– It is something very special that we are witnessing now, Espen Kofstad exclaimed in Viaplay’s commentary box along the way. And Kofstad was to be absolutely right: The Scandinavian duo wreaked havoc from the start, and already after eleven holes the match was decided. Then Hovland and Åberg led with nine holes. As a result, Koepka and Scheffler could not catch up. The margin of victory is the largest in a single match since 18-hole matches were introduced in 1961. The previous record for Europe – victory after 13 holes – has been achieved twice, in 1985 and 1993, NTB writes. FAR DOWN: All-rounder Scottie Scheffler was a beaten man after the loss. Photo: Gregorio Borgia / AP While Hovland and Åberg could cheer and grin broadly after the big game, a humbled American duo remained. The TV pictures showed that Scottie Scheffler in particular took the loss hard – the world number one actually broke down in tears after the brutal result. – I don’t think that record will ever be broken. It has not happened in singles, it is the first time it has happened in foursome. I don’t think we’ll ever see that again. It has never happened before, and it will never happen again, said Viaplay commentator Joakim Mikkelsen. The Americans Tom Kite and Fred Couples have previously decided singles matches after eleven holes, but they then led by eight holes. Hovland and Åberg’s margin of victory is thus the largest in history in an 18-hole match. BIG DUO: Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg. Photo: PHIL NOBLE / Reuters Quickly down to earth In the afternoon, Hovland and Åberg played together again. Then against the duo Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns in fourball. And where everything went the Scandinavians’ way on Saturday morning, it was far more difficult in the afternoon. After twelve holes they had a six hole lead with six holes to play. Thus, it was almost an impossible task they had before them. Admittedly, they stayed alive on the next few holes after birdies from Åberg and short misses from Morikawa, but on hole 15 it was over. The American duo won by four holes, with three holes to go. It was Hovland and Åberg’s first loss in this year’s Ryder Cup. After two out of three days in the Ryder Cup, Europe leads 10.5-5.5. Europe needs 14.5 points to regain the Ryder Cup trophy, while the United States will defend the tournament victory from 2021 if they get to 14 points. DOWN TOUR: It didn’t go the way of Hovland and Åberg on Saturday afternoon. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino / AP That’s why the golf world is shocked The prominent golf journalist Dan Rapaport could hardly believe what he saw on Saturday morning. – This result from Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg over world number one Scottie Scheffler and the five-time major winner Brooks Koepka may be the most shocking result in recent match play history, he writes. The reason why the historic result is described as shocking is not just the huge margin of victory. The assumed strength ratio also makes Saturday’s result difficult to understand. The American duo consists of the world’s highest ranked golfer Scheffler, plus Koepka who has won major titles on commission throughout his career. The European duo are like beginners compared to Saturday’s opponents. Åberg and Hovland have no major titles on their CVs, and although the Norwegian is probably the world’s hottest golfer right now, there was nothing to suggest that he and Swedish Åberg would wash the floor with the American stars. Photo: Gregorio Borgia / AP Hovland: – Absolutely king Europe led the Ryder Cup with 6.5 points against the Americans’ 1.5 after Friday’s eight matches. On Saturday, the blue dominance continued with undiminished strength in the morning, and thus the Europeans steer towards a clear victory. Although Hovland has a great game and is praised by the entire golf world, he did not take off when he is interviewed by SVT and Viaplay after the victory against Scheffler and Koepka. – I was very tired last night. Even when I woke up this morning, my legs were heavy. It was good to finish that match on hole eleven. Now we can sit back, relax a bit and support the rest of the gang. Of course it’s nice to win “9&7”, but it’s only one point. Hopefully the other boys will also win their matches, says Hovland. – What is it like to play with Åberg? – It’s absolutely king. It becomes so easy to play golf that you just have to enjoy it and watch all the good shots. Then we enjoy ourselves. We have a lot of fun out there. It has been absolutely beautiful, he replies. Swedish Åberg was ecstatic after the big game. – It will take a while to describe this morning, he says and adds: – But me and Viktor did what we had talked about. Obviously we didn’t face the strongest players today, but they are fantastic opponents. This is the Ryder Cup golf tournament in 2023. The tournament is played between a European and an American team, each with twelve players. This year’s tournament, which is the 44th in a row, is played at the Marco Simone golf course in Guidonia Montecelio outside Rome. The tournament is played over three days. On the first two days, four duels are played in foursome and four duels in fourball. In both game variants, the players go in pairs, and only eight players from each team play in each round. In foursomes, the two teammates tee off on every second hole, and they also hit the ball every second time on the individual hole. In fourball, they play as in a normal golf competition, but only the best result is valid. The tournament ends with singles duels on Sunday. Here, one player at a time meets for a duel, and all twelve players must be in action. Matchplay is played on all three days. This means that the team/player who wins the most holes wins the duel, not the team/player who has used the fewest strokes over 18 holes. A total of 28 matches are played, and the winner of the Ryder Cup is the team that wins the most matches during the weekend. The USA has not won away from home since 1993. Europe managed it in 2012. (NTB) American stars get slaughtered At the same time that Hovland and co. ravages, few are impressed by what the Americans have achieved in Rome. – It is absolutely crazy that it is possible to play so badly. It is one of the sickest things I have seen, Kofstad said. The renowned golf podcast No Laying Up summarizes the elimination with the following tweet on X/Twitter. – This is epic. Hovland with hole-in-one – photos courtesy of Viaplay 01:16 Watch cup match from own roof 00:45 Harviken breaks down in tears after being “scapegoated” 00:58 Jessica (28) is the first woman to test drive Formula 1- car for five years 01:00 Show more
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Hovland record made the experts gape – humiliated American stars – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
