Ryder Cup: Match recaps, Day 1

FRIDAY MORNING FOUR-BALLS

Match 1: Brooks Koepka / Tony Finau, USA, def. Justin Rose / Jon Rahm, Europe, 1-up

Holes won: Europe 4, USA 5

Holes led: Europe 14 USA 1

Recap: After trailing for almost the entire match, the Americans stole a pivotal point with a great finish, helped by an incredible bounce. Koepka and Finau were two down with six holes to play and still under pressure when they reached the par-3 16th tee a hole behind. But Finau’s shot, that appeared well short and too far right, caught the wooden bulkhead and bounced up to just 3 feet from the hole. The birdie squared the match and then a pair of pars on the last was enough to steal the match when Rose found water and Rahm trouble in the deep rough.

Quotes: “We will take the breaks when we can get them. I knew it needed to get up a little bit. It rose on me a little bit, started to spin. I said get lucky somehow, that's what I was thinking in my head. Fortunately it did. That was a huge break for us.” – Tony Finau

“Feels like two (points). They got us down early, which you never really plan on, but you just got to fight and keep fighting.” – Brooks Koepka

Match 2: Dustin Johnson / Rickie Fowler, USA def. Rory McIlroy / Thorbjorn Olesen, Europe, 4 and 2

Holes won: Europe 1, USA 5

Holes led: Europe 1 USA 7

Recap: After halving the opening seven holes the European side took the lead on the par-3 eighth when neither American could make par. But it was the last bit of joy the home side faced. With Rory McIlroy playing poorly and unable to find a single birdie it was up to rookie Olesen to keep pace. He couldn’t despite some decent play. Fowler made back-to-back birdies around the turn to wrestle the lead and Johnson then stepped up with two of his own to create a big cushion. Johnson sealed the match with a clutch iron to a few feet on the 16th hole.

Quotes: “I think the big thing was we tried to both be in as many holes as we could. We just played some solid golf. When one of us was out of the hole, the other picked the guy up. We knew that was going to be needed against Rory and Thorbjørn. They're great ball-strikers, and knew it was going to be a tough match.” – Rickie Fowler

“We believe in each other. Our demeanors are pretty similar, especially on the golf course. We practice a lot together. We spend a lot of time together, whether out here this week or even at home. We felt we'd be really good partners, and so far so good.” – Dustin Johnson

Match 3: Jordan Spieth / Justin Thomas, USA def. Paul Casey / Tyrrell Hatton, Europe, 1-up

Holes won: Europe 3, USA 4

Holes led: Europe 0 USA 16

Recap: It appeared the birth of a new super team for the USA after the good friends stormed to a 3-up lead through just seven holes. Spieth’s putter found form and the pair of former FedExCup champions were on fire. But Casey and