Sunday at the Ryder Cup has delivered some of the most legendary rounds in the history of golf. It can also be an anticlimactic bore. That’s the nature of an event with 28 points up for grabs that requires only 14.5, and 14 for the defending champ, to decide an outcome. With 12 points up for grabs in this singles session, the most by far in any session, the decisive point can come quite early in the day.
What you need to know for Ryder Cup Sunday in Paris
The United States will need an historic comeback to end a 25-year winless drought in Europe.
Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
And when that day starts with the kind of margin we have in this 2018 edition — a 10-6 lead for Europe — well, the resolution can come swiftly and rather uneventfully. Or it can go the other way. This kind of margin provides the opportunity for an unforgettable comeback. Arguably the two best Ryder Cups in history, one for each side, were the result of a Sunday comeback from a 10-6 deficit at the start of the day. The first was 1999 at Brookline, the scene of that Justin Leonard putt that had Tiger Woods leaping five feet off the ground in celebration. The second was 2012 at Medinah, the site of the absurd “Ghost of Seve” comeback that the Euros put on Davis Love III’s American squad.
The United States has no such ghost or mythical creature to help its squad on foreign soil, where they have a 25-year history of failure. This year seemed to be the best they’ve ever been set up to end that winless streak, with a roster infused with new young talent and a new “task force” overhaul in the process. The same process that paid off in a big way at Hazeltine two years ago.
But for whatever reason, the United States cannot get it done in Europe. Their talent, with a ridiculously low average world rank of 11, does not have a skill set well-suited to this tight, punishing Paris course. The Euros, on the other hand, are perfectly suited with ballstriking aces that have carved up this course they see every single year for the French Open on their own European Tour. They also do what they do in the two-man games, and that is dominate the U.S. in a way that makes Sunday singles often matter less.
Singles are, in theory, where a team’s depth should really shine through and the U.S. is often deeper than the European squad. They are, on paper, again this year but it’s all relative. Match play is a different animal. Match play in Europe is a different animal. Match play at this very specific course against this very specific European roster is a different animal. Just lining up the world rankings on paper doesn’t really mean much for predicting who will put points on the board.
Here’s the lineup the U.S. will put out to try and pull off their own historic comeback and the Euros that will counter trying to keep that home winning streak alive. Tee times are all ET, with Paris six hours ahead.
- 6:05 a.m. — Justin Thomas vs. Rory McIlroy
- 6:17 a.m. — Brooks Koepka vs. Paul Casey
- 6:29 a.m. — Webb Simpson vs. Justin Rose
- 6:41 a.m. — Tiger Woods vs. Jon Rahm
- 6:53 a.m. — Tony Finau vs. Tommy Fleetwood
- 7:05 a.m. — Dustin Johnson vs. Ian Poulter
- 7:17 a.m. — Jordan Spieth vs. Thorbjorn Olesen
- 7:29 a.m. — Rickie Fowler vs. Sergio Garcia
- 7:41 a.m. — Phil Mickelson vs. Francesco Molinari
- 7:53 a.m. — Patrick Reed vs. Tyrrell Hatton
- 8:05 a.m. — Bubba Watson vs. Henrik Stenson
- 8:17 a.m. — Bryson DeChambeau vs. Alex Noren
Here’s your media schedule for Sunday’s final round, all times ET:
Sunday’s Day 3 coverage
Television:
6 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET — NBC
Streaming:
6 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET -- NBC simulcast stream
Other streaming options
FuboTV from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET
Ryder Cup App’s “Ryder Cup Live” from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET
Radio:
6 a.m. until completion of play -- PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 93/208)
Ryder Cup Apps will also have “Live Radio” feature during match play
