Europe defeated the U.S. to win the Ryder Cup, golf’s premier international team competition.

Europe’s Francesco Molinari clinched the victory after Phil Mickelson hit his tee shot into the water on the 16th hole, giving the Italian a 4&2 win.

Europe entered Sunday’s singles matches with a 10-6 lead at Le Golf National outside of Paris. </s> The Ryder Cup continues at Le Golf National in Paris as Tiger Woods and Team USA try to catch ...read more via USA Today – https://ift.tt/2OZ0iFN Get More Nigeria Sports News </s> The United States topped the Europeans 17-11 to reclaim the Ryder Cup Sunday afternoon at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, MN. It was the widest margin of victory for the U.S. since it won by nine points in 1981. The winning point was delivered by Ryan Moore, who wasn't a member of the team until last Sunday evening, when U.S. Captain Davis Love III selected him with his final captain's pick.

The victory vindicated the Task Force the U.S. assembled in an attempt to end recent European domination. Europe had won seven of the previous nine cups. The next Ryder Cup will be played in 2018 at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. </s> The American Ryder Cup team celebrates after defeating Europe 17-11 at Hazeltine on Sunday. Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson lead fans in a chant before various players uncork bottles of champagne in celebration. It marks the first time since 2008 that the United States has won the Ryder Cup
• Ryder Cup 2016: USA sweep to victory as Rory McIlroy and Europe taste defeat </s> Captain Thomas Bjorn could not bear to let the trophy out of his sight after his European side regained the Ryder Cup in brilliant fashion in Paris.

Up against an American team featuring nine major champions and with an average world ranking of 11.2, the best in the contest’s history, Bjorn’s side recovered from losing the first three matches to outplay their opponents and secured a resounding seven-point victory at Le Golf National.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at the best bits from the final day in France.

After three-putting the 16th hole to hand Tiger Woods a lifeline in their vital singles match, Jon Rahm smashed a 356-yard drive down the 17th and hit his approach to three feet to set up a winning birdie and complete a 2&1 victory.

Phil Mickelson’s tee shot into the water on the 16th summed up the poor play of the American team as a whole, prompting the five-time major winner to concede to Francesco Molinari, who as a result became the first European player to compile a 5-0 record in the Ryder Cup.

While Europe’s wild cards – Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter – contributed nine and a half points, Tony Finau (two) was the only American to win a single point as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau came up empty.

Quote of the day

Europe will attempt to retain the trophy at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin from September 25-27, 2020, with the likes of Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington likely to be in the frame to succeed Bjorn as captain. </s> CHASKA, Minnesota (Reuters) - Ryan Moore ended a long wait for U.S. Ryder Cup redemption when he clinched a rousing win over Europe at Hazeltine on Sunday, beating Lee Westwood to allow the Americans to reclaim the golden trophy in golf's top team competition.

With Westwood in for bogey at the 18th, Moore rolled his birdie putt to within one foot and the tap-in was conceded to seal a 1-up win and clinch a 15-10 lead for the United States, with 14 1/2 points required for their victory.

Team mates, families and friends poured out onto the green to celebrate what ended as a 17-11 thumping.

Emotional U.S. assistant captain Bubba Watson wept on the shoulder of captain Davis Love III as the two hugged on the 18th green.

"I'm super proud of them," Love said. "We all pulled together for this one.

"We've been kicked around for so long, if you keep on losing you feel you've got to do something different," he said about changes the U.S. team made to increase continuity in the team hierarchy and allow more input from the players.

"Our guys handled the pressure. Europe came in and played unbelievable golf. The great thing is we didn't battle between all of us, we all pulled together."

The Americans had last won the biennial match play event in 2008 as Europe ran off three Cup victories in a row, extending their domination to eight of the last 10 meetings.

"At the end of the day, the American guys played better than we did," said European captain Darren Clarke. "They holed the putts when they had to, and we lipped out. But that's happened the other way around for quite some time."

