After claiming victory at a Ryder Cup like no other, the triumphant European team were keen to send a message to the President, Donald Trump, on Sunday night.
Video emerged of Rory McIlroy filming himself and the Europe team with the Ryder Cup trophy in their locker room at Bethpage, where they chanted: ‘Are you watching, are you watching Donald Trump?’
And the President, a massive golf fan who made a high-profile attendance on day one at the course outside of Manhattan on Friday, clearly was.
He reposted the video on his Truth Social account and was gracious in defeat, commenting: ‘Yes, I’m watching. Congratulations!
Trump arrived at the course on Friday afternoon after the United States had made a disastrous start to the competition on a morning that would ultimately set the tone for the next few days.
He received a rapturous reception from the home crowd as he walked out by the first tee and made a point of personally wishing Bryson DeChambeau good luck before his afternoon round.
The European team sent a message to Donald Trump after winning the Ryder Cup on Sunday
The President of the United States attended the tournamet just outside New York on Friday
Trump made a point of greeting Bryson DeChambeau in the Friday afternoon round
Trump, who attended with granddaughter Kai, left around 3pm on Friday to return to DC.
The American team on Sunday genuinely threatened to pull off an all-time historic comeback at Bethpage after looking dead and buried on Saturday night.
No team has ever won from more than four points behind going into the 12 singles matches but for a moment, it looked like the US team would flip Europe’s seven-point lead.
Eventually though, it was Shane Lowry, who endured so much abuse from a hostile and vulgar New York crowd, who had the last word.
He holed a 6-foot birdie putt against Russell Henley to earn the half-point Europe needed to make sure it kept that 17-inch gold chalice.
Perhaps ironically, as far as Trump is concerned, there was major scrutiny over whether the USA captain Keegan Bradley would be remembered as one of America’s worst.
Back in August, Trump told Bradley to pick himself – a move not seen in the Ryder Cup since the 1960s.
‘Keegan Bradley should DEFINITELY be on the American Ryder Cup Team — As Captain!!! He is an AMAZING guy. It will be a great Ryder Cup,’ Trump said back in August.
Before the tournament, Trump had called for Keegan Bradley to play for the US team
Bradley has been in fantastic form throughout 2025 but eventually opted against playing in the tournament and instead focusing on his duties as captain.
Speaking Sunday after the tournament was lost, Bradley said his biggest regret was not making the course tougher.
‘We tried to set the course up to help our team. Obviously it wasn’t the right decision,’ Bradley said.
‘I definitely made a mistake on the course setup. I should have listened a little bit more to my intuition. For whatever reason, that wasn’t the right way to set the course up.’
