- Title: UK-RYDER CUP CAPTAINS (O) Ryder Cup captains both positive after first day
- Date: 26th September 2014
- Summary: GLENEAGLES, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 26, 2014) (REUTERS) UNITED STATES RYDER CUP CAPTAIN TOM WATSON ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE ASSEMBLED MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED STATES RYDER CUP CAPTAIN, TOM WATSON, SAYING: "Well, it started off looking pretty good and then we didn't perform in the afternoon and that is very disappointing. The players themselves are disappointed. I know the question is going to be asked about Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, whether I should have played them in the afternoon and I thought, at the time, it was the best decision not to play them. There were a variety of reasons, and I won't go into those, but it was a decision that my vice-captains and I made. That was a decision that we felt very strongly for." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED STATES RYDER CUP CAPTAIN, TOM WATSON, SAYING: "Webb Simpson and Bubba - they had a bad day, they really did. We all have bad days and I told them, I said, that is just one match. That is just one match out of the five." ASSEMBLED MEDIA WATSON LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAIN PAUL MCGINLEY ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE ASSEMBLED MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CAPTAIN, PAUL MCGINLEY, SAYING: "At one stage we were going to win 3-1 in the morning and ended up losing two-and-a-half to one-and-a-half. The way the Americans played the last few holes (in the morning) was very strong and they certainly had their tails up. Going into the afternoon session, as we have seen so many times in Ryder Cups, as I say, that often can have a ripple effect or a domino effect and then you go onto have a great foursomes or afternoon session based on that momentum that you have achieved. So, for our guys to react the way they did, for all four matches to be up - I think after six holes there was blue on the board for every single match - was a terrific response and it shows a huge amount of character that I think we have in the team, a huge amount of talent that we can come out with such strong pairings in the afternoon, and a great response and resilience from the team." RYDER CUP 2014 LOGO MCGINLEY LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 11th October 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAEG2O7PXSG057MCK3RWK3P9RVX
- Story Text: The Ryder Cup delivered yet again on Friday (September 26) as Europe produced a stirring fightback to win three and halve to one of the foursomes matches against the United States and take a 5-3 lead after a typically tense and hugely entertaining first day.
The U.S. had much the best of the morning fourballs, the highlight being a remarkable performance by rookie duo Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth to hammer Ian Poulter and Scottish new boy Stephen Gallacher 5 & 4.
That helped the visitors to a 2 1/2-1 1/2 lead after a session where gusting winds made low scoring difficult but merely added to the drama for the fans who swamped the Gleneagles course.
Reed and Speith were not selected for the afternoon session, a decision that left many questioning captain Tom Watson's judgement.
However, Watson said he sticks by his decision.
"It started off looking pretty good and then we didn't perform in the afternoon and that is very disappointing. The players themselves are disappointed. I know the question is going to be asked about Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, whether I should have played them in the afternoon and I thought, at the time, it was the best decision not to play them. There were a variety of reasons, and I won't go into those, but it was a decision that my vice-captains and I made. That was a decision that we felt very strongly for," he said at a news conference on Friday evening.
Europe roared back in the alternate-shot foursomes format, as Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson got their second point of the day with a two-up victory over Hunter Mahan and Zach Johnson having earlier hammered Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson 5 & 4.
Watson admitted it had been a bad day for Watson and Simpson, but that he expected them to bounce back.
"Webb Simpson and Bubba - they had a bad day, they really did. We all have bad days and I told them, I said, that is just one match. That is just one match out of the five," he said.
Europe's strongest pair on paper, world numbers one and three Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia, struggled almost all day and were well beaten by Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in the fourballs.
They looked to be going down again when they trailed Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler by two with two to play in the afternoon but a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th by McIlroy and a brilliant second from deep rough by Garcia on the last enabled them to scramble the unlikeliest of points.
"So, for our guys to react the way they did, for all four matches to be up - I think after six holes there was blue on the board for every single match - was a terrific response and it shows a huge amount of character that I think we have in the team, a huge amount of talent that we can come out with such strong pairings in the afternoon, and a great response and resilience from the team," said European captain Paul McGinley.
That surge was begun by Spieth, 21, and Reed, 24, -- the youngest partnership in the history of the event -- who were nerveless and relentless in taking down Europe's "Mr Ryder Cup" Poulter with a run of five birdies in six holes around the turn.
Spieth and Reed were somewhat surprised to be told after their dazzling debuts that they would be sitting out the afternoon's action and Watson might come to rue his decision after the foursomes turnaround.
Poulter, who had won 11 of his previous 12 matches, also kept his clubs in the bag in the afternoon but nobody was questioning that move as the wildcard selection looked a pale shadow of the demonic player who sparked Europe's "Miracle of Medinah" comeback two years ago.
The third American debutant, albeit a 35-year-old one, also had a day to remember as Walker twice chipped in to help secure a morning half, again with Fowler, having trailed Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer by two after 15.
Mickelson and Bradley, who won all three games they played together two years ago, struggled for form in a ragged fourball against McIlroy and Garcia but Mickelson splashed a trade-mark beauty of a bunker shot for a point-clinching birdie on the last hole.
It was a fitting way for the ever-popular left-hander to mark becoming the first American to appear in 10 Ryder Cups, but, as ever, he deflected the glory.
The afternoon did not go so well, however, as hugely impressive French debutant Victor Dubuisson and Graeme McDowell beat them 3 & 2.
Lee Westwood and rookie Jamie Donaldson played some of the best golf of the day to beat Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar two-up after all four had sat out the fourballs.
Those matches had begun many, many hours before, on a crisp, bright morning amid a tumultuous atmosphere around the huge stand surrounding the first tee.
Webb Simpson set the tone for a forgettable personal day when he topped the opening drive of the whole event -- perhaps unnerved by being introduced as his partner Bubba Watson, one of the most recognisable figures in the game.
Two years ago the duo won both their matches 5 & 4 but this time they failed to muster a birdie between them as they lost by the same margin to Rose and Stenson.
The U.S. now face an uphill battle if they are to claim their first win on foreign soil since 1993 when Watson first captained but the veteran was in no mood to concede.
"This is a marathon, not a sprint," he said. "And it's all probably going to be really close come Sunday."
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