BJORN WINNERS
After falling behind early, Europe stage major fightback to lead USA 5-3 going in to Day 2
FROM the fear of painful history repeating itself to a sensational turning of the tables to give the Americans a taste of their own medicine in just five frantic hours.
Thomas Bjorn has seen more than most how quickly the Ryder Cup can be tipped on its head – and yesterday he drew on all that hard-earned experience to hold his nerve and believe it would turn.
To trust in himself and have faith in his players – none more so than an out-of-sorts Rory McIlroy.
By late afternoon his stoic sense of duty to the men he sent into battle was repaid in full by a truly astonishing and historic fightback from a bleak morning session.
Staring at defeat in the first three matches of the day, Bjorn admits he feared his team were about to suffer the same morale-sapping clean sweep that Darren Clarke’s 2016 team had copped at Hazeltine.
Back then he was serving as one of his predecessor’s vice-captains and saw first hand the way that momentum killer sucked the life out of their challenge from the start.
So the relief was understable at seeing one sliver of European blue chalked on the board thanks to Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood’s heroic late surge to topple Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed. Still not a great start but not a disaster either.
But now what to do about the ones who had fallen and needed to pick themselves up for the afternoon. What about Rory?
As the only player of the 16 morning starters who had failed to muster a single birdie, the temptation for many captains would be to bench him for the next session. But not for Bjorn. There is no doubt in this particular Thomas.
Within seconds of McIlroy and Thorbjorn Olesen shaking hands with Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler on the 16th green, the captain was in the Northern Irishman’s ear. “We go again.”
And my goodness, didn’t he go? All the way back to that 16th green where this time he found redemption in the company of Ian Poulter, celebrating an
emphatic 4&2 win over Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson. A satisfying reward for a four-time Major champion’s ability to dig deep when the chips are down – and a vindication of his captain’s unstinting belief in his character and skill to produce it. Bjorn said: “I had a plan and I stuck to it.
“With great players, when they don’t perform to the standards they want to, they have an ability to just go and prove to themselves. They want to put it right and he did that this afternoon.
“He and Poults got good vibes off each other and even when they got off to a bad start (going two down after three holes) they turned it around. I
I never have any doubt in Rory because if I start doubting him then I probably shouldn’t be doing this job THOMAS BJORN
never have any doubt in Rory McIlroy because if I start doubting him then I probably shouldn’t be doing this job.
“I believe in him and it was great to see his response today. But that’s classic him. I was never in doubt that I wanted to have him on the course this afternoon.
“I tried to say to the players all week that I trust them as a group. They have a lot of belief in each other and they are pretty easy to manage.
“They look at each other more than they look to me and my vice-captains. They want to do it together.
“They wanted to go out and prove something this afternoon and that was nice to see but it says a lot about the group.”
That’s a typically modest deflection of credit from himself towards his team room that has made Bjorn a popular leader of this European side.
But that trust in his own instincts, as much as his players, continues to be rewarded as another player stepped
out yesterday afternoon to justify the belief his captain bravely placed on him.
Sergio Garcia hasn’t made a cut in the Majors all year, hasn’t fared much better in most of the other events either and was widely regarded a risk from the moment he dealt him a wild card.
Yesterday the Spaniard showed exactly why Bjorn considered him an essential part of his side, tag-teaming Alex Noren to burn up a course the Swede has already owned this year when he won the French Open.
Seven up on Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau by the turn, it was a merciless obliteration eventually ending 5&4 and again Bjorn had been proved right.
He added: “I’ve known Sergio for so many years and I understand what he’s all about.
“He had a tough year but you have to remember when you play this game for a long time, sometimes when things are not going your way you kind of write things off.
“Your goals change and I’ve felt all along with him that if I made that phone call saying he was going to be in this team – well, then he would regroup his whole world.
“He went back to Spain for a couple of weeks and worked really hard with his dad and he played in Portugal.
“He loves this event, he loves playing in it and he loves preparing for it. And if you gave him the right frame to do that then he would come here and be able to play good golf. “But also what he brings outside of the course is so crucial to a European team. “He really is that type of guy that binds it all together in the team room. “Today was a great day. He played well, Alex played well. They went out and did fantastically on the course but when it comes to Sergio it’s not just about what he does on the course.” After the guts his team showed to bounce back from 3-1 today, it’s got a lot to do with what Bjorn does behind the scenes too.