Scheffler battled back and forth all day on Sunday, and their singles match came all the way down to the 18th hole.

With Scheffler up one to start the final hole, Rahm managed to secure a win with an excellent first three shots to save a crucial half point for Team Europe, who are now just 2.5 points away from a Ryder Cup win.

Viktor Hovland dominates, defeats Colin Morikawa

Norwegian Viktor Hovland only needed 15 holes to defeat American Colin Morikawa.

Hovland helped himself early by sinking five birdies on the front nine and held strong for the win with a solid performance on holes 10-15. It was Europe's first singles match win on Sunday.

How are Ryder Cup singles pairings determined?

The Ryder Cup uses a blind draw format, meaning each team captain fills out the lineup without knowing the order the other captain has picked.

Zach Johnson is the American team captain. Luke Donald leads Team Europe.

Controversy at Ryder Cup

The 44th edition of the Ryder Cup hasn't been without its fair share of controversy.

First, there were the reports that Team USA was fractured internally with Patrick Cantlay leading the split. According to Sky Sports' Jamie Weir, Cantlay was refusing to wear his Team USA hat because he believed golfers deserved to be paid for their participation in the competition.

Some European fans in attendance took that rumor and ran with it, jeering Cantlay about his lack of a hat during Saturday play.

The American later denied Weir's report, saying he wasn't wearing he hat because it didn't fit his head.

"It's just outright lies," Cantlay said of the hat controversy after his singles match win on Sunday.

Cantlay's strange Saturday got messier after he sank a long birdie putt on the 18th hole to steal a U.S. win in afternoon four-ball play. Cantlay's caddie, Joe LaCava, started waving his hat in celebration with McIlroy preparing for a big birdie putt of his own for Team Europe. McIlroy's teammate, Shane Lowry, did not appreciate LaCava's potential distraction and yelled at him from off the green. LaCava's response was an easily lip-readable "shut the f--- up, Shane."

McIlroy went on to miss his birdie putt, and the Americans won the match. It was McIlroy's first match loss of this year's competition.

Later, the Irish golfer was caught on video confronting members of Team USA in the parking lot as he left the country club.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ryder Cup highlights: Best moments from Team Europe's championship