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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — No. 1 in the world is 0-2 at this Ryder Cup, and Scottie Scheffler had the worst first day by a top-ranked player since Tiger Woods.

Scheffler lost again in foursomes — and as always in that format at the Ryder Cup, lost badly — in the morning with Russell Henley, then went back out with U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun for a loss in fourballs in the afternoon.

By himself, Scheffler is winning more often than anyone in golf. But his teams were behind nearly throughout both his matches Friday, and with Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau, their two biggest stars, both going 0-2, the Americans trailed Europe 5½ to 2½ overall.

Scheffler finally seemed to find his game late in the afternoon match, with three birdies in the final four holes of the match. But he didn’t have any until the 13th hole as Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka built a comfortable lead, and the European duo went on to a 3-and-2 victory.

“We gave ourselves plenty of opportunities,” Scheffler said. “It really just came down to me not holing enough putts. We put up a good fight at the end.”

He fell to 0-4-2 in his last six Ryder Cup matches, becoming the first No. 1 player in the world to go 0-2 on the opening day since Woods in 2002. Woods also did that in 1999; Ian Woosnam in 1991 is the only other top-ranked player to do it.

Scheffler and Henley were defeated 5 and 3 by Europe’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Åberg in the morning, Scheffler’s third blowout loss in three career foursome matches in the Ryder Cup.

Two years after being left in tears when Åberg and Viktor Hovland routed Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9 and 7 in Rome in the shortest foursomes match in Ryder Cup history, Scheffler watched Fitzpatrick and Åberg make seven birdies in 15 holes.

Scheffler has trailed by at least four holes in all three of his Ryder Cup foursomes matches.

“We just didn’t hole enough putts early,” Scheffler said. “We had some chances. I think the putts just didn’t fall.”

The afternoon match seemed to swing when one of his didn’t on No. 8.

He and Spaun were 1 down and Scheffler hit his tee shot on the par three to about eight feet. Rahm made his putt from about twice as long and Scheffler missed, turning the Americans’ hopes of evening the match into a 2-up lead for Europe.

Rahm and Straka would never let the U.S. back into it, making five birdies in the final six holes.

“The guys just really turned it on on the back nine, but it really came down to us not taking advantage of the holes early in the match that we needed to,” Scheffler said. “But overall it was a good fight at the end, and we’ll come back out tomorrow.”

Scheffler has won six times this year, four more than anyone else on the PGA Tour, with two major championships. He has played himself back into tournaments after slow starts before, and maybe his performance on the final few holes gives him some momentum going into Saturday.

U.S. captain Keegan Bradley sent Scheffler and Henley out second, after DeChambeau and Justin Thomas. While the leadoff duo was the high-profile match of the morning, the one after might’ve appeared to be the best U.S. team.

Henley is No. 3 in the world ranking, and he and Scheffler went 2-1 together last year in the Presidents Cup in Montreal.

Scheffler pumped his fist after rolling in a birdie putt on No. 2 to quickly tie the match after Fitzpatrick and Åberg had won the opener, but there wouldn’t be much more to celebrate for the Americans. The Europeans ran off three straight birdies to win Nos. 4-6 to build a 3-up lead that ballooned to 5 up, and won it when the U.S. made bogey on No. 15.

“They played great, gave themselves a lot of chances and just was a little sloppy,” Henley said. “Didn’t make the putts I needed to and didn’t really keep the momentum going with the ball-striking on the back nine, either. Hung in there as best I could, but they played great.”

Scheffler also lost 4 and 3 with Sam Burns against Rahm and Tyrell Hatton in his other foursomes match in 2023, when he went 0-2-2. He didn’t play in either match in his Ryder Cup debut in 2021, when he went 2-0-1.

Mahoney writes for the Associated Press.

DEAR DEIDRE: WHENEVER I check into a hotel with my lover for sex, I feel judged by the staff and guilty about cheating on my husband.

I can see them glancing at each other, whispering that I’m a cheat, and laughing at me when they think I’m not looking at them.

