One match had the potential to change the entire dynamic of the day and Ryder Cup Team Europe and Team USA captains Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley
20:05 ET, 26 Sep 2025Updated 20:05 ET, 26 Sep 2025
Captain Keegan Bradley desperately needed a win from Bryson DeChambeau (Image: Getty Images)
There was simply no other match to follow. Both Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley knew exactly how important the second four-ball match was. And a moment between the players’ wives certainly showed that.
Ben Griffin and Bryson DeChambeau vs Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose was a major swing match. After a 3-1 lead from the morning foursomes, Team USA needed a win and some momentum badly.
Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka had the better of Scottie Scheffler and JJ Spaun, and Cameron Young and Justin Thomas demolished Ludvig Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard 6&5. After watching Rahm sink a birdie on the 11th to go 3UP, Donald stayed to watch Fleetwood and Rose. It comes after certain USA stars humiliated themselves by sucking up to Donald Trump after a nightmare start.
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Bradley was already stalking the group closely and was hit with a hammer blow when Fleetwood drained a birdie putt from 13 feet with the Americans having no reply. Donald, meanwhile, fist pumped and gave encouraging high-fives to both Fleetwood and Rose.
From the 11th onwards, the captains didn’t leave the matchup. They followed it all the way to the 18th knowing that a win for either team could generate a huge shift in momentum.
But it was Europe who prevailed. Fleetwood followed up his birdie on 11 with another two on 14 and 16. DeChambeau did reply on 17 to bring it back to a 1-score game, but a birdie from Rose on 18 closed out the tie.
Keegan Bradley shakes hands with Luke Donald after the day’s last match
By this point the entire European Team – bar Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry who were still playing – and the players’ families were crowded around 18th green and celebrating. It wasn’t just Donald and Bradley who knew how crucial a victory that was.
But Donald spent little time celebrating. He soon resumed a steely face and jumped on a cart to race down and catch the ending of McIlroy and Lowry’s matchup against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay. The match went all level down 18, and two missed birdie putts meant the encounter ended that way.
It’s a huge win for Donald who goes to bed on Friday night with his Team Europe stars leading 5.5-2.5. But for Bradley, despite trailing, the Team USA captain is staying positive.
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“Well, we’ve played 25 percent of the points,” he said. “We’ve played the first quarter of a football game or a basketball game. They went out there and they played better than us today. They made more putts.
“But listen, we knew this was going to be difficult. We knew this was going to be tough. We didn’t expect to come in here and this not be a difficult week. Our boys are in great spirits. I just spoke to them. They are really excited to get out there tomorrow.
“What a stage, what an opportunity that they have to go out there tomorrow and prove to everybody, you know, that now they are down, now they have got to go catch up. I like that.”
