Ryder Cup: What to Expect on Saturday

Davis Love III, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, had emphasized before this week’s biennial matches that he wanted his team to stay relaxed and have fun. On Friday afternoon, that happened. After fighting Europe to a 2-2 draw in the morning foursomes, or alternate-shot rounds, the U.S. team blew out of the gates for the afternoon four-ball matches like Usain Bolt.

The first American pairing, Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson, won six of their first eight holes over Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson. The second group, Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley, went three for three on the opening holes over the world’s No. 1 golfer, Rory McIlroy, and Graeme McDowell, his wingman from Northern Ireland. The third group out, Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar, lost the first hole to Justin Rose and Martin Kaymer, but then won four of the next six.

All three groups went on to win their matches here at Medinah Country Club, west of Chicago, propelling the U.S. to a 5-3 lead after the first day. That’s fun.

“This is one of the most emotional days playing in a Ryder Cup that we’ll ever have,” Mickelson said. He should know: This was his ninth appearance, breaking the American record for Ryder Cups played in.

Mickelson and Bradley played together in both sessions Friday and went 2-0. They also seem to have bonded as partners. Bradley looked on the course as if he were trying to find raw meat to eat and putted as if missing a putt would render him into raw meat for his opponents. “Man, can he roll the rock,” Mickelson said. “I just love playing with Keegan. He just played so good all day and it’s kept me up the whole time.”

Mickelson sealed the victory on the par-three 17th hole with a penetrating seven-iron tee shot to two feet, setting up an easy birdie putt. “Without a doubt, it’s the greatest shot I’ve ever seen,” Bradley said.

Watson, trying to get the crowds involved, had his caddy rev up the volume from the gallery surrounding the first tee, even though it was already pretty loud, and deliberately hit his tee shot with everyone still yelling. That’s the way Bubba wanted to roll today. “The key thing for us was just about having fun,” he said.

Nobody played better on Friday than the guy most Americans know the least about: Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts, the first Ryder Cupper from that country. With his partner Lee Westwood essentially looking on like a political spouse, Colsaerts rammed home birdie putts from 20 feet, 15 feet, 30 feet, 15 feet, eight feet and, on the 17th hole, 35 feet to singlehandedly give the Americans their only loss in the afternoon matches.

That last birdie on 17 was particularly impressive because Tiger Woods, his opponent, had stopped his tee shot three feet from the hole. Had Colsaerts missed his bomb, the match would have gone to the 18th hole all squared, instead of with Europe one up. His eight birdies and one eagle bested a superb round from Woods (seven birdies) and Steve Stricker (two birdies) by a single hole. Woods missed a 15-foot birdie effort on the 18th green that would have halved the match.

“It was very entertaining. There was a lot of noise this afternoon,” Love said afterward, obviously pleased with his charges. “What we were looking for this mornig was somebody to get it going early in the first couple of groups, get us excited, get the fans excited and thankfully Bubba and Webb did that, and we were off and running.”

A two-point lead after the first day in a Ryder Cup leads more often than not to victory — about two-thirds of the time, historically. “Obviously there’s momentum for the U.S. team right now, but that could all swing back in our favor tomorrow,” Justin Rose said. “In Wales [at the last Ryder Cup in 2010], the Europeans lost every session except one and won, so there’s lots of golf left.”

In Saturday morning’s foursomes, Simpson and Watson will go out together again in the first match at 8:20 a.m. Eastern against Rose and Ian Poulter. Also paired once more, for the third time in three sessions, will be Bradley and Mickelson, taking on Westwood and Luke Donald. Next, Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson, winners on Friday morning, will play Colsaerts and Sergio Garcia. Finally, Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker, who lost together Friday morning on the final hole, will once again take on the pair that beat them: McIlroy and McDowell. Woods will sit out for the first time in his seven Ryder Cup appearances.