Ryder Cup: America takes one-point lead after Friday morning’s fourballs
Team USA took an early 2½-1½ lead after the Friday morning fourballs at the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson delivered the first point for Europe as they claimed a convincing 5&4 victory over Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson in the top match.
The Europeans got off to a quick start with birdies at the second from Stenson and fourth from Rose putting them in charge and they did not loosen their grip on proceedings.
Two more birdies for the Europeans at the ninth and tenth ensured they could enjoy the back-nine and when Rose stroked home for another at the 14th it was all over.
“That’s the job (to get the first point) when the captain puts you out one. He puts you in to go deliver and that’s what me and the Iceman came to do today,” Rose said afterwards.
“Obviously we got off to a good start, we knew how key that would be with the course playing hard early and managed to steal a few birdies when we could.”
The Americans responded through rookie pairing Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed who won the third match by the same 5&4 scoreline against Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher.
Whilst the American youngsters immediately took to the intense atmosphere at Gleneagles, Gallacher endured a difficult debut and struggled throughout the contest.
The tone was set for Europe by Poulter missing a three-foot par-putt at the first to gift the Americans the lead and they had raced four ahead by the turn.
Further birdies at 10 and 11 extended the advantage to six and, although Europe would take the 12th with a par, it was merely delaying the inevitable which arrived on the 14th green when Poulter left a putt to extend the match short.
It was the Englishman’s first defeat in eight Ryder Cup clashes, stretching back to the opening round of matches at the 2010 event at Celtic Manor.
The visitors then rescued a half-point from the second match on the final green when Jimmy Walker holed for a birdie.
Walker and Rickie Fowler trailed Martin Kaymer and Thomas Bjorn throughout, with the Europeans taking the opening hole and stretching into a 3up lead by the fourth.
The Americans hit back and when Walker holed from the sand at the ninth for an eagle they were just one behind.
Bjorn then chipped in himself at 13 to double the lead, but Walker produced more late heroics to claim a share of the spoils – holing from the sand again at 16 and then making his crucial birdie putt at the last.
The bottom match between Rory McIlroy & Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson & Keegan Bradley proved a topsy-turvy affair which also went down the last.
Garcia had chipped in from a greenside bunker to edge Europe ahead at the sixth only for the Americans to hit back with consecutive birdies at nine and ten moving them two clear.
The American duo then lost their way with pars enough to see Europe win the 11th, 13th and 15th holes before Bradley conjured a marvellous eagle at the 16th to level things up again.
At the par-five 18th neither European was able to do better than par leaving Mickelson to knock in a two-foot birdie putt to pinch the whole point for the visitors.
