Two of the biggest names in the game, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, went head-to-head in the opening Ryder Cup Sunday singles match at Marco Simone. They didn’t disappoint, either, producing a match that went to and fro but never left room for either player to open up an unassailable lead, with the pair eventually settling for half a point each.
For Scheffler, in particular, his performance offered redemption after he was left in tears following a record Ryder Cup defeat in his and Brooks Koepka’s Saturday foursomes match against Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg.
It didn’t begin promisingly for the American, though, as Rahm confidently rolled his birdie putt in to go one up. After the pair tied the second, soon it was Scheffler’s turn to show what he could do, holing a 29-foot putt for par as Rahm bogeyed.
After bogeying the next, Scheffler found himself chasing the match again, and it got worse on the fifth when Rahm went 2up thanks to his second birdie of the round. Any thoughts that the Spaniard would pull further away from Scheffler were quickly dispelled on the sixth when he notched his first birdie of the day after leaving his approach shot less than six feet the hole.
By the turn, the pair were back to all square after Scheffler’s second birdie on the par 5 ninth. He then nudged ahead for the first time on the 11th after Rahm ended up at the bottom of a swale not once, but twice, as his first chip up to the green rolled back down.
However, Rahm recovered to claim the next two holes and go 1up again. Not to be outdone, the next two holes belonged to Scheffler, who once again wiped out Rahm’s lead and then some to regain the initiative. The pair halved the 16th and 17th but there was, fittingly, more drama to come on the last hole.
Knowing he needed to win the hole to halve the match, Rahm found himself facing a daunting 90-foot eagle attempt that he almost judged to perfection, leaving it just nine inches from the hole. That put the pressure on Scheffler to chip in to tie the hole. He couldn’t manage it and the match was halved.
Afterwards, Rahm paid tribute to his opponent, saying: “He’s a heck of a competitor. You know, my hat’s off to him and I’m glad I could get a halve.”
He also reflected on a useful half-point for his team. He said: “I think I did a really good job at the end. Seeing those scores, refocused at the task at hand. Played good at end. Too bad it wasn’t good enough to win but I’ll take a halve.”
Scheffler reflected on what might have been after the full point got away from him at the last moment. He said: “Yeah, it was a good battle. He made some clutch shots, and so did I. I'm obviously a little upset with how it finished, but I fought pretty hard today. The team needed a full point, and I wasn't able to get that done, which is obviously pretty disappointing. There's still some time left, let's see what happens.”
Despite that, Scheffler can at least take some comfort after playing his part in an epic encounter with the Masters champion, even if the chances of it being enough to help the US retain the trophy appeared remote.
