Europe’s early birds deliver real hope to Darren and the fans
EUROPE clawed back another precious point on a dramatic morning to match any in the Ryder Cup’s incredible history with Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Rafael Cabrera Bello the heroes for Darren Clarke at Hazeltine.
Having plunged to 4-0 down in the first session on Friday morning, Europe had slashed that gaping margin to just a point in two sessions and 24 hours.
The two Spaniards’ epic battle for a half point after being four down with six to play against the US lead duo of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed kept momentum flying in Europe’s favour.
Garcia’s nerveless birdie putt at 16 and Cabrera Bello’s birdie from off the edge of the 17th green eventually meant Europe won the foursomes session two-and-a-half points to one-and-a-half, the match lying at six-and-a-half to the US and five-and-ahalf for Europe.
Clarke said that there was still a long way to go, but he was delighted with his team’s fortitude.
“They’ve gone out again this morning, fought hard, the ebbs and flows were all over the place but we’re still in this,” he said.
“Sergio and Rafa getting a half from an impossible position was a huge boost for us. It’s exciting and hopefully it continues.”
As always seems to be the case in this event, fortune and momentum fluctuated almost shot by shot, with any scenario a possibility.
Even Rory McIlroy and Thomas Pieters seemed to wobble a little before winning 4 & 2 over Phil Mickelson and an out of sorts Rickie Fowler in the top game, and Chris Wood and Justin Rose had to battle to the last hole for their point.
The US might have been thinking of extending their lead at one point late in the morning with two wins seemingly in the
bag and pressure on Rose and Wood in their match.
However, after Brooks Koepka and Brandt Snedeker delivered a point, Spieth and Reed plunged into an alarming slide from their commanding lead on the Spaniards and instead captain Davis Love was left grateful to be hanging on to the half point his top pairing could salvage from the anchor game.
“It’s the Ryder Cup,” reasoned Sergio after the comeback.
“They were playing so well and we just kept saying: ‘Keep at it, keep at it, keep putting pressure on and maybe they will slow down’. “We still believed.” Even a man of Garcia’s vast experience in the Ryder Cup hadn’t felt this kind of pressure.
“I had to take a lot of breaths on 17 and 18 because emotions were so high,” he said
before comparing Rafa to Seve Ballesteros. “Credit to my partner, he reminds me of that other Spanish guy a few years ago.”
Cabrera Bello, unbeaten in two matches in his first Ryder Cup, said that he never gave up hope.
“I don’t know how many birdies they had on the first 12 holes but it was a lot,” he said.
“But we hung in there and any match you halve after being four down, it’s going to be big.”
Spieth expressed his annoyance at letting such a big lead get away.
“We haven’t had a problem closing out before,” he said. “We just hit a few sloppy shots, I made a bad decision going for a hero shot when we could have won the match on 15.
“They played great. The way we played early on wins most matches but they stayed steady. We still salvaged a half although that’s disappointing.”