Phil Mickelson at Ryder Cup 2014: Score, Recap and Twitter Reaction from Day 1

Day 1 of the Ryder Cup got off to a rousing, surprising start for the United States but ended with a whimper. The underdogs grabbed an early lead, 2.5-1.5, in the morning four-ball matches thanks to the efforts of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley against Sergio Garcia and Rory MciLroy. 

The afternoon session seemed more in line with what the expectations were heading into the day. Mickelson and Bradley fell behind Victor Dubuisson and Graeme McDowell unable to make up the difference, losing 3 & 2. 

Anyone who has watched a round of golf this year knows that Mickelson wasn't at his best. He had just one top-10 finish in 21 PGA Tour events, no wins and missed five cuts. It's the first time since 2003 that Lefty has gone an entire season without winning a singles tournament, so the Ryder Cup is his best chance to salvage a lost year. 

We've got a recap of Mickelson's performance his score from the first day at Gleneagles and reaction from around the Internet. 

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Par	4	5	4	3	4	3	4	4	5
Score	3	-	-	3	4	3	-	4	4
Match Progress	AS	AS	AS	Europe (1 Up)	Europe (1 Up)	Europe (1 Up)	AS	AS	USA (1 Up)
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	3	4	4	4	4	4	5	3	5
Score	-	5	4	-	-	-	-	-	4
Match Progress	USA (2 Up)	USA (1 Up)	USA (1 Up)	AS	AS	Europe (1 Up)	AS	AS	USA (1 Up)

Mickelson and Bradley didn't secure the morning match until the final hole thanks to a birdie putt from Mickelson after Garcia parred the hole for Europe, via SportsCenter:

Even though you can't predict what will happen on a golf course, especially in a match-play format like the Ryder Cup, Tom Watson knew what he was doing by putting Mickelson and Bradley together. According to BBC Radio 5 Live on Twitter, that duo had never lost a match together in this event:

After the morning match, none of the four players was happy with the way they played. Mickelson did say to reporters, via Mark Tallentire of The Guardian, that the momentum change came on No. 16 when Bradley hit an eagle on the par 5 after Garcia birdied the hole:

“We were really struggling there for a while,” Mickelson said, “but what Keegan did there at 16 gave me a huge adrenaline boost but it’s only one point amongst many.”

Butch Harmon, famed instructor who is working with Mickelson, said that he wouldn't have had Mickelson go out for the afternoon session because he's been plagued by injuries this year and didn't look great in the morning, via Jason Sobel of the Golf Channel:

There was some added friendly tension to the first match. According to Owen Gibson of The Guardian, McIlroy is in a legal battle with his former management group and Ryder Cup teammate Graeme McDowell was named in the lawsuit. 

In Gibson's report, Mickelson was asked about the assumption that Americans struggle playing together in this event as only he can by saying, "...not only are we able to play together, we also don’t litigate against each other..."

McIlroy told Ewan Murray of The Guardian that it was all in good fun because he knows "Phil well and we had a couple of laughs about it."

Whether or not that friendly jab was on McIlroy's mind or not, it didn't matter because the Americans got a much-needed early point to ease the pressure on the groups teeing off later in the day. 

That would be the end of good feelings for the United States, unfortunately. Europe came back with three wins in the afternoon sessions to grab a 5-3 lead at the end of Day 1. 

Mickelson still doesn't look right on the course, which is a product of the way he plays and age taking its toll on him. He can still hit one or two of those shots that remind you what has made him great, but those are becoming few and far between. 

Following the day, Mickelson said he won't compete in tomorrow's fourball session, via Golf Central:

The United States has put a lot of eggs in the Mickelson basket, even letting him play in the event despite missing the last three weeks. He was able to hold up his end of the bargain in the morning, but the afternoon was a mess that has left America with a hole to dig out of. 

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