DeChambeau shines in Foursomes on Day 2, but Rahm-Hatton team stays hot as Europeans lead

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Bryson DeChambeau won a Foursomes match for the first time in his Ryder Cup career. In the process, he may have found himself a suitable American partner.

European teammates Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, meanwhile, continue to prove they are the perfect partners in Ryder Cup Foursomes.

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And the bigger picture? Europe won three of the four Saturday morning matches at Bethpage Black to extend its lead to 8.5 to 3.5, moving closer to an unprecedented blowout on foreign soil as they become the first away team to win each of the first three sessions of a Ryder Cup.

DeChambeau and New York native Cameron Young rolled past the European duo of Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Aberg, 4 & 2, to give the U.S. its only victory of the session. It’s DeChambeau’s first win this week and his first Foursomes win after losing his previous three, including Friday’s loss with Justin Thomas.

Rahm and Hatton, the Legion XIII teammates, led for all but one hole in their 3 & 2 win over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. That moved their Foursomes record to 4-0-0 – and 4-0-1 overall as Ryder Cup partners.

Young is DeChambeau’s sixth different career partner and third this week – and he was certainly the most impactful that DeChambeau has paired with.

Both players provided key fist-pumping moments for the U.S., starting on the opening hole when Young followed DeChambeau’s opening 323-yard drive with an approach to tap-in range for birdie.

“We wanted to prove to the captain that we were right for the job,” DeChambeau said. “Cam played unbelievable today. Hitting that wedge shot super close on 1 and getting up and keeping that pressure on them, fortunately we stuck it out and played really well coming in.”

Aberg halved the hole with an 11-foot birdie putt, but Young provided more fireworks on the par-3 third when he chipped in from the fringe for birdie to give the U.S. duo its first lead. They gave it right back at the par-5 fourth after DeChambeau found the greenside bunker, with the Americans losing the hole with a par – the only hole won by the European duo all match.

The U.S. took the lead for good by winning the seventh with a par. Young’s tee shot to 3 feet won the par-3 eighth, and DeChambeau halved the ninth thanks to a 17-foot birdie putt. The U.S. won the 10th with another par, and DeChambeau’s terrific approach at the 12th set up a birdie putt to halve the hole. Young then closed it out with an 11-foot birdie at the 16th.

“Cam just struck it unbelievable today with his irons,” the Crushers GC captain said. “It was nice having a couple of two-footers to tap in, so it was sweet. We played really well, and we putted it well. … Even though it was just one point, it's a small victory but it's a victory we needed to get the boys fired up.”

But it may not matter after Europe won the final three matches of the session, including the other match involving LIV Golf players.

Rahm and Hatton won the first two holes of their match but saw the veteran American duo tie it up with two pars at the fifth and seventh holes.

That’s when Rahm struck the shot of the week. After Hatton’s tee shot at the par-3 eighth finished in the rough next to the greenside bunker, Rahm had to stand in the bunker, the ball above his feet, and a downhill slope on the green.

The ball tracked right into the pin, and the Americans never won another hole.

“It was very exciting,” said Rahm, who is a career 6-0-0 in Foursomes. “You obviously don't want to get too high, right? We had not played our best golf on the hole before. Besides that going in, it wasn't looking too bright for us. They had just squared the match. … It's an incredible, incredible moment. But there's still so much golf ahead that I didn't let myself get too high.”

Added Hatton: “He pulls out some unbelievable shots at very special times. Yeah, he's an incredible player, and a good person to walk the fairways with.”

Rahm wasn’t through with his heroics, hitting a great approach at the 12th that Hatton converted for birdie. It was one of several key Hatton putts that kept the pressure on the Americans.

“We've shared the golf course for many, many holes, and it's absolutely incredible watching him play,” Rahm said of Hatton. “What he did on the greens today was nothing short of spectacular. At one point, we were basically out of the fairway and out of the green. We just somehow stayed in and stayed in and won some holes at the end.”

SATURDAY FOURSOMES RESULTS

• DeChambeau/Young (USA) def. Fitzpatrick/Aberg (Europe), 4 & 2
• McIlroy/Fleetwood (Europe) def. English/Morikawa (USA), 3 & 2
• Rahm/Hatton (Europe) def. Schauffele/Cantlay (USA), 3 & 2
• MacIntyre/Hovland (Europe) def. Scheffler/Henley (USA), 1 up

SATURDAY FOURBALLS SCHEDULE

• Thomas/Young (USA) vs. McIlroy/Lowry (Europe)
• DeChambeau/Scheffler (USA) vs. Fleetwood/Rose (Europe)
• Spaun/Schauffele (USA) vs. Rahm/Straka (Europe)
• Burns/Cantlay (USA) vs. Hatton/Fitzpatrick (Europe)