The U.S. Ryder Cup team nearly pulled a rabbit out of their hat on Sunday, extending the competition well into the evening before Europe’s Shane Lowry sank a clutch birdie putt on 18 to secure a half-point in his match, putting Europe’s total at 14 and thus in retention of the trophy.
It was never supposed to get to that point, however. The European team wiped the floor with the Americans on Friday and Saturday, taking 11.5 points into the Sunday singles matches, therefore only needing three points in 12 matches to win the cup outright. But as the day crept on, and the Americans stayed alive, Europe’s sure-thing became a lot more dramatic.
An away team hasn’t won a Ryder Cup since 2012, and with Bethpage Black being setup well for the Americans on paper, the U.S. team entered the competition as a modest favorite. Calling a possible European win an “upset” on Thursday night, before a single shot was hit, would’ve been a reasonable assessment. But after a 48-hour onslaught by Europe on away soil, and the result seemingly all but a formality (the Data Golf website gave the U.S. team a 1.5% chance of winning going into Sunday), “upset” wasn’t the most appropriate way to describe what was happening.
That’s why it was interesting when NBC Sports lead golf play-by-play voice Dan Hicks described Europe’s win as an “upset” when Lowry nailed his putt on Sunday evening.
“Shane Lowry has done it! Europe pulls off one of the biggest upsets on U.S. soil, retains the Ryder Cup!” Hicks bellowed out as the Irishman secured the trophy for Europe shortly after 5 p.m. ET.
Some found the phrasing odd, considering that the day was defined by the U.S. team storming back in singles, taking what was at one point less than a 0.1% chance of winning per Data Golf shortly after 2 p.m. ET Sunday to close to 10%, with a clear path to victory at 4:30.
If anything, it was the Americans’ unlikely bid to run the table that had the makings of an “upset,” not the Europeans hanging on, stumbling to victory despite winning just one singles match on Sunday.
“As of around 7:01 AM Friday this was no longer considered an upset,” one X user joked.
To be clear, it’s understandable where Dan Hicks was coming from. It has been over a decade since an away team has won a Ryder Cup. The Americans have the undisputed best golfer in the world and were favored entering the competition. By the textbook definition, Europe “upset” the U.S. It just didn’t feel that way, and it made for a bit of weirdness when Hicks made the deciding call.
It was a strangely fitting way to end a Ryder Cup that NBC would rather forget, having received thorough criticism for its broadcast throughout the three-day competition.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.