World No.1 Scottie Scheffler and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka suffered a humiliating record defeat as Europe continued to dominate the 44th Ryder Cup in Rome.

The American pair were five over par for the first three holes as they crumbled to a 9&7 defeat by Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, the largest margin of victory in any 18-hole match in the event’s history.

That extended the home side’s lead to six points and it looked like there would be more to come as Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood were three up with six to play against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in the opening foursomes.

Another victory for the increasingly impressive Scandanavian pairing was especially sweet for Europe given Koepka’s dig at Spain’s John Rahm last night.

‘I think me and Scottie birdied 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and then ‘lost’ (to) two (eagles),’ he said.’So yes, I mean I want to hit a board and pout just like Jon Rahm did but, you know, it is what it is. Act like a child. But we’re adults. We move on.

‘Honestly, we’ll be fine. We’re all grown-ups, we act like grown-ups. We’ll be just fine. Just got to play and see where it puts you. Just keep fighting. You never know what’s going to happen. (We have) still got a long day tomorrow.’

Sadly for Koepka and his playing partner, they had no answer to a birdie barrage led by the increasingly impressive Hovland.

‘We were meeting two strong guys – number one in the world and five-time major champion,’ said the Norwegian.

‘We tried to not give them anything. We played really solid and obviously didn’t meet a sharp Scottie and Brooks but we played some really nice golf today.’

Given Koepka’s seemingly unprompted attack on world No.3 Rahm, the record defeat was particularly sweet for European golf fans who revelled in the reigning Masters and US PGA champions’ downfall.

‘Best keeping your mouth shut Koepka in future lad,’ wrote one supporter on X, while another added ‘Scheffler and Koepka were horrible. However. Hovland was so good it would not have mattered how they played.’

‘Imagine crying like that last night and then getting hammered like that this morning, Brooks Koepka,’ added another jubilant European fan, while another said ‘Brooks Koepka wouldn’t sign my autograph book at the open in Hoylake recently. This is karma for the big spoilt baby.’

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