Few clues after early skirmishes

THE IMPORTANCE of hitting the ground running can’t be overstated. As such, the opening series of foursomes in the Ryder Cup has traditionally provided a strong indicator of the likely destination of the gold trophy that, every two years, brings Europe – the masters in recent times – into combat with the United States. In 15 of the past 18 matches, the eventual victor has claimed the opening foursomes.

There were no clues given yesterday, as Team European and Team USA – to give them their designated titles as sewn into the sides of caps and such other paraphernalia worn in the heat of battle – finished the session level at 2-2: the Europeans claiming the top and bottom matches, the Americans muscling their way to victory in the middle two.

For a time, it appeared as if the pendulum had lodged firmly on the side of Europe, who – at one juncture of play on the front nine – held the lead in all four matches. Once it dislodged, however, the pendulum swung back towards the Americans until, finally, settling for middle ground. All square, and all to play for. Continue on.

Rory McIlroy – targeted by the Americans in much the same way as Europe traditionally set out to conquer Tiger Woods – and Graeme McDowell claimed Europe’s first point with a 1 hole win over Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker, whilst Ian Poulter (surprisingly omitted from the fourballs) and Justin Rose combined for a 2 and 1 win over Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker. Woods was so wild off the tee that it seemed the aid of a GPS navigation system would have been a great assistance.

The two US foursomes wins were delivered by the high-energy partnership of Phil Mickleson and Keegan Bradley – who accounted for Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia by 4 and 3 – and the low-octane pairing of Justin Dufner and Zach Johnson, who overcame a shaky start (two bogeys in their opening four holes) to inflict a 3 and 2 win over Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari.

Poulter and Rose claimed the initiative on the second hole – where Stricker’s tee shot to the par three plonked into the lake – and never relinquished the lead. The basis of their control was consistency rather than anything spectacular, as Woods’s misdemeanours with the driver in hand contributed to much of the Americans’ woes.

As Poulter admitted afterwards, “they got out of position a lot off the tee . . . we got up in the match and we kept momentum on our side.”

Poulter and Rose moved into a three hole lead with a birdie on the 14th but lost the 15th to a birdie and had to show their mettle to get the job done. On the 16th, Poulter holed a 10-footer for par – showing his delight by emitting a scream and double fist pump – to retain the two hole lead and a halved par on the 17th was sufficient to get them over the line.

As he stood over that putt on the 16th, Poulter was aware that putts to halve a hole were as important at that stage. And, of his reaction, Poulter said: “That’s me being me. The Ryder Cup is like no other. You can’t do that in any other situation. It means that much. That’s really how much it means. I’ve seen it over the years with Seve and Ollie and Faldo and all the guys. That’s why the Ryder Cup is special, because you can hole that putt at the right time. Your emotions just come out.”

If Poulter showed his emotions, so too did Bradley and Mickelson. In his Ryder Cup debut, Bradley played as if born for the big show. In inflicting a first-ever foursomes defeat on the Anglo-Spanish pairing of Donald and Garcia, Bradley and Mickelson did it with a stunning stretch on the homeward run.

Having trailed by one hole standing on the ninth tee, the US pair secured back-to-back birdies on ninth (to win) and 10th (to halve) and moved into the lead for the first time when winning the 12th with a par.

It spurred them on to super deeds and they extended the run of winning holes to four by adding the 13th, 14th and 15th – where Garcia duffed a chip into a greenside bunker – to claim an impressive win. Although, the abiding image was not of Bradley or Mickelson fist-pumping, but of Bradley’s caddie – one Steve Pepsi Hale – swinging the flagstick around in jubilation.

Dufner and Johnson had also recovered from a one hole deficit after eight holes to turn their match around, eventually closing the deal on the 16th. “We did exactly what you should do (in foursomes), that was to put yourself in a position to make putts and just keep fighting and staying in the moment . . . our mentalities and our demeanours are very similar,” said Johnson.