The USA take a 4-0 lead against Europe in the Ryder Cup after the opening day foursomes
Friday 30 September 2016 20:21, UK
The United States took a dominant 4-0 lead after the opening foursomes of the Ryder Cup. Here's the best and worst of the action and a look at how each individual match unfolded...
The 41st Ryder Cup got off to a rollicking start at Hazeltine National with the DJ blasting Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" before the sun had risen to fire up the home crowd.
There was an amphitheatre-type setting on the opening tee with a rowdy gallery serving as the backdrop.
Europe were aiming to win their fourth straight Ryder Cup having won eight of the last 10 to dominate the past two decades in the biennial team golf rivalry, but the morning session ended up turning into a nightmare for Darren Clarke's side.
Friday's foursomes
Match 1
Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed beat Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose 3&2
Olympic champion Rose and Open champion Stenson were drowned out by the patriotic home crowd and opening American pair Spieth and Reed. The Europeans went one down at the second hole and were trailing by three by the time they reached the ninth. They won that hole but could not claw back the gap and Reed completed the job for Team USA when he drained another big putt, this time at the 16th, to seal the win.
Opening tee shot
When Europe's Justin Rose stepped up to hit the first drive in the foursomes the crowd fell silent and you could hear the proverbial pin drop. Rose, with a cheeky wink to the television cameras, smashed a perfect drive down the middle and was his effort was matched by USA opponent Reed.
Best Quote
"Any time you are take on Rose and Stenson, it's never simple," Reed told reporters. "We had a great game plan coming in, we stuck with it. Just hit a lot of greens. In alternate shot you have to do that, give yourself opportunities. And we were lucky enough to be able to hit a lot of greens and have good looks."
Match 2
Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler beat Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan 1 UP
McIlroy sank birdie putts to win the par three 13th and par four 14th to put him and Sullivan two up over Mickelson and Fowler but they bogeyed the 15th and lost the next to a birdie before Sullivan found water off the tee on the 17th.
The Americans had won three straight holes to scrape through a fluctuating contest.
Lefty plays right-handed, badly
Mickelson didn't have much of a choice given the tight situation he was in. Mickelson and Fowler were already one down when the five-time major champion hooked his tee shot out-of-bounds on the par five sixth hole. Fowler nearly did the same on his tee shot (the third shot), except it stopped next to the fence.
Mickelson's only choice was to flip around a wedge and play it right-handed. It squirted badly left toward the gallery leaving some of the spectators jumping for cover. They didn't finish the hole.
A lot of heart
"It was a lot of heart, a heart that went out with two-down and four to go," said Mickelson, competing this week in his 11th Ryder Cup. "It was a match where I didn't drive the ball well. It was a match where I felt more pressure in any Ryder Cup than I felt heading into this one because of the last two years and the build up."
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Match 3
Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson beat Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer 4&2
The European combination of Spain's Garcia and Germany's Kaymer won the second hole with a par and halved the next nine to stay one up through 11 holes on American major winners Johnson and Walker.
The Europeans lost the 12th on a bogey and then the Americans rose to the challenge by winning five on the trot to complete a sensational victory.
What a finish...
Kaymer's missed par putt at the 12th brought the match back to all square. Johnson hit it close at the next for Walker to put the USA ahead for the first time and they won the next four holes in a remarkable finish.
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Match 4
Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar beat Thomas Pieters and Lee Westwood 5&4
US Open champion Johnson and Rio Olympic bronze medallist Kuchar won five of the first eight holes before England's Westwood and Belgium's Pieters took the ninth to leave the US duo four up. In total, they needed only 14 holes to put away the European duo in a demolition job.
Best and worst
After Johnson holed from 30 feet for birdie on the fifth, Europe were already staring at a heavy defeat when the usually reliable Westwood drove into the water at the seventh on the way to a double-bogey six. Europe were four down and a birdie for Johnson at the next put the USA in a commanding position
Costumes and sing songs
It is a Ryder Cup tradition for fans to wear costumes and Hazeltine was no different with over 51,000 fans crammed around the greens before high noon for the first day of matches. A fan in a boxer Rocky costume was front and centre in the grandstand and another dressed as Elvis with a sign "Win it for Arnie" had a prime standing position on the ropes along the first fairway.
Thousands packed into the grandstand, with the American chants of "USA! USA!" drowning out the familiar European "Ole! Ole ole ole!" song. One supporter was bizarrely dressed as former American president Abraham Lincoln with the Stars and Stripes draped around his shoulders. A brief video tribute to the late Arnold Palmer was played before the first group started as the partisan American crowd chanted "I believe that we will win!"
