Ryder Cup: Recaps for All 12 Sunday Singles Matches

Thomas Pieters def. J.B. Holmes 3 & 2

This match gave a fitting end to what could stand as one of the most consequential sub-plots from this year’s Ryder Cup. After winning three consecutive matches playing with Rory McIlroy on Friday and Saturday, Belgium’s Thomas Pieters stepped up to the plate as a solo competitor and more than delivered.

Not that it was easy. Holmes, rested after playing just two of the first four sessions, had torched Hazeltine for seven birdies on Saturday afternoon, and he kept it going to start today’s match, winning the first two holes to take an immediate lead. However, Pieters squared it up after just two more, creating a back-and-forth dynamic that would persist for much of the match. The lead changed a couple more times, but it was all square after the first nine.

Pieters started to take control on the back, circling birdies on 11 and 14 to apply the pressure. Holmes, meanwhile, looked lost, with his prodigious length doing little to help his ball find the cup. A birdie on the par 5 16th was all Pieters needed to win the match and secure a sterling 4-1 record for the week, the best on either side. If the 24-year-old makes good on his considerable promise and evolves into a world-beating superstar, we’ll look back at this week as the one where it all began.