McIlroy fluffs final putt but Europe on top after day one

It was a moment that felt specially designed for Rory McIlroy.

- LAWRENCE OSTLERE AT BETHPAGE, NEW YORK

The final putt of the first day of the 2025 Ryder Cup. The 18th green. The New York sun setting behind the grandstand and every European and American player hooked, every wife and girlfriend in their designer fedoras, every vice-captain and clinger on, every fan at the end of a long, sticky day huddled around the edge of one green, watching one player.

There was a little piece of Ryder Cup history yearning to be written. McIlroy could win the last match of the day and turn the screw on a beleaguered US team who'd been beaten up on home soil. The putts that came before had missed on the low side. He rolled his ball high, but it stayed there, missing by half a cup.

McIlroy looked anguished and was consoled by playing partner Shane Lowry, but half a point was a fair reflection of an epic seesaw battle with Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns. Moments earlier, Justin Rose had sunk the winning putt to clinch a one-up win with Tommy Fleetwood over Bryson DeChambeau and Ben Griffin, and it meant Europe edged the afternoon fourballs to take a 5½-2½ lead into today's play.