Of course, Scheffler is far from solely responsible for the foursomes defeats.

His partner Russell Henley did not cover himself in much glory during Friday’s 4&3 beating by European pair Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Henley is fourth in a world ranking system skewed by the omission of LIV golfers, but looked shaky on his Ryder Cup debut.

Even Scheffler – whose game is based on consistent driving and metronomic irons – could not dig them out of trouble.

“Scheffler and Henley certainly failed to fire but the European performance was perfect,” said former European Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson, who is analysing the Bethpage action for BBC Radio 5 Live.

“They made the Americans earn everything and they really couldn’t come up with the goods.

“The Americans put on a little spell at the end there, they had a little bit of life coming but it just wasn’t enough and it was far too late.”

Scheffler was bullish afterwards, saying he felt his pairing did “some good things”.

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

On Friday afternoon, Scheffler was unable to make amends in the fourballs alongside debutant JJ Spaun as they were beaten 3&2 by Rahm and Sepp Straka.

Again, Scheffler blamed his failings with the putter – the weakest part of his game – even though he did rally with a couple of late birdies.

Scheffler and his long-time buddy Henley have been given the chance to redeem themselves in the Saturday foursomes, with US captain Keegan Bradley insisting Scheffler remains in “great spirits”.

Trailing by three points, the hosts are relying on some statement performance. Especially from their standout talent.