For all the flag-waving, all the jingoism, all the “U-S-A!” chants, a sense of dread always hangs over the head of the American team at the Ryder Cup. That’s what happens when you’ve lost seven of the last nine and nine of the last 12 — you’re just waiting for the inevitable blue-and-gold tide.
So when Xander Schauffele, who won a gold medal just over a month ago, missed a short putt to lose the first hole of Sunday's singles matches to Ryder Cup icon Rory McIlroy, there was the tiniest bit of clenching going on.