LiveScore’s golf expert Matthew Hill rounds up the key reaction from the most one-sided Ryder Cup in history after Team USA cruised to a 19-9 victory.

Stricker and Spieth sense golden era ahead for USA

Captain Steve Stricker believes the USA's dominant Ryder Cup triumph will mark the start of a 'new era' for America.

The hosts were sensational from start to finish at Whistling Straits, taking apart the visiting European side to record a 19-9 win — the largest deficit in the competition’s 42-year history in the current format.

Although well fancied before the start, few could have anticipated things to have gone quite so smoothly for the favourites, who never came close to relinquishing a lead formed in the very first session. 

Even when entering Sunday’s singles with a commanding 11-5 advantage, USA’s star-studded line-up were near-faultless and duly racked up eight of the remaining 12 points on offer.

For skipper Stricker, 54, the manner of the victory suggests a special period may be on the horizon for his nation.

He explained: “This is a new era for USA golf. They are young, they came with a lot of passion, a lot of energy and a lot of game. They are just so good. 

“It’s exciting to see these guys and exciting for us in Wisconsin to experience this. It was a special week all the way.

“And they're just so talented — their average World Ranking is 8.9. That's unheard of, out of 12 guys. 

“It was really just a case of getting out of their way and letting them go. We provided an atmosphere and camaraderie that they enjoyed and wanted to be a part of.

"They all want to win, and it showed in how they prepared for it. It was a great bunch of guys, and I really had a great time — they deserve it.”

Confidence was understandably high in the playing ranks too, with Jordan Spieth suggesting that his team-mates are capable of repeating the trick on away soil in 2023.

Spieth said: “I think that this is unfinished business. 

“I think this was one of those first wins that we needed and I think it was a massive stepping stone for this team and the group that we have here — who have really known each other since almost back to grade school — to continue to try to work hard to be on these teams to go over there.

“It's one thing to win it over here and it is a lot easier to do so but it is harder to win over there. 

“If we play like we did this week, the score will look the same over there in a couple of years and that's what we're here for.”

Harrington defends decisions 

Padraig Harrington believes he could not have asked for any more from his defeated European side — and holds no regrets over any of his decisions made as the losing captain.

The popular Irishman, 50, had a stiff task to try and make his side competitive against the might of Team USA.

Yet that difficulty has not stopped onlookers from questioning some of Harrington’s pairings in the opening two days.

The captain, however, has no such concerns of his own.

Harrington said: "The team did everything I asked of them.

"They worked great together, they worked hard together, there was great team spirit and everybody tried 100 per cent. 

"We were just beat by a better team this week, a very strong US team that seemed to play right up to their ability.

"I think I did what I needed to do. I'm quite a practical person, but I know I needed to be more than that when you're the Ryder Cup captain. 

"I do think I managed to bring these guys together, and, okay, we didn't get the results we wanted, but I think we were a team, and that's the most important thing at the end of the day."

Ian Poulter, who delivered his ever-reliable singles point by beating Tony Finau on Sunday afternoon, was quick to leap to the defence of his captain.

The tearful Englishman said: “You know what? Paddy has done an amazing job. Him and [his wife] Caroline have created a brilliant atmosphere and an incredibly bonded team.

“That team in there this week are all special guys and it is not fair when you look at the scoreline and how it looks.

“I think the toughest part about all of this is that Paddy will be questioned and that is not fair. 

“We got outplayed. To Paddy, and what he has given to his captaincy, I think he has done a really nice job.”

Emotions were also running high for Rory McIlroy in his post-round interview on Sunday.

The Northern Irishman, who had secured a victory in the final day’s opening singles clash over Xander Schauffele, admitted to feeling despondent over how things had panned out in Wisconsin as a whole.

Changing of the guard

There is certainly a feeling that the 43rd Ryder Cup was a transformative moment for both sides.

Though America have won three of the last four matches on home soil, they have never done so with such a young, improving and well-balanced group.

Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay in particular all made a mockery of their rookie tags, while Dustin Johnson, at 37 the oldest player in their side, showed himself as capable as ever by becoming only the third player in history to go 5-0-0 across the week. 

Stricker was able to call on eight of the world’s top 10-ranked players, with even their lowest-seeded star Scheffler (21st) boasting a greater ranking than eight of his opponents.

For Europe, World No1 Jon Rahm certainly lived up to his billing despite a surprise final-day singles defeat, while Shane Lowry more than vindicated Harrington’s captain’s pick.

However, pre-tournament fears over several out-of-form stars were proved to be well founded — Paul Casey, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood all particularly disappointing.

While Sergio Garcia showed he still has something to offer on the team stage, the likes of Lee Westwood and the great Poulter seem unlikely to contribute in a playing role again and the time looks to have come for new faces to enter the fray.

Robert MacIntyre and Guido Migliozzi are two obvious names who will hope to be in the mix come 2023 but the door is unquestionably ajar for emerging talent to rise in the next 24 months.

Should talented youngsters be able to support the likes of Rahm and Viktor Hovland — and ideally a rejuvenated McIlroy — the hosts will be able to be competitive on their own soil.

But given the Americans were able to leave Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson and Jason Kokrak out of their group to name just three, there is no doubting that a gulf has developed between the two sides.

Bryson DeChambeau is another who believes that the gap could continue to widen.

He said: "This is a start to a new generation,” “I think we are going to be doing some incredible things moving forward in this competition.”