Europe survive dramatic US fightback to clinch thrilling Ryder Cup victory

Luke Donald's side dominated the opening two days, winning all four sessions to establish a record 11.5-4.5 lead. That left them needing only 2.5 points to retain the trophy, or three for outright victory, with an 'envelope' injury withdrawal from Viktor Hovland handing them half a point before Sunday's singles began.

But despite their massive lead, the Americans came roaring back on the final day and very nearly pulled off an audacious victory.

The stirring fightback saw the Americans win five of the first seven matches to threaten the biggest comeback in Ryder Cup history. 

Ludvig Åberg steadied Europe by beating Patrick Cantlay 2&1, before Shane Lowry holed a nerveless birdie at the last to secure the half-point needed to guarantee Europe retained the cup.

Tyrrell Hatton's tie with Collin Morikawa then took Europe to the 14.5 points required for their first away win since the 2012 "Miracle at Medinah," with Bob MacIntyre adding a late half-point for the final margin.

The Americans kept their hopes alive with Cameron Young edging Justin Rose, Justin Thomas denying Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele overpowering Jon Rahm, JJ Spaun beating Sepp Straka and Ben Griffin seeing off Rasmus Højgaard. 

Bryson DeChambeau also fought back from five down to tie with Matt Fitzpatrick, while world No 1 Scottie Scheffler held off Rory McIlroy on the final hole. 

The fightback was still on when Russell Henley seized control of his match with Shane Lowry by reeling off birdies at the 13th and 14th to go two up with four to play. Lowry dug deep, replying with a birdie at the 15th and matching Henley again at the 16th to keep the contest alive. 

On the 18th, he split the fairway, knocked his approach to six feet and, after Henley missed his own chance, calmly rolled in the putt that guaranteed Europe would keep the Ryder Cup, triggering raucous scenes around the green, with a tearful Lowry admitting afterwards it was one of the most challenging days of his life.

Ben Griffin edged fellow rookie Rasmus Højgaard 1up to close out another US point, but Tyrrell Hatton's gritty half against Collin Morikawa pushed Europe over the winning line. In the anchor match, Bob MacIntyre secured a final-hole par to tie with Sam Burns, leaving Europe 15-13 winners and Luke Donald joining Tony Jacklin as the only European captains to secure back-to-back triumphs.

"It has been the most stressful 12 hours of my life. Shout-out to the Americans, Keegan [Bradley], his captaincy. I knew it would be tough. I didn't think they would be this tough on Sunday, they fought so hard, and all the respect to them," Donald said.

"This means a lot obviously to me and the team. We came here knowing that the task was very difficult. I couldn't be more proud of these guys. There will be talk for generations to come as someone going down in history. Couldn't be more proud."

Keegan Bradley was proud of the fight his players showed with their backs against the wall.

"The boys really fought today. That was incredible. I didn't expect anything different. These guys are really an incredible group. The way they played the last two days, when we were way down - you wouldn't have known we were way down," he said.

"They looked like they were battling. Their body language was good. They were pumping up the crowd. They were fighting the whole way, even when things were not looking good, and I didn't expect anything different today. That was a coin flip there for a second."

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