By Frank Pingue
FARMINGDALE, New York (Reuters) -Europe turned the scoreboard blue early as they looked to put the finishing touches on an away Ryder Cup romp on Sunday at sunny Bethpage Black where the United States sent out their strongest players early in the hope they could spark a comeback.
Europe began the session needing 2-1/2 points to win the Ryder Cup as each team was given half a point earlier on Sunday following Norwegian Viktor Hovland’s withdrawal that resulted in his match with Harris English being treated as a tie.
“It’s tough. It’s a strange rule but we got to go with what the rules say,” U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said near the first tee about the injury that triggered the rare use of the Ryder Cup ‘envelope rule’ and put Europe closer to a win before a ball was even hit on Sunday.
That left Europe leading 12-5 and the U.S. needing a comeback unlike any other in Ryder Cup history to avoid suffering a rare home loss in the biennial team event.
The Americans sent Cameron Young out first and the Ryder Cup rookie wasted no time putting some red on the board as he opened with a birdie but Justin Rose responded two holes later with a birdie to draw level.
Justin Thomas was up against Tommy Fleetwood, who has a team-high four points for Europe this week, and the Englishman birdied the second hole to go 1UP.
In the third group, Matt Fitzpatrick was 1UP over American fan-favourite Bryson DeChambeau after an opening birdie. They were being followed around the course by Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and world number one Scottie Scheffler.
The clash between Scheffler and McIlroy marks the first-ever Ryder Cup singles match between the top two players in the Official World Golf Rankings.
McIlroy has been solid this week, having earned 3-1/2 points for Europe, while Scheffler is the first American player ever to lose a match in each of the first four sessions of a Ryder Cup.
Hovland, who had been scheduled to tee off in the 12th and final singles match at 2:03 p.m. ET (1803 GMT) withdrew due to a neck injury.
(Reporting by Frank PingueEditing by Toby Davis)
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