Europe dominated the first two days, building a seven-point advantage. But even with Ludvig Aberg beating Patrick Cantlay, it took until the eighth singles contest for Europe to be sure of keeping the trophy.
Shane Lowry famously holed a birdie putt to snatch a half against Russell Henley. The Irishman had earlier issued a warning against complacency.
“I said it to the boys on the Saturday night, there’s always an hour [where things can dramatically change] on the Sunday of a Ryder Cup, no matter what the score is going into it,” he told BBC Sport.
“From the outside looking in or if you’re sitting at home on your couch watching it, it doesn’t look like that, but it certainly feels like that when you’re out on the course. So I knew the Americans were going to come out firing.”
Lowry had partnered Rory McIlroy on the previous two afternoons, helping the Masters champion withstand vile abuse from sections of the American crowds. “I felt like no matter what happened, he could lean on me,” Lowry said.
“I think it was the four of us, you know, me, him, Darren [Reynolds, Lowry’s caddie] and Harry Diamond [McIlroy’s caddie]. Darren and Harry are really close. We’re all very close and I think that’s what you needed in an environment like that.”
Such hostility had been anticipated by Donald, who issued virtual reality headsets to help prepare his players. Nothing was left to chance.
While the Irish pair withstood the worst of the crowd excesses, other Europeans revelled in the New York atmosphere. “You’re getting shouted at from all angles,” Matt Fitzpatrick told me.
“How you are going to play this hole badly and how you’re a loser and all these crazy things and at that point, you just have to laugh.”
Sheffield’s Fitzpatrick was taunted for his brand of footwear and for wearing braces in his teeth until relatively recently. “I think it’s hilarious, I loved it, really,” he said.
“But from what I’ve heard, they definitely crossed a line with Rory and Shane and some of the other boys. So I think that’s obviously the disappointing aspect of it.
“And, like we say, we knew what was coming and I think that’s why the boys were so mentally prepared for that and that’s another reason why we did so well.”
Fitzpatrick landed a crucial point on the final hole of Saturday’s fourball session playing with Hatton, who had been a late call up for the injured Hovland. They beat Burns and Cantlay on the final green.
It meant Europe won the session and would take an unprecedented advantage into the final day. I interviewed both Europeans on that green and it was clear Fitzpatrick was desperate to celebrate with exultant visiting fans.
“You’re walking up 18 and you see everyone leaving,” he recalled more than two months later. “The chants are coming: ‘Is there a fire drill?’ And you’re like, hang on a minute. There are no Americans in that stand.
“And you finish on 18 and everyone is on the green, I mean, its giving me goosebumps now thinking about everyone in that stand being European.
“And they’re chanting and the singing and it was potentially a once-in-a-lifetime feeling to experience that.”
