Europe turns tide in afternoon session
SAINT-QUENTIN-ENYVELINES, France — Three matches in the books, three red points on the board and Tiger Woods 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 lead. It was the first time Europe swept a session since 1989 and the first time ever in foursomes.
“We didn’t come to win the foursomes,” Francesco Molinari said. “We came to win something else.”
Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood were the only European pairing to play both matches, and they won both. They combined for five birdies over their last seven holes to polish off Woods and Patrick Reed in fourballs 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 rollercoaster ride,” European captain Thomas Bjorn said.
The Americans walked tall, 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 tee shot 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.
In the afternoon, the mood changed in the mild air and freshening wind.
“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.”
At least the U.S. still has Saturday, when Furyk is sending out the same fourball teams and can only hope for similar results to Friday morning.