Europe vows fightback after dismal day one
KOHLER, United States: Europe vowed a Ryder Cup fightback after falling behind the United States 6-2 on Friday in a dismal opening showing, handing the Americans their largest first-day lead since 1975.
Holders Europe dropped the foursomes and four-ball matches each by a 3-1 margin, with fourtime major winner Rory McIlroy suffering the first two-loss day in his Ryder Cup career.
“We can come back from 6-2,” vowed McIlroy, who was benched by Europe captain Padraig Harrington from Saturday’s opening foursomes matches.
Harrington said it would be a long slog back for Europe, winners in nine of the past 12 editions of the biennial team golf rivalry, if they hope to retain the trophy.
“You can’t just turn around and try to eat into a lead straightaway in one session,” Harrington said. “It would be lovely if it happened, but you can’t think like that. You’ve got to do it slowly, one step at a time.
“We’ve got 20 points to play for and we’ve got to prepare ourselves for at this stage a long battle all the way through.
“If we’re going to get this done, it’s going to be a very tight one.”
Norwegian rookie Viktor Hovland was confident after he and Tommy Fleetwood tied Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay in four-balls.
“I would have liked to maybe put some more points on the board,” Hovland said. “We could have gotten the win outright but hopefully we have a chance to set the record straight tomorrow.”
England’s Tyrrell Hatton birdied the 18th hole to tie him and Jon Rahm with Bryson DeChambeau and Scott Scheffler. — AFP