Ryder Cup: A Dominant Day For The American Side

The American team, widely regarded as hefty underdogs heading into Friday’s Ryder Cup matches, has jumped out to their best start in almost 20 years. 

The American team started out slowly in both the morning foursomes and the afternoon four-ball matches but caught fire half way through each of the rounds with the help of a frenzied Kentucky crowd. 

Mickelson, who appeared energized by Anthony Kim’s contagious youthful energy, played some of his best Ryder Cup golf in nearly a decade. 

The Mickelson and Kim pairing were the first group out in the morning foursome matches when they faced off against Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson. 

Kim and Mickelson trailed for most of the match and did not gain the lead until the 15th after birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th.

Mickelson and Kim were able to hold on and gain the American team a half point in the first match of the 37th Ryder Cup.

Many were a little surprised by Captain Paul Azinger’s decision to pair Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan together in the second group of the day.

Azinger clearly knew something the rest of us did not, as Leonard and Mahan were the most dominant pairing of the first day’s matches. Leonard and Mahan won 4&3 in their morning foursome match and 3&2 in their afternoon four-ball match.

Mahan caught fire from time to time, as he normally does, and Leonard played smart steady golf all day long, which complimented Mahan lapses, few and far between they may have been. 

Leonard’s steady play allowed Mahan to attack the course and string together a number of birdies and proved to be a devastating combination.  It would be utterly surprising if Leonard and Mahan did not spend tomorrow morning and afternoon paired together again.

The American team holds the lead after the first day of Ryder Cup matches for the first time since 1999.   

As we have seen in many a Ryder Cup as well as on Friday at Valhalla Golf Club, the momentum in these matches can swing at the drop of a hat, so the American team should by no means begin planning their Sunday evening celebration.

But, aside from taking every single match of the day, the American team has gotten off to the most optimal start anyone could have imagined and one can only assume that Saturday’s crowd will be even larger and louder than today’s, if that is even possible to envision.

The Kentucky crowd, newly named the 13th man on the American Ryder Cup team by Azinger, have so far provided an atmosphere rarely seen outside of a NFL playoff game. 

The gallery particularly appeared to get into the head of Lee Westwood as he consistently shook his head on the back nine of his afternoon match against hometown hero J.B Holmes and his partner Boo Weekly.

It was difficult to tell whether Westwood was shaking his head at the crowd, at Weekly’s animated attempts to even further rile up the crowd or by the fact that Holmes drives were constantly flying 50 yards past his.

Whatever the reason may have been, Ryder Cup veteran Lee Westwood had his revenge by sinking a five-foot putt on the 17th and hitting a magnificent approach shot on the 18th, resulting in a half point for the Europeans and briefly taking the momentum away from a downright dominant day for the American side.

With a 5½-to-2½ lead heading into tomorrow’s matches, the American team is no longer the underdog.   

If the American team does not become overly satisfied with their first day’s work and do not head into the weekend matches too casually, they are well on their way to finally regaining the Ryder Cup for the first time in nearly a decade.