Scottie Scheffler: Losing first four Ryder Cup matches one of my lowest moments

World number one Scottie Scheffler described his miserable opening two days of the Ryder Cup as “one of the lowest moments of my career”.

Scheffler made unwanted history by becoming the first American to lose his first four matches after being defeated in the foursomes and fourballs on Friday and Saturday.

The 29-year-old did finally get on the scoreboard when he beat Rory McIlroy in Sunday’s singles as the United States staged an unlikely fightback, which fell just short as Europe held on for a 15-13 victory at Bethpage Black.

The four-time major winner has drawn comparisons with Tiger Woods, who had a notoriously poor record at the Ryder Cup despite his individual domination in the game.

Scheffler said: “My emotions (on Saturday) afternoon when the matches ended, I think it’s hard to put into words how much it hurts to lose all four matches.

“This week did not go how I anticipated it going for myself and I’m a little bit bummed.

“To have the trust of my captains and team-mates to go out there and play all four matches and lose all four, it’s really hard to put into words how much that stings and hurts.

“I’ll go back and reflect on that. But one of the coolest things was these guys picking me up on Saturday night.

“The guys on this team, this is a really special group of guys. We have a special captain and I was proud to be standing there fighting with these guys.

“It was probably one of the lowest moments of my career, but it turned out to be one of the most special, just because I’ve got great friends in this room and I was really proud to be battling with these guys for three days.”

Scheffler’s victory over McIlroy, which came amid a spell where American points were pouring in, was the first time the world numbers one and two had met in a Ryder Cup singles match.

“Things just did not work out the way I anticipated, but I was proud to be able to get a point,” Scheffler added.

“It’s tough, playing all five matches is a grind. Rory and I even chatted about that a little bit. It was a grind and I’m pretty tired, but I’m proud of the fight that our team showed.

“Like you said, it was a difficult week for me personally. I was just proud to get a point up on the board and keep this thing alive for a little bit longer.”