Ryder Cup: Thomas Bjorn savours historic foursomes whitewash
By Keith Jackson at Le Golf National
Last Updated: 28/09/18 7:30pm
Thomas Bjorn celebrated a historic day for Europe in the Ryder Cup and insisted he had "no doubts" over Rory McIlroy after his side swept the afternoon foursomes in Paris.
For the second Ryder Cup in succession, Europe endured a torrid first morning and trailed 3-1 at lunchtime, with McIlroy the only man in the fourballs to not record a birdie as he and Thorbjorn Olesen suffered a 4&2 defeat to Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.
Team USA looked capable of repeating their first-session whitewash of two years ago before Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood put the first blue on the board in match four against Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed, who were then left out of the afternoon matches.
And the momentum of that pivotal win sparked a spirited European fightback in the foursomes, with Bjorn's troops earning their first clean sweep in that format, and their first 4-0 win in any session since 1989.
Many expected McIlroy to be omitted from the afternoon line-up after his disjointed display in the morning, but he repaid Bjorn's faith in him as he partnered European talisman Ian Poulter to a resounding 4&2 win over Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson.
Asked if he considered dropping McIlroy, Bjorn said: "I had a plan and I stuck to it for this first day, and I've had it for a few days. That's how I saw the day, and that's how I saw the matches.
"Great players, when they don't perform to the standards that they want to, they have an ability to just go out and put it right, and Rory did that this afternoon. He did it in a match that they got good vibes off each other and did well on the golf course. They got off to a bad start and they turned it around.
"I never have any doubt in Rory McIlroy, because if I start doubting him, then I probably shouldn't be doing this job. I believe in him, and it was great to see his response today. But that's more on him. I was never in doubt that I wanted to have him on the golf course this afternoon.
"It was a bad morning, he didn't play well, but you go again. You go out there and you bring a different type of game. This afternoon, he went out with a guy that he's got history with, they love playing golf together, so they went out and did what they did this afternoon and that was great to see."
Bjorn also paid a glowing tribute to Molinari and Fleetwood, who celebrated his son's first birthday with two wins out of two on his Ryder Cup debut, and the Dane admitted their fourballs win inspired the afternoon rally.
"You've got a former French Open champion and The Open champion, and they just love playing with each other," Bjorn added. "I think they just have a very special bond and relationship, and they have for a long time.
"This morning's session could easily have finished 2-2, but it could also have been a whitewash the other way. So that obviously makes a difference when two guys stand up in the end and hole the putts on 15, 16, 17 to win the match when it really matters. It gives them belief, but also gives their team-mates hope.
"If I'm honest, I think the guys that played at Hazeltine probably feared a little bit at one stage that we would go the same route as there because we knew how much an uphill battle that was.
"So that's not a position we certainly wanted to be in again. So obviously that lifted those guys that were there at Hazeltine. You know, all of a sudden 3-1 didn't seem as bad as 4-0 would have done, certainly."
