DOING IT FOR SEVE Crushing display in spirit of
HE will have been looking down and loving what he saw.
Because no one relished putting his foot on American throats more than the late Seve Ballesteros used to.
A huge banner depicting the Ryder Cup legend’s face was unfurled in the stands on the first tee at Marco Simone Golf Club.
God help Team USA.
Zach Johnson’s stars had already failed to earn their stripes, and now Europe had the spirit of Seve on their side as well.
And what unfolded over the next few hours felt like a throwback to the times when Spanish matador Ballesteros used to unleash hell on his old rivals.
Because that’s what Scandanavian supermen Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland did here in Rome, to create a piece of history that might never be bettered.
The duo gave US rivals Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka such a shellacking, it left one of them in tears and both of them in the doghouse. The 9&7 demolition was the biggest margin of victory in an 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history.
Scheffler is the world No.1 and Koepka is the reigning PGA champion, for heaven’s sake, but the thumping did so much mental damage both were axed for the afternoon fourballs.
Aberg only turned professional in June and hasn’t even played in a Major yet. But here he was with Hovland turning themselves into Ryder Cup royalty.
Despite a crushing defeat in the afternoon fourballs, these two will be the bedrock of European teams for years to come.
A sickness bug had seen some US stars need antibiotics before day two started.
But smelling salts were in order come lunchtime, as Europe won the morning foursomes 3-1, to stretch their overall lead to a staggering 9.5-2.5.
Rory McIlroy won his third straight point, while Jon Rahm almost got a hole-in-one on the 17th as he and