But I’m not a bad person. I just want to be loved and wanted, and my husband doesn’t appreciate me.

I’m in my mid-thirties and have been married for five years. My husband is ten years older. He is a nice guy and I love him, but our sex life is rubbish and he bores me.

Last year, I was so frustrated and unhappy that I started browsing hook-up sites. I didn’t want a relationship, just sex and excitement.

I found a guy there who, like me, was unhappily married.

We agreed to meet in a seedy hotel on the outskirts of town for sex. The first time, it was thrilling. I felt like I was playing a role in a film. The sex was rough and energetic, and I really enjoyed it.

But afterwards, my lover — who is my age — cuddled me for about 30 seconds. Then he jumped up to shower, as he had to go back to his wife.

I felt grubby. But the feeling soon passed, and it wasn’t long before we then repeated the experience.

Now we meet whenever it’s convenient. We don’t have meals out or dates — it’s purely sex.

But I’ve started feeling increasingly used and guilty.

When you walk into a hotel in the middle of the day and check out an hour or so later, everyone knows why you’re there. It’s humiliating.

I’ve realised cheating isn’t making me any happier. But I also need to feel wanted.

What should I do?

DEIDRE SAYS: You’ve tried to fill the big void in your marriage with no-strings sex.

But sex with your lover is empty, and so it can’t fill anything. Instead, it’s making you feel more unhappy, and worse about yourself.

Perhaps it’s time to put an end to your affair before you and your lover get discovered by one of your spouses.

If you love your husband, it’s worth putting your energies into improving your relationship. My support pack, Looking After Your Relationship, should help.

Seeing a couple therapist will give you a safe space to talk about the problems in your marriage and sex life.

You can set up an appointment with Tavistock Relationships (tavistockrelationships.org, 020 7380 1975).

If this doesn’t work, or isn’t an option, perhaps you need to think about ending your marriage.

THANK YOU FOR HELP ESCAPING MY ABUSIVE MALE PAL

DEAR DEIDRE: WHEN I found myself in a toxic situation with a male friend who had sexually assaulted me several times, I didn’t know what to do.

I was confused because we’d stayed close after he did it the first time, and I felt I’d encouraged him by getting drunk, dancing and flirting.

He’d touch my breasts and private parts, force me to kiss him and take his clothes off uninvited. We’d been pals since we were students. I’m 32, he’s 33.

After the assaults, he’d always apologise and promise it wouldn’t happen again. You were so understanding and made me see it wasn’t my fault.

You advised me to contact Rape Crisis (rapecrisis.org.uk, 0808 500 2222) for support and to think about reporting him to the police.

You also acknowledged how ending my friendship would be hard, and helped me think about how I could make my life better, improve my self-esteem so I was less vulnerable and stop feeling lonely.

And you followed up to see if I was OK. I did go to the police and learned I wasn’t the only woman he’d assaulted.

Although I’m still struggling, I am now getting help.

I know it will take a long time to deal with what I’ve been through.

Thank you for being there, Deidre.

DEIDRE SAYS: Hopefully he won’t now be able to do this to another woman. It will take time for the pain to ease, but you are brave and strong.

ONLINE BOYFRIEND WILL NOT SHOW ME HIS FACE

DEAR DEIDRE: MY relationship is in trouble – although so far we have only chatted online, and he is too shy to even show his face.

He is an influencer and I’ve become super-jealous of all his female fans.

We connected on Instagram six months ago. We’re both in our late twenties and live hundreds of miles apart.

We soon moved on from DMs to WhatsApp and quickly realised we were falling for each other.

So, we agreed to be in an exclusive long-distance relationship.

We message back and forth all day, every day and talk about everything. I feel like we know each other inside out – he’s my soulmate.

But even though I’d quite like to do a video call some time, he says he’s too shy, and he always chickens out at the last minute.

That really bugs me because he’s not too shy to make content for his fans – most of whom are other girls.

