Ryder Cup Recap: USA storms into 4-0 lead
If U.S. captain Davis Love III was looking for a fast start, then mission accomplished.
The United States got off to perfect 4-0 start in its quest to regain the Ryder Cup, inflicting its first opening-session whitewash on Europe since 1975, courtesy of a stunning sweep in the initial foursomes at Hazeltine.
By comparison, Europe won six and halved two of the eight alternate-shot contests at Gleneagles two years ago, en route to its third successive triumph.
But it was a very different story Friday.
“They’ve come together the last couple of weeks,” Love said. “Little things have made this team bond together.”
Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed beat Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose — who won each of their three matches together in 2014 — 3 and 2, and moments later Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar closed out a 5 and 4 victory over out-of-sorts Lee Westwood and Ryder Cup rookie Thomas Pieters.
“This guy’s playing so good,” Kuchar said of Johnson, “I think anyone could partner with him and win. Where he drives it, it’s fun to pay the hole from.”
And there was further misery to come for Europe as it also suffered defeat in two contests from which it had looked set to take points.
Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan were two up on Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler with four holes to play, but the American duo then won three holes in a row — for the second time in the match — to dramatically turn things around, before halving the last to claim an unlikely 1-up win.
Meanwhile, in match three, Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson finished strongly, too, to come from one down and beat Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer 4 and 2.
The Americans last won the first session of a Ryder Cup 4-0 back in 1975, when their opponents were Great Britain and Ireland. The late Arnold Palmer, whose death last weekend prompted a string of tributes in the build-up to this event, was the captain of that American side.
The 4-0 session was only the fifth in U.S. Ryder Cup history: 1947, ’63, ’75, ’81 and now 2016. The last sweep by either team was by the Europeans in 1989.
