Ryder Cup 2016: Winners and Losers from Day 2

Friday's morning session at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, saw the U.S. side rush out to a 4-0 lead in foursomes play. And if the afternoon session at the 41st Ryder Cup hadn't tilted decidedly in Europe's favor, this could most succinctly be a two-slider: "Winner: U.S" and "Loser: Europe."

Instead, the Europeans battled back, winning three of the four points in four-ball to pull closer on the scoreboard at 5-3 entering the second day of competition. The four-ball session was punctuated by Rory McIlroy's eagle putt and jubilant celebration, breathing life into the European efforts to retain the cup.

Saturday's morning four-ball matches saw the Europeans capture 2.5 points, with only the red-hot Brandt Snedeker/Brooks Koepka duo earning a full point. The Patrick Reed/Jordan Spieth pairing ran out of gas, and captain Clarke's squad entered the afternoon session just a point behind the Americans at 6.5 to 5.5.

The afternoon tilted heavily in favor of the Stars and Stripes late. After McIlroy and Thomas Pieters locked up a point, the three remaining matches on course looked like they could go either way. Ultimately, they all went on way: to the U.S.

Davis Love III's squad will take a 9.5 to 6.5 lead into Sunday singles play.

Read on for the full rundown of winners and losers.

Winner: First-Tee Patriotism

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

A much-anticipated home game for the U.S. Ryder Cup team was always going to draw a crowd of fired-up supporters of the Stars and Stripes. However, Arnold Palmer's death and Danny Willett's brother's article have thoroughly inflamed the faithful, and the atmosphere outside the ropes has rivaled the motley madness of the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open.

And while some fans have crossed the line in remarks directed at Willett and Rory McIlroy, the majority have been impassioned but respectful. So we'll laud the display on the first tee from the gathered faithful as the sun rose: a full-throated rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Arnold Palmer would be pleased.

Loser: Rickie Fowler

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Winless in his first overseas expedition as part of the U.S. Ryder Cup 12 at Gleneagles in 2014, captain's pick Rickie Fowler has run into some trouble this year.

Fowler notched a victory in his morning match Friday with a 1-up win. But the "patron saint of joggers on the golf course" was all over the place in his Saturday morning pairing with Phil Mickelson. Rory McIlroy and Thomas Pieters mowed down the duo to the tune of 4 and 2.

Fowler was rewarded with a seat on the bench in the afternoon session.

Golfweek's Jim McCabe questioned the decision to roster Mickelson-Fowler Saturday morning after a narrowly earned victory Friday: "It was dismal, head-scratching stuff to many who wondered what Love had seen in Mickelson-Fowler Friday to toss them back out."

Mickelson did much better work in the afternoon when paired with Matt Kuchar (and it was his work late in the round Friday that earned the pair a point), leaving Fowler as the lone disappointment of the pair.

Winner: McIlroy-Pieters

COMMMEEE ONNNNNN!!!!! Such was the primal scream from McIlroy Saturday, punctuating point accumulation with a bellow from the belly of his being.

Facing a hostile environment at Hazeltine, McIlroy was both brilliant and animated Friday afternoon. He continued those trends Saturday when paired with rookie Thomas Pieters.

In the morning, McIlroy and Pieters dispensed with a short-circuiting Mickelson/Fowler team, 4 and 2. The afternoon brought more roars from Rory, as McIlroy, again playing with Pieters, dispensed with Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson 3 and 1.

Loser: Brandt Snedeker

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Sneds. We'll give you some recognition here, our mop-haired friend, since your captain, Davis Love III apparently isn't impressed. Love has put Snedeker out in just two of four sessions. However, the Vanderbilt alum, paired with Koepka both times, dominated the competition.

In Friday's afternoon four-ball, Snedeker and Koepka dismantled Martin Kaymer and Danny Willett 5 and 4. Saturday morning, all Snedeker did was (along with Koepka) dispense with Henrik Stenson and Matthew Fitzpatrick 3 and 2.

He's a loser in the sense of "losing out." What gives, DL III?

#LetSnedsPlay

Winner: The Dad Shimmy

Look. A lot of outlets are going to mock Mickelson and Kuchar's celebratory shoulder-shake, but not us. Executed with the fluidity and overall smoothness of dad hitting the floor for a hip-hop song at a wedding, Kuchar and Mickelson broke into this coordinated dance (spasm?) after Kuch poured in a 50-footer for birdie at the 13th to go 2 up.

Here's the thing about coordinated celebrations: They have to fit the celebrators, and this one did that perfectly...in much the same way as the Kuchar-Woods "Carleton" did at the 2013 Presidents Cup.  

Move over, Hillary shimmy.

Loser: Reed-Spieth (Not That They Should Be)

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, emotional and point-earning core of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, picked up where they left off at Gleneagles in their opening match. After that winning effort, however, the pair of young Texans went cold. In their morning foursomes match Saturday, the duo squandered a 4-up lead, losing to Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson 2 up.

Fortunately, Patrick Reed's hole-out kicked Reed-Spieth into another gear, which pushed the pair to a 2-up lead and nudged them on to victory over Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.

Still, after four matches the pair have accumulated 2.5 of 4 points. Relative to the lofty expectations heaped upon the standard-bearers, The Reed-Spieth duo will catch flack for doing anything other than winning or halving every match, and Spieth's lack of contribution to the “team” will get a lot of attention, which isn't really fair, but such is the scourge of the lead tandem.

Winner: Patrick Reed's Eagle Hole-Out

While it would be more poetic if Reed's sixth-hole hole-out for eagle had roused team Reed-Spieth from their slumber, it certainly did propel the red-blooded American duo forward in their battle with Rose and Stenson.

The fifth hole saw Reed-Spieth snag a hole with a birdie three to pull even in the match, and they didn't trail from that point on, en route to a 2 and 1 victory.

Still, the dunk from the sixth hole's fairway was peak Reed turned up to 11 for the Ryder Cup.

Loser: Lee Westwood's Putting Stroke

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Painful stuff to watch. And we're only calling Mr. Westwood in front of the class here to showcase how so much of the Ryder Cup teeters on a knife's edge.

Westwood, who missed a number of short putts Saturday, missed a three-footer that would have halved the match with J.B. Holmes and Ryan Moore. Had Westwood converted, the Europeans would have entered Sunday trailing 9 to 7.

Westwood was a captain's pick, and the 43-year-old hasn't done anything to validate captain Clarke's faith in him. In his only other action outside of the single-handed sabotage of the aforementioned match, Westwood (paired with Pieters) lost to Johnson and Kuchar 5 and 4 in the Friday morning foursomes.