Nicolas Colsaerts’ heroics helped maintain Europe’s challenge after a poor first day for the continent’s golfers at the Medinah Country Club.
Graham Murtagh
Staff Writer
Europe will face an uphill battle to win back the Ryder Cup after a frustrating first day of matches. The piercing blue skies represented much of the blue on show at the Medinah Country Club in Illinois as the scoreboard turned crimson at the end of the day’s fourball matches, with the United States ending the day in a commanding position with a 5-3 lead.
It didn’t begin all that auspiciously for the hosts. The usual pairing of Woods and Stricker in the morning’s foursomes, a revival of a 2010 arrangement, appeared initially to affirm that the Ryder Cup is not a competition that fits the former world number one. Woods blasted a series of drives in the opening round left and right, making the job of Stricker a considerably more difficult one and handing victory 2&1 to Justin Rose and Ian Poulter. Poulter, unlike Tiger, is a confident Ryder Cup performer, and it showed in the early strokes – the usually eccentrically-dressed Englishman might have had his dress sense toned down by the uniform of the competition, but his competence with a putter was not, as he holed out from fifteen feet on the 16th to help seal the match.
Irish interest was kept alive by a Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy win in the opening match. Three up at one stage, opponents Brandt Snedeker and Jim Furyk eroded that lead back to all-square at the 16th but a wayward drive from Snedeker on 18 handed the lead to the Northern Irish duo. In the press conference that followed, McIlroy conceded that it was ‘fortunate’ that things had played out the way they had but even allowing for such fortune to continue, it looked as though the Europeans were taking the match by the horns. Indeed, at one point, the conglomerate of nations was ahead in all four matches.
The Americans were not prepared to lie down all that easily though. The rock-solid pairing of Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald, unbeaten in the foursomes format as a team in the competition, saw that particular ivory tower come tumbling down at the hands of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley. Mickelson and this year’s PGA Champion trounced the Europeans by winning four consecutive holes on the back nine and taking the match 4&3. In the other game, Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari appeared to have the match sown up, quietly and assuredly coming to the 16th hole 1 up with three to play. Errant play from Westwood on that hole handed the match back to Jason Duffner and Zach Johnson.
At the halfway point of day one, the competition was poised at two points apiece. Both Captains (José Maria Olazabal and Davis Love III) made some changes for the afternoon session, and with autumnal crispness in the air, the reassuring snap of ball meeting driver resonated around the first tee, as the untested pairing of Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson took on the American pairing of Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson, major champions both. With the home crowd cheering them on, Watson and Simpson ended the challenge of Hanson and Lawrie with consummate ease, painting red on the scoreboard with a 5&4 win.
It was to be the tale of the afternoon. McIlroy and McDowell went down 2&1 to Mickelson and Bradley, a pairing that by all accounts seems to be working well. Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar made short work of Martin Kaymer and Justin Rose, winning their match as they did 3&2 and dominating for most of that match.
The underperforming Tiger Woods was nonetheless sent out again with Stricker, and the Captain’s confidence in his selection almost proved well placed. Woods displayed flashes of the play that saw him reign supreme for so long at the top of the world rankings, in particular in the closing holes – he rattled home a put from 15ft on the 16th with a certain stroke and, having watched Stricker plough his shot into the water on the tricky Par 3 17th, fizzed an 8 iron to only feet away from the flag on the same hole. It wasn’t to be enough though – Ryder Cup debutante Nicholas Colsaerts (the first Belgian to play in a Ryder Cup) became a talismanic beacon for Europe in what was a poor fourballs afternoon for the team. Shooting with his own ball eight birdies and an eagle in the course of the round, Colsaerts and his playing partner Lee Westwood (showing rather more average form) went on to beat Woods and Stricker 2&1.
As the day closed out, American hopes of retaining the cup were buoyant while the Europeans were left contemplating a scoreboard that, despite showing them as behind, was reasonably merciful in light of the performance. Olazabal will no doubt turn to Colsaerts as inspiration for the rest as the match continues with foursomes this morning.
