Europe lead by 2.5 points to 1.5 points after today’s fourball matches. In many respects, the matches turned out as expected but I think the Europeans should feel a little frustrated not to have been further ahead given the relatively poor play of Woods & Mickelson.
The pairings of Casey & Karlsson and Garcia & Olazabal both completed the holes they played in 8 under par for the better ball score but yet this delivered just 1.5 points. This was primarily due to the fightback led by JJ Henry in the second match who emphatically won the best US rookie accolade with Brett Wetterich really struggling to make an impact. Afterwards, Robert Karlsson felt that a halved match was a fair result but I’m sure Woosie will see that as a half point dropped.
Equally, Monty & Harrington were given multiple chances to take advantage of Tiger Wood’s surprisingly bad play but time after time failed to make putts. Woods played some good golf around the turn, with birdies on 8, 11 & 12 but otherwise struggled mightily. Furyk’s steady play kept the US in the game and in the end, was enough to claim an easy point for the US team.
Darren Clarke deserves huge credit for the manner in which he combined with Lee Westwood to record a crucial victory in the bottom game, exploiting the ordinary display from Mickelson. Clarke’s opening birdie will be one of the highlights of the tournament and he delivered also on the 16th to put the Europeans ahead.
Overall, the course was the winner of the morning session with ten balls landing in the water and the trees and bunkers capturing many more. When the sun shone, as it did for most of the morning, the scene was spectacular and no doubt brought huge relief and pleasure to those who have toiled for years to make this event happen.
Technorati tags ryder cup, golf