Brandt Snedeker, who registered a 3-0 record, set Moore up for the winning point by claiming a 3 and 1 victory over English rookie Andy Sullivan.

On a brilliantly sunny day, the U.S. side capitalized on their greater depth to close out victory as they faced four of Europe's six rookies in the late matches, winning all of them.

The U.S. victory charge came after some titanic early matches in which Europe, who front-loaded their best players at the top of the order, closed the gap to one point after entering the deciding 12 singles matches trailing by three.

Sensational shot-making and scoring made for great theater in front of some 50,000 roaring fans.

Patrick Reed and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, the hottest players and most demonstrative competitors on their respective teams, staged an outrageous contest of can-you-top-this in their opening nine.

Reed's 1-up win gave him a U.S.-leading 3.5 points from his five matches.

Later in the day, Cup veterans Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia waged an epic battle, with 19 birdies between them.

After a rousing finish in which the Spaniard closed with four birdies in a row and Mickelson birdied four of the last five holes, they appropriately ended up all square.

Henrik Stenson and rookies Thomas Pieters and Rafa Cabrera-Bello closed the gap for Europe, narrowing the U.S. lead to 10 1/2 to 9 1/2, but the Americans held a big edge in the later matches.

Sweden's Stenson beat Jordan Spieth, Pieters of Belgium topped JB Holmes and Spain's Cabrera-Bello defeated PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker -- all by 3 and 2.

The 24-year-old Pieters set a European rookie record by registering four points and became the first Ryder debutant since 1999 to play in all five sessions.

Reed and McIlroy set the tone for a brilliant day of golf, with the eighth hole producing an outstanding Ryder moment.

McIlroy rolled in a long birdie bomb and roared in delight, playing to the suddenly silenced crowd by putting his hand to his ear and shouting, "I can't hear you, I can't hear you," in extravagant fashion.

Reed then matched McIlroy by pouring in his 20-foot birdie putt to an explosive celebration by the crowd, and wagged his finger at McIlroy and waved his arms to whoop up even louder cheers.

As he walked off the green, Reed was met by a smiling McIlroy, who bumped fists with his rival in a classic Ryder Cup tableau. </s> Tiger Woods didn't mince words when he addressed his three defeats to begin the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in France.

"Just pretty pissed off," Woods said, per GolfChannel.com's Will Gray. "The fact that I lost three matches and didn't feel like I played poorly. That's the frustrating thing about match play. We can play well and nothing can happen."

With singles play on the horizon Sunday, Europe leads the United States 10-6, with 14½ points the threshold for Europe to win back the Ryder Cup.

Woods may be one of the greatest golfers in history, but he has struggled in the Ryder Cup. Entering this year's tournament, he was 13-17-3 in seven appearances, with 16 of those defeats coming in the foursomes or fourball portions of the event. The trend has continued outside Paris.

The pair of Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood are responsible for Woods' misery so far. They combined to beat Woods and Patrick Reed in fourball 3 and 1 on Friday and 4 and 3 on Saturday. Molinari and Fleetwood then finished Saturday's foursome competition with a 5-and-4 victory over Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.

While Woods didn't call out his playing partner by name, some of his frustration may have stemmed from DeChambeau's performance, as many thought DeChambeau offered little support:

The 2018 Ryder Cup is another example of how individual talent isn't enough to secure victory in the biennial event. Even a star such as Woods is often at the mercy of his teammate.

Only once has Woods been on the winning side (1999), and it looks unlikely he'll add a second trophy to his resume this year. </s> Thomas Bjorn, the European captain, is set to have a permanent reminder of leading his side to a resounding 17½-10½ victory in the 42nd Ryder Cup at Le Golf National near Paris in the shape of a tattoo.

As the Europeans celebrated a sixth successive victory on home soil and ninth in the last 12 matches, it emerged the Dane had promised his players he’d indulge in some body art that showed the score if they could upset the odds against a star-studded American side.

