Brooks Koepka part of historical loss at Ryder Cup, teaming with Scottie Scheffler to lose 9 and 7
ROME — When asked how the United States would rebound from being dominated in Day 1 of the Ryder Cup, Jupiter's Brooks Koepka said the Americans just had to "keep fighting."
On Saturday, Koepka and Scottie Scheffler did everything but put up a fight.
The pair lost their foursomes match in historic fashion, suffering the worst loss in Ryder Cup history, 9 and 7, to Norway's Viktor Hovland and Sweden's Ludvig Aberg.
"Obviously, we didn't meet a sharp Scottie and Brooks, but we played some really nice golf today," Hovland said.
Two Ryder Cup matches have been decided 8 and 7, and three ended 7 and 6. But never has anyone — in singles, foursomes or four-ball — been embarrassed the way Koepka and Scheffler, the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world, were.
Koepka and Scheffler had four doubles, five bogeys, two pars and no birdies. The only holes they halved were Nos. 5 and 7.
Scheffler was seen being consoled by his wife and with tears in his eyes following the match.
On Friday, they twice blew a one-shot lead to Jon Rahm and Nicolai Hojgaard in the final four holes while halving their four-ball match.
Americans wilt under pressure in opening day of Ryder Cup as Europe takes commanding 6.5-1.5 lead
U.S. captain Zach Johnson elected to sit Koepka and Scheffler in the afternoon four-ball pairings.
Nobody took note of the result more than Rahm, who was criticized by Koepka Friday after his long putt won the 18th hole and tied the match, leading to Europe's commanding 6.5-1.5 lead after the first day.
"I think me and Scottie birdied, what did we say ... 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and then lost (the lead)," Koepka said after Friday's match. "So yeah. I mean, I want to hit a board and pout just like Jon Rahm did. But, you know, it is what it is. Act like a child. But we're adults. We move on."
Apparently, Koepka was not pleased with the way the Spaniard acted when things were not going his way and possibly after his final putt slammed into the back of the cup before dropping.
Rahm is known for his temper tantrums on the course. After going bogey-bogey on 17 and 18 at the U.S. Open, he slammed a credential sign with his putter as he approached the scoring tent, knocking down the sign.
"Honestly, we'll be fine," Koepka said. "We're all grown-ups. We act like grown-ups. We'll be just fine. Just got to play and see where it puts you."
Americans have won two Ryder Cup singles matches 8 and 7: Tom Kite over Howard Clark in 1989, and Fred Couples over Ian Woosnam in 1997.
The previous largest winning margin in an 18-hole foursomes match is 7 and 6, which has happened three times: Kite/Hale Irwin over Ken Brown/Des Smyth in 1979; Mark O'Meara/ Paul Azinger over Nick Faldo/David Gilford in 1991; and Keegan Bradley/Phil Mickelson over Luke Donald/Lee Westwood in 2012.
Donald, from Jupiter, is the captain of the 2023 Europe team.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Brooks Koepka/Scottie Scheffler on losing end of biggest beatdown in Ryder Cup history
