New Ryder Cup stars were born as Europe's class of 2018 stormed to a resounding 17.5-10.5 victory over the United States - a result which is permanently etched on the skin of winning Captain Thomas Bjørn in the form of a tattoo.
Led by a dynamic duo forever to be known as 'Moliwood', Europe continued their dominance on home soil at Le Golf National in France.
Here, we take a look back at the key players and moments from a memorable victory for Europe.
The Scene
Although Team USA had not tasted Ryder Cup victory in Europe for 25 years, the visitors arrived in Paris having been backed to "roll to victory" by some in the U.S. media. The American team featured nine Major Champions - including Ryder Cup veterans Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as well as rookie Justin Thomas - and boasted an average world ranking of 11.2, the best in the contest’s history. European captain Bjørn, meanwhile, opted to use his four picks to add experience to his team, selecting Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter after five debutants secured automatic qualification.
The Stars
With all of the world's top 10 in action, there was no shortage of star names. America's stellar line-up boasted Brooks Koepka - who had won three of the last seven Majors - and World Number One Dustin Johnson, as well as Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, who had formed a formidable partnership in recent editions of the biennial event. Europe's team also featured an exciting blend of youth and experience, with stalwarts such as Garcia and Poulter joined in the ranks by promising rookies like Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood.
The Turning Point
Pre-tournament predictions of a dominant USA victory looked like being accurate as they won each of the first three fourballs matches, with Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari earning Europe's only point of the opening session. But Europe came roaring back in the afternoon, white-washing the United States in foursomes for the first time in Ryder Cup history to turn the contest on its head. And the enormous winning margins involved (5&4, 5&4, 4&2 and 3&2), handed Europe a major confidence boost as they went into the second day with a 5-3 lead.
The Result
The hosts kept the momentum going on Saturday, winning the fourballs session 3-1 - with star pairing Fleetwood and Molinari maintaining their 100% record in a sensational 4&3 win over Reed and Woods. Europe's new heroes 'Moliwood' then made it four wins from four in the afternoon - a feat never previously achieved by a European pair - by beating Woods once again to inspire Europe to a 10-6 lead.
And despite being unable to win any of the top three singles matches, Europe breezed to victory on Sunday thanks to points from Rahm, Poulter, Olesen, Garcia, Stenson, Noren and of course Open Champion Molinari, who became the first European player to compile a 5-0 record in the Ryder Cup. That saw them win the singles session 7.5-4.5 to close out a seven-point victory in the overall contest.
While the efforts of dream team Molinari and Fleetwood went down in history, it is worth highlighting the contribution made by Europe’s wild cards, who earned a total of nine-and-a-half points. Tony Finau (two) was the only American pick to win a point as Woods, Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau drew a blank.
The Legacy
Europe's win not only silenced the critics and extended their run of home victories to six but it also launched the Ryder Cup careers of three players who have been included in every European team since - Rahm, Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton. With some of Europe's most experienced recent Ryder Cup players missing from the team in 2023, the trio are among the players captain Luke Donald will be counting on to put blue on the board in Rome - and they all got their first taste of the biennial showpiece in France in 2018. And of course, the win will live on courtesy of Bjørn's tattoo. Having said he would get inked if his team beat the USA, video footage circulated of him having a 17 ½–10 ½ scoreline and trophy tattoo. He then tweeted: "I told you I would do it", tagging in some of his victorious team members.
