Ryder Cup: Team USA storm to 4-0 win in opening foursomes
By Keith Jackson at Hazeltine
Last Updated: 30/09/16 9:53pm
Team USA got off to the perfect start in the 41st Ryder Cup as they produced a crushing clean sweep of the opening foursomes session at Hazeltine National.
Backed by a fervent crowd, Davis Love's side took full advantage of some erratic play from a ragged European line-up and left the holders facing a huge task to retain the trophy.
Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed dealt the opening blow against the star pairing of Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, who putted particularly poorly and managed only a single birdie in a 3&2 defeat in the top match.
Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan looked on course to put some blue on the board when they went two up with four to play against Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler with birdies at the 13th and 14th, but they bogeyed the next, lost the 16th to a birdie and Sullivan then put his tee-shot at the short 17th into the water.
It was the second time in the match that the American pair had won three straight holes after falling two down, and they held on at the last to complete a one up victory - Fowler's first in nine Ryder Cup matches.
Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer edged into an early lead over Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson at the second and the next nine holes were halved, but the match turned when the European pair bogeyed the 12th.
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With confidence raised after drawing level, the home pair won the next two holes with birdies and went three up when the visitors bogeyed the next, and they closed out a 4&2 win at the long 16th.
The bottom match proved to be a torrid debut for Thomas Pieters alongside Lee Westwood, who struggled from the outset and lost five of the first eight holes against an inspired Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar.
A winning par at the ninth was only a brief respite for Darren Clarke's two wildcards as the American pair romped to a crushing 5&4 victory.
A delighted Love said afterwards: "This team have really come together over the last couple of weeks. It's been an emotional trip for this team the way the picks went down. Obviously Arnold's passing was a shock for both teams at the start of the week, and just little things that made this team bond together really well.
"From top to bottom, all 18 of us have really come together and supported each other. It's a good start, but it's long way to go and there's a lot more points out there. We just want to keep doing the same thing over and over every session."
It was a remarkable turnaround in fortunes in the alternate shot format, with Europe winning seven of the eight foursomes at Gleneagles two years ago, and it was Team USA's first foursomes clean sweep since 1981, and their first 4-0 win in an opening session since Arnold Palmer captained the side in 1975.