“I don’t know when it’s going to get done, but we had some extra motivation this week to make sure we put our hands back on that trophy,” said Ian Poulter, pictured right, one of the last-day singles victors as Europe won the closing session 7½-4½ to regain the trophy.

Justin Rose confirmed what his compatriot was referring to was, in fact, a tattoo, before Rory McIlroy, another member of the triumphant team, jokingly suggested that it might be on Bjorn’s bald head. Asked about it, a smiling Bjorn said: “Let me put it this way, it’s going to go on a part that only Grace [his partner] will see. I might have to send them a picture then you’ll all see it as well, I guess. The worst decision I made all week!”

In fairness to him, it might actually have been the only bad one Bjorn made in his entire captaincy, getting his reward as Europe overcame one slight wobble on the last day to record their biggest win in the event since an 18½-9½ triumph at The K Club in 2006.

“It’s up there, I have to say,” admitted Bjorn in reply to being asked where he rated this team, bearing in mind that it had recorded a convincing victory over the strongest US side in terms of world rankings in the event’s history.

“We got it right this week. We worked as a team. We knew we were up against very strong opponents, but we went out on the golf course and believed in ourselves and what we stand for as a team.

“We never, ever looked towards their team about what they were about. We were about us as a team and what we do. This is the best team room I’ve ever been in. It was calm. It was determined. It was focused. It was fun. Everything that this Ryder Cup was, is what I think the Ryder Cup should be about for a European team.”

The win was a perfect way for Europe to reassert their recent ascendency in the biennial event after a heavy defeat at Hazeltine. “We went through a transition last time,” added Bjorn, one of Darren Clarke’s vice captains on that occasion. “That is difficult, especially when you go away. But this team was just a very, very solid team.

“All of these guys that are here, they are quality golfers. They are putting their stamp on the world scene and there are a couple on this team that are right on the way to the top of the game over the next few years and they will be massive parts of these European teams in the future.

“It’s a great group. It’s a group that believes in themselves and what they stand for, and they carry the torch on for what the European Ryder Cup teams is all about. They understand the history. They understand what we’re about, and that’s what will do them great going forward.”

Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey – contributed nine-and-a-half points. In contrast, the three US wildcards only picked up two points, both from Tony Finau. “I think I got it right,” said Bjorn of his selections. “I couldn’t have dreamt of what they brought on the golf course. And, in the team room, they bring experience and understanding.”

Jim Furyk, the US captain, had no complaints, heaping praise on the Europeans. “Hats off to what they accomplished this week. Thomas was a better captain and their team out-played us. There’s nothing else you can say. They deserved to win. They played well. When we put some heat on them early this afternoon, they responded.” </s> A despondent Tiger Woods admitted that he “was a contributing factor” as to why the United States surrendered the Ryder Cup to Europe, after losing all four of his matches at Le Golf National.

The 14-time major champion suffered only his second singles defeat in the match-play showdown with a 2 and 1 loss to Jon Rahm as Europe charged to victory.

His miserable Ryder Cup record now stands at 13 wins, 21 losses and three halves.

“It’s disappointing because I went 0-4, and that’s four points to the European team,” admitted Woods.

“I’m one of the contributing factors to why we lost the Cup, and it’s not a lot of fun.

“It’s frustrating because we came here, I thought we were all playing pretty well, and I just didn’t perform at the level that I had been playing, and just got behind early in the matches and never got back.”

The former world number one headed to Paris in high spirits after capping a magnificent comeback season from injury with his first title since 2013 at the Tour Championship last week.

But it all went badly wrong, losing twice in the fourballs alongside Patrick Reed and once in the foursomes with Bryson DeChambeau – all defeats coming at the hands of Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari.
In golf, Team Europe retains the Ryder Cup, defeating Team USA 17½–10½ at Le Golf National near Paris.