SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Chasing its first Ryder Cup victory on the road in 25 years, the United States took an early 3-1 lead by winning three of the four opening matches at Le Golf National on Friday.
It was a morning full of momentum swings, chip-ins and splashdowns on the watery Albatros Course. But the United States was able to grab the early momentum against Europe.
It was not quite as dominant a start as in 2016, when the Americans swept the opening session to take a 4-0 lead on their way to victory at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. But it was an undeniably promising beginning for captain Jim Furyk’s American team in the first Ryder Cup to be staged in France.
The Americans’ only defeat came when Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed lost 3 & 1 to Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood in the last of the first-session four-ball matches. Fleetwood, a hirsute Englishman playing in his first Ryder Cup, took control of the match for good by holing birdie putts at 15 and 16 to win both holes. Molinari, the reigning British Open champion, closed out the victory with another birdie at 17.
Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau of the United States rallied to defeat Justin Rose and Jon Rahm, 1-up. Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler took command on the back nine to defeat Rory McIlroy and Thorbjørn Olesen, 4 & 2. And in the wildest ride of the morning, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas took an early 3-up lead against Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton on the strength of Spieth’s brilliant putting, only to lose the lead before recovering to close out a 1-up victory when Spieth holed a 3-foot par putt on the 18th after Thomas knocked his approach shot into the water.
All eight teams in the morning were first-time pairings in the Ryder Cup. But that does not mean the players were unfamiliar with their partners’ games. Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player, and Fowler are friends and frequent practice partners, and they combined to score the first point of the event.
McIlroy, a four-time major champion and one of Europe’s longtime leaders, failed to make a single birdie in a better-ball format that encourages players to be bold. Olesen, a Ryder Cup rookie from Denmark who was the last player to qualify for the European team, was forced to carry more of the load than expected. Though he produced some sparkling shots, he and McIlroy could not hold off Johnson and Fowler on the back nine.
“An embarrassing morning for him,” said Nick Faldo, the former English star and European Ryder Cup captain, of McIlroy.
The bounce of the morning also went the Americans’ way. Finau, a Ryder Cup rookie who has become a force in 2018, hit a tee shot on the par-3 16th that looked to be headed for the water, only to bounce high off a wooden bulkhead and end up 5 feet from the hole. He made that birdie putt to win the hole and even the match with two holes to play.
“I said, ‘Get lucky somehow,’” Finau said. “That’s what I was thinking in my head. Fortunately I did. That was a huge break for us.”
The one downbeat early note for the Americans was Woods’s and Reed’s defeat. Woods, 42, arrived in France the day after winning the Tour Championship in Atlanta: his first tour victory in five years. Reed has been a fiery on-course leader for the Americans since his Ryder Cup debut in 2014 and earned the nickname Captain America after his demonstrative, effective performance at Hazeltine in 2016.
But he and Woods could ultimately not keep pace with Fleetwood and Molinari, and Furyk chose not to use Woods or Reed in the afternoon alternate-shot session on Friday.
Source : NYtimes
