The first United states coupling, Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson, won six of their first eight gaps over John Lawrie and Chris Hanson. The second group, Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley, went three for three on the starting gaps over the globe's No. 1 golf enthusiast, Rory McIlroy, and Graeme McDowell, his wingman from North Eire. The third group out, Dustin Jackson and He Kuchar, missing the first starting to Bieber Increased and Martin Kaymer, but then won four of the next six.
All three categories went on to win their suits here at Medinah Nation Team, western of Chi town, pushing the U.S. to a 5-3 cause after the first day. That is fun.
“This is one of the most psychological times enjoying in a Ryder Cup that we’ll ever have,” Mickelson said. He should know: This was his 9th overall look, splitting the United states history for Ryder Mugs performed in.
Mickelson and Bradley performed together in both classes Saturday and went 2-0. They also seem to have glued as associates. Bradley seemed on the course as if he were trying to discover raw various meats to eat and putted as if losing a golf putt would provide him into raw various meats for his competitors. “Man, can he move the stone,” Mickelson said. “I really like enjoying with Keegan. He just performed so excellent all day and it’s kept me up whole time.”
Mickelson enclosed the success on the par-three Seventeenth starting with a infiltrating seven-iron tee taken to two legs, establishing up an simple birdie golf putt. “Without a question, it’s the biggest taken I’ve ever seen,” Bradley said.
Watson, trying to get the crowd engaged, had his caddy rev up the amount from the collection around the first tee, even though it was already fairly noisy, and purposely hit his tee taken with everyone still shouting. That is the way Bubba desired to move nowadays. “The key factor for us was just about having fun,” he said.
Nobody played better on Friday than the guy most Americans know the least about: Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts, the first Ryder Cupper from that country. With his partner Lee Westwood essentially looking on like a political spouse, Colsaerts rammed home birdie putts from 20 feet, 15 feet, 30 feet, 15 feet, eight feet and, on the 17th hole, 35 feet to singlehandedly give the Americans their only loss in the afternoon matches.
That last birdie on 17 was particularly impressive because Tiger Woods, his opponent, had stopped his tee shot three feet from the hole. Had Colsaerts missed his bomb, the match would have gone to the 18th hole all squared, instead of with Europe one up. His eight birdies and one eagle bested a superb round from Woods (seven birdies) and Steve Stricker (two birdies) by a single hole. Woods missed a 15-foot birdie effort on the 18th green that would have halved the match.
“It was very entertaining. There was a lot of noise this afternoon,” Love said afterward, obviously pleased with his charges. “What we were looking for this mornig was somebody to get it going early in the first couple of groups, get us excited, get the fans excited and thankfully Bubba and Webb did that, and we were off and running.”
A two-point lead after the first day in a Ryder Cup leads more often than not to victory — about two-thirds of the time, historically. “Obviously there’s momentum for the U.S. team right now, but that could all swing back in our favor tomorrow,” Justin Rose said. “In Wales [at the last Ryder Cup in 2010], the Europeans lost every session except one and won, so there’s lots of golf left.”
In Saturday morning’s foursomes, Simpson and Watson will go out together again in the first match at 8:20 a.m. Eastern against Rose and Ian Poulter. Also paired once more, for the third time in three sessions, will be Bradley and Mickelson, taking on Westwood and Luke Donald. Next, Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson, winners on Friday morning, will play Colsaerts and Sergio Garcia. Finally, Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker, who lost together Friday morning on the final hole, will once again take on the pair that beat them: McIlroy and McDowell. Woods will sit out for the first time in his seven Ryder Cup appearances.
