Tale of the Tape: Ryder Cup, Day 2

Europe continued to dominate early on day two taking the first Four-ball session 3-1 before splitting the afternoon Foursomes 2-2. It all adds up to a 10-6 lead for the home side. It is a huge mountain to climb for the USA in Sunday singles but they can take heart from the 2012 Ryder Cup. In Chicago it was the USA who led 10-6 on Saturday but Europe turned it around to win. BEST MATCH The Foursomes match that led off the afternoon between Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson and Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson was impressive. The icemen from Europe known for their ball-striking and the bash brothers from the USA known for their incredible power. Johnson and Koepka started hot to lead but miscued on the fourth hole to relinquish the advantage. They remained close throughout but never regained it from that point. Europe pushed two holes clear at the 10th but lost the 12th hole to once again be just barely ahead. Sensing the comeback they found another buffer birdie on 13. Then Koepka stepped up on the 15th hole, hitting a laser approach to tap in range to give hope of a turnaround. Enter the iceman from Sweden. Stenson blocked a potential win for the USA on the 16th with a clutch par putt and then clinched the match with an even longer par save on the 17th. BEST AMERICANS Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas stood up to be counted on Saturday. Paired together in both sessions the young Americans claimed two valuable points. First they took down the powder keg duo of Ian Poulter and Jon Rahm in Four-ball 2 and 1 and then, when they were very much needed, they combined in Foursomes to take out Poulter and Rory McIlroy 4 and 3. They improved their record as a team to 3-1 in the process and look like a solid pairing into the future. BEST EUROPEANS Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari. Can’t go past the pair who created history as the first European duo to go 4-0 in a single Ryder Cup. They join Larry Nelson and Lanny Wadkins as the only pair to do it at all. Fleetwood is a rookie and as such became the most successful rookie point getter in European history, beating Sir Nick Faldo’s three from three in 1977. If he wins his singles match he will be the first European rookie to go 5-0 and just the third rookie of all time behind Gardner Dickinson (1967) and Larry Nelson (1979). BEST STAT In 2012 at Medinah in Chicago the European team trailed 10-4 late on Saturday before winning the last two matches to claw to 10-6 heading to Sunday singles. They were clutch wins as it sparked a momentous comeback on Sunday where they won the last session 8.5-3.5 to win the Cup. Can the USA repeat the Miracle at Medinah? Another similarity … it was the last Ryder Cup to go through the opening four sessions with no halved matches much like has happened so far in Paris. BEST USE OF HINDSIGHT Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed did not work as a combination on Friday. They did not work again on Saturday morning as Woods was forced to try to carry a woeful Reed but was unable to do so in a 4 and 3 loss to Molinari and Fleetwood. Reed’s play was especially poor on Saturday with multiple wild tee shots. In stroke play he would have struggled to break 80. But one thing about the man formerly dubbed as Captain America … he won’t give up. He will need to turn things around and salvage something in singles. ROOKIE REVIEW USA Bryson DeChambeau (0-2-0) – Once again sat out the morning before being paired with Tiger Woods in alternate shot. The pair hit the buzz saw that was Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood and were thrashed. Hit some poor shots under pressure. Justin Thomas (3-1-0) – Teamed with good friend and fellow former FedExCup champ Jordan Spieth in both sessions again on Saturday. This time they managed two critical victories. Tried desperately to lift the American tilt. Tony Finau (1-1-0) – Unable to repeat Friday mornings win with Brooks Koepka, falling to Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy 2 and 1. Stepped up late in the match with a couple of wins, including a great putt on the 16th hole, but it wasn’t enough.  EUROPE Tommy Fleetwood (4-0-0) – A stud on debut in the Ryder Cup. Teamed with Francesco Molinari to become just the second pairing ever to go 4-0 in a single Ryder Cup and the first ever Europeans to do so. Takes the record for most points earned by a European rookie in Ryder Cup history. Alex Noren (1-1-0) – Sat out the morning once more before once again joining Sergio Garcia in Foursomes. After a big win on Friday they were unable to repeat, falling to Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson. Tyrrell Hatton (1-1-0) – Played a solid support role to Paul Casey in Four-ball on the way to an impressive win over Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler. While Casey was the chief destroyer Hatton’s clever play opened the door for his teammate to be aggressive. Thorbjørn Olesen (0-1-0) – Was benched all day Saturday. Jon Rahm (0-2-0) – Despite playing with plenty of passion Rahm was once again on the losing side in the morning Four-ball and sat out the afternoon session. While he produced handfuls of great holes he also failed to uphold the standard throughout with the lack of consistency proving costly.

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