T
he United States took the lead as the Friday fourballs were finally concluded on Saturday morning.
America finished 2½ – 1½ ahead as the six foursome matches immediately got underway at Celtic Manor.
Play began at 8.00am with Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer with a slender one shot advantage over Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. The pairing matched each other with birdies on the par-five 11th but it was Westwood’s three on the dog-leg right 15th that put the Europeans two up. Mickelson bogeyed the next hole and Europe’s first point was on the board with a three-and-two victory.
Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell began two behind against Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar but McIlroy made a bridie-two at the par-three 13th to pull a shot back.
Cink’s putter wasn’t on the form of yesterday evening and it was Kuchar that recorded the pair’s only birdie of the remaining holes – on the par-four 15th. Without Cink’s hot putter the Northern Irishmen drew level as McIlroy sunk a big putt on the par-three 17th.
The match became the first to go down the showpiece 18th, perfectly poised all-sqaure. Both Cink and McIlroy attempted to find the green with their second shots; neither could and the match was halved.
The bottom match went easily to the American pair of Bubba Watson – who birdied four in a row from the 9th to the 12th – and Jeff Overton. Two birdies for Luke Donald – on the par-five 11th and four-four 15th – couldn’t prevent he and Padraig Harrington losing three-and-two.
The most intriguing contest of the morning was the third match, with Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter pulling in a strong following.
Woods and Stricker nudged ahead with a birdie on the par-four 12th and despite Ross Fisher’s birdie on the 15th, the Americans took a one-shot lead down the 18th. Steve Stricker laid up and pitched to within 12 feet. Neither Fisher or playing partner Poulter could match the approach, both Europeans missed their birdie putts and the Americans went ahead overall.
A bumper second sessionbegan with the Italian brothers, Eduardo and Francesco Molinari against Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan. The sole European success of the morning, the Westwood-Kaymer partnership, went out second against Rickie Fowler and Jim Furyk – a real mix of youth and experience.
Ross Fisher partnered Padraig Harrington against Phil Mickelson, again with Dustin Johnson. Woods and Stricker played the fourth match against Miguel Angel Jimenez while Poulter partners Donald against Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton. The final match of the second session foursomes replicates the fourball match with McIlroy and McDowell playing Cink and Kuchar.
