Europe takes control after opening day
SAINT- QUENTIN- ENYVELINES, France — Three matches in the books, three red points on the board, and Tiger Woods was still on the golf course.
This was exactly the start the Americans wanted in the Ryder Cup.
And then Europe finished even better.
Four hours later, the cheers at Le Golf National ramped up to a feverish pitch as Europe swept all four matches Friday afternoon for a 5-3. It was the first time Europe swept a session since 1989, and the first time ever at the Ryder Cup in foursomes.
“We didn’t come here to win the foursomes,” Francesco Molinari said. “We came here to win something else.”
Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood were the only Europeans to play both matches, and they won them both. They combined for five birdies over their last seven holes to polish off Woods and Patrick Reed and salvage something from a morning that belonged to the Americans. They took down Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in the afternoon.
“It was a bit of a roller-coaster ride,” European captain Thomas Bjorn said. “We know it’s a marathon, and we’re delighted with the way the day turned out because it was a fairly tough morning. We go home happy tonight, but we refocus and look forward to tomorrow.”
The change was noticeable in the body language.
The Americans walked tall and had reason to feel as though nothing could go wrong, especially Tony Finau. It was his amazing fortune that turned the tide in the morning. He and Brooks Koepka were 1 down to Justin Rose and Jon Rahm on the par-3 16th when Finau’s 8-iron appeared headed for the water. Instead, it landed on the 12-inch wide boards that frame the green, soared into the air as the gallery gasped, and plopped down 3 feet from the hole.
They wound up winning on the 18th when Rose hit into the water, the only time Finau and Koepka led all match.
In the afternoon, the mood changed in the mild air and freshening wind. Spieth was shaking his head after all those putts that dropped in the morning slid by the edge of the cup in the afternoon. Ian Poulter’s eyes grew wider with each hole he won with Rory McIlroy in the afternoon.
“You see a change in body language,” U.S. captain Jim Furyk said. “I’m sure the Europeans’ body language significantly changed to all smiles and boisterous and hugs and high-fives, and I’m sure the looks on some of my players were not quite the happiest, and dead opposite this morning.”
Furyk tried to see the big picture.
“It was four points out of 28 that we played for,” he said. “We are not happy with it. I think we use it as motivation tomorrow.”
The Americans are trying to end 25 years of losing the Ryder Cup in Europe, and for one morning, it looked as though this might be the time. By the end of the day, the Americans were seeing blue, and plenty of it.
Europe took the lead in every foursomes match and never let up. Rose teamed with old partner Henrik Stenson and dismantled Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler by winning five holes in a seven-hole stretch.
Right behind them, McIlroy recovered from his awful morning by joining forces with European stalwart Poulter, who lived up to his reputation. They were 2 down early until Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson collapsed by losing four straight holes, three of them with bogeys.
FOXBORO — Danny Amendola returns to Gillette Stadium with the undefeated Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Brandin Cooks just had a superb receiving game for the Los Angeles Rams in their fourth straight win Thursday night.
The New England Patriots, meanwhile, are sitting at 1-2 and looking for answers at wide receiver as they get set to play the fourth game of Julian Edelman’s four-game performance-enhancers suspension.
Asked Friday if it is frustrating to see his receivers go elsewhere and have success, Tom Brady said, “Not really. I’m happy for those guys.”
“Usually when you leave it’s because you get good opportunities in other places,” he added. “I’m usually generally frustrated by football in general just because it’s a frustrating sport. But I’m sort of happy for guys when they do well.”
Brady said he didn’t watch Cooks catch seven passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in the Rams’ win, saying only, “They have a good team. To be undefeated you have to be good.”
Through that Thursday game, Cooks, traded to Los Angeles for a first-round draft pick that turned into now-injured offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn, has 26 catches — two more than the New England wide receivers combined.
Phillip Dorsett, Chris Hogan and Cordarrelle Patterson have combined for 24 grabs, 230 yards and three touchdowns. Cooks has almost twice as many yards, 452, as the Patriots, and has scored the one TD on Thursday.
Amendola, who left the Patriots via free agency, has 11 catches for 100 yards, also for an undefeated team.
“He’s a great friend. I’m happy for him and his opportunity,” Brady said. “He’s playing well. He was a great player for us. I have a great friendship with him and we’ll be friends for the rest of our lives.”
New England acquired Josh Gordon from Cleveland in time for last week’s game, but Gordon didn’t suit up. Asked Friday if Gordon will play this week, coach Bill Belichick said, “We’ll see.”
The Patriots have not lost three straight games since 2002. Last week, in the Sunday night loss at Detroit, they fell to 12-2 since ‘02 after a September loss. They are in the rare position of being two games behind someone - Miami - in the AFC East they seem to own by birthright.
Does that make this a must-win situation?
“These games are important. Division games, that’s what it’s all about, so . they’re 3-0 and we’re looking up at them,” Brady said. “Obviously, we haven’t played the way that we all think we’re capable of playing, this is the next game, so it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to go out there and see if we can put together four quarters of good football.”