We argue about it a lot and I can’t help feeling jealous. He says he doesn’t know them, and that I’m the one he loves.

He talks a lot about the future and how we’re going to get married – even though we haven’t set a date to meet.

But I worry he’s going to fall for one of his thousands of fans.

What can I do to cope with this better?

DEIDRE SAYS: It’s strange that your boyfriend is confident enough to make video content for his fans, but too shy to show his face to the woman he professes to love.

I’m afraid to say, that’s ringing alarm bells for me. I wonder if he’s not the person you think he is and doesn’t want you to find out.

Long-distance relationships can work, but you do need to meet up at some point, or there’s no future.

Perhaps you need to ask him to be really honest with you about why he refuses to show you his face.

My support pack, Love Online, has more information about this which may be of help to you.

The average price of a house in this seaside town is much lower than the national average, making it a property hotspot for Brits looking to live by the coast

Seaside living remains a cherished aspiration for many people who dream of leisurely strolls along the beach after a hard day at work. Yet for many, this remains nothing more than a tantalising fantasy that stays frustratingly beyond their grasp.

Northumberland’s Newbiggin-By-The-Sea certainly seems to be riding a wave of popularity at the moment – and if house hunters leave it much longer they might just be priced out. The most affordable property currently advertised on Rightmove within the North East town is a three-bed end of terrace property on Lynwood Avenue, listed for auction with a guide price of £40,000. Meanwhile, another three-bedroom house on the same street is listed for sale at £69,950. Whether you’re planning a move or just curious about local property prices, our interactive map shows the house prices in each area of the country.

The typical selling price in the town stands at merely £129,063, which represents considerably less than half Britain’s average property cost of £282,000, according to statistics from last year, as per the Express. Lawrence Jones works as a refuse collector for Newcastle City Council and became enchanted with the town four years ago. He lives with his wife Michelle Jones, having moved from Shiremoor.

He said: “We sold our house and the idea was to move to Durham – but Newbiggin was the only place we could get a rental. Twenty years ago I wouldn’t have been impressed as it was a little bit rough.”

However, Lawrence now treasures his new residence so deeply that within three months of arriving, he purchased a property which he claims has rocketed in value. He added: “You walk along the promenade and everybody speaks to you. It is so friendly.”

Ian and Sally Boot are from Nottingham and were in Newbiggin for the day, visiting their son who lives in nearby Blyth. Both agree if their daughter was to also move to the area they’d take the plunge in a flash. Retired engineer Ian said: “I think it’s nice – there’s free parking, a new cafe and it’s nice up the coast in Amble and Bamburgh. Retired civil servant Sally said: “It’s quiet and that’s why we have come today. We thought we would have a quiet day and it’s nice and peaceful.

Marion Longstaff, has run business Pretty Things By The Sea since 2018 after relocating from Windermere in the Lakes. She said: “It is still cheaper than the prices in Amble – it’s a hidden gem. Southerners are definitely taking an interest. After lockdown they were coming up for a break – one couple [I met] came up for a long weekend and fell in love. They sold up their property but haven’t found a property they want here yet as they were gazumped.”

Marion says she will never leave the little seaside enclave and says the coastline is “just my medicine. ” Fellow local business owner Annie, a former mechanical engineer, originally from Manchester, has lived in the town for 35 years. She said: “I just like village life and everybody knows everybody. Everybody is very, very friendly. People come on holiday and then they love it here.”

Andy Brown runs Jackson’s Jewellers and More on the main shopping stretch which is packed with independent shops. He said: “I think the village itself has evolved and people should take note. There is a large variety of shops, all independent, as the rents and rates are all reasonable. The place is also kept as clean as a whistle and the people are beautiful.”

Andy said a few decades ago the area was perceived as “rough” but it “always had massive potential” that is finally being realised. Dawn Duddridge, a sales negotiator at local estate agent Rickard, says the market in Newbiggin is booming.

She said: “Properties there don’t hang around much, especially on the seafront. “”Often people who have been here on holiday come up from the south and buy a house outright – and have still got a decent amount in the bank.”

Happy Birthday, America!

Today, you turn 249 and, honestly, you don’t look a day over 248. (Ha ha.)

Seriously, it’s perfectly understandable why there’s more gray on your scalp and deeper worry lines on your face. This last year has been challenging, to say the least.

A convicted felon and adjudicated sex abuser was elected president — history made! — and ever since has worked tirelessly and diligently to establish himself as the nation’s first monarch, and a fabulously remunerated one at that.

Federal troops are occupying the nation’s second-largest city, over the objection of the state’s leaders, as masked agents scoop people off the streets of Southern California for the temerity of venturing out with brown skin and an accent.

Our social safety net is being shredded, the country is pulling back from its international leadership in the arts and science, and we’ve squandered our global standing as a beacon of hope and compassion.

But that’s not all.

Political violence is becoming about as familiar and normalized as schoolyard shootings. In roughly the last 12 months we’ve witnessed two attempts on Trump’s life and the assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband.

Medicaid, the program that serves millions of the needy, elderly and disabled, is on the chopping block. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which helps Americans weather the worst times after natural disaster, has been drastically depleted just as we’re heading into the fire and hurricane seasons.

As for the loyal opposition, Democrats are in bad odor with voters and even many of their own partisans after Joe Biden’s handlers gaslighted the public on the frailty and declining faculties of the octogenarian president.

Only after a cataclysmically bad debate performance, which revealed his infirmities for all to see, did Biden grudgingly stand aside in favor of his anointed successor, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Once more, Democrats are wandering the wilderness, wearing a familiar groove in their desolate pathway as they debate — again — whether to veer left or hug the center.

That’s quite the catalog.

But no one ever said this representative democracy thing was going to be easy, or endlessly uplifting.

America, you’re a big, boisterous nation of more than 342 million people, with all sorts of competing impulses and interests, and no end of certitude to go around.

In our last presidential election, we split nearly evenly, with Trump squeaking past Harris in the popular vote 49.8% to 48.3%. It was one of the narrowest margins of victory in the last century, though you wouldn’t know it from Trump’s radical actions and the servility of the Republican-run Congress.

But our differences go even deeper than the now-familiar gulf between red and blue America.

In a recently completed deep dive on the state of our democracy, researchers at UC Berkeley found an almost even divide over how to measure our political system’s success.

Slightly more than half of those surveyed said a successful democracy is one that’s adaptable and has the capacity for change, while nearly half said success stems from adherence to long-standing principles.

With that kind of stark disagreement on such a fundamental question, is it any wonder we struggle to find consensus on so much else?

But, heck, if it’s any consolation on this star-spangled holiday, the country has been through worse. Much worse. And you, America, have not only survived but also in many ways grown stronger by facing down your flaws and overcoming some knee-buckling challenges.

Slavery. Civil war. Racist exclusionary laws. Two worldwide conflicts. Depression. Financial crises. And too many deadly natural disasters — floods, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes — to possibly count.

Your treatment of some Americans, it should be said, hasn’t always been fair and just.

People are despairing over the Supreme Court and its deference to the president. But it’s worth noting that earlier court majorities held that Black Americans — “beings of an inferior order,” in the words of the notorious Dred Scott decision — could be denied citizenship, that racial segregation was constitutional and that compulsory sterilization based on eugenics was perfectly legal.

That sordid history won’t necessarily make anyone feel better about the current state of affairs, nor should it. But it does give some perspective.

All of that said, today’s a day to celebrate the good things and the bright, shining place you aspire to be, with liberty and justice for all. So, chin up, America! Have another slice of birthday cake, and don’t worry about the calories — you really do look terrific for 249!

Meantime, it’s up to us, your citizens, to keep working toward that more perfect union. Whatever ails you, America, the remedy resides with we the people and the power we hold, particularly at the ballot box. Unhappy with the wrecking crew that’s chain-sawing federal programs and allowing Trump to blowtorch the Constitution and rule of law? Vote ‘em out, starting with the 2026 midterm election.

Don’t give up hope or the belief that, as dark and difficult as things seem right now, better days lie ahead.

That abiding faith is what makes America great.

THIS is the first photo of the homeless man arrested over a vicious random stabbing at a popular Spanish holiday airport.

The victim was stabbed “a few centimetres” from the carotid artery in his neck in the attack at Majorca’s Palma Airport – used by hundreds of thousands of Brits every year.

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The Sun can reveal this picture of the 45-year-old suspect – a Salvadoran man thought to be one of the dozens of homeless people who sleep rough in the airport each night.

It shows Carlos Heriberto Beltran Perdomo being hauled into a police van to be taken to court, where he faces a likely attempted murder charge.

As of Thursday afternoon, Perdomo was under formal investigation but had not been officially charged over the assault.

Police revealed Perdomo had no fixed address after arresting him on Tuesday morning – moments after the stabbing.

They found a weapon in his pocket which they believe was the shank used in the attack.

The airport-sleeper refused to testify in court and was remanded in custody before an investigating judge on Wednesday.

Sources said they believe Perdomo lashed out while high on drugs after his mobile phone disappeared.

They say he became agitated while he was going through his belongings at the airport after getting off a bus.

The victim is Argentinian man who had gone to the airport with a friend who was collecting a relative. 

He told police he was approached by a “scruffy” looking man wearing a green shirt and shorts as he returned to the carpark who asked him: “What do you know about my mobile?”

Chilling CCTV images handed to investigators show the alleged attacker walking among crowds of holidaymakers behind the stab victim.

The attack occurred amid reports about a worrying rough sleeping epidemic plaguing Spanish airports.

These concerns led to night-time restrictions being introduced at Madrid’s Barajas Airport to stop around 400 homeless people bedding down there.

Detectives said in their first comments about the Palma airport attack: “The incident happened at 10.35am on Tuesday outside the airport arrivals area next to the car park.

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“A young man was stabbed in the neck and suffered a wound a few centimetres from the artery which required several stitches.

“The victim was walking with a friend towards the car park after having gone to meet a relative in arrivals when they were approached by a stranger.

“The suspect asked them about his mobile and then pounced on his victim brandishing a knife which he used to stab him in the neck.

“The young man tried to repel the attack and stop his assailant continuing to stab him, asking for help from security guards who were in the area and managed to restrain the knifeman.”

The alleged aggressor is being represented by a Majorcan based lawyer called Ivan Garcia Lopez.

Mr Lopez confirmed yesterday his client had been remanded in jail and was being investigated on suspicion of attempted murder.

He added: “I am working on trying to secure his release on bail.”

The Sun can today reveal that the arrested man was already known to Spanish police following previous detentions i including one in Ibiza last year.

He is thought to work as a chef in a Majorcan tourist resort, even though he has no fixed address.

A source close to the investigation said: “He was claiming after his arrest his mobile had disappeared after he got off a bus at the airport when he took it out for a moment to search for something in his pocket.

“It looks like the victim was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and happened to be the first person the alleged offender came across and asked about his phone.

“It was completely random. The victim could have been anyone of any nationality.”

Police requested a restraining order for the suspect, banning him from Palma Airport, before he was remanded in custody.

The request was on the basis that millions of holidaymakers use the airport facilities every day and attacks on strangers massively impact tourist security.

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The suspect has not been formally charged with any crime at this stage – as is normal in Spain where charges are only laid shortly before trial.

But he has been warned he could be jailed for up to ten years if convicted of attempted murder.

Urgent action is being demanded over the homelessness situation at a number of popular Spanish airports, including the ones in Majorca and Malaga.

The problem is said to be causing not only humanitarian issues but safety and health fears too.

At Madrid’s Barajas airport more than 400 people are reportedly sleeping rough, with many going out to work or beg during the day and returning each night.

That airport also had to be fumigated last week to treat an infestation of bedbugs, fleas and cockroaches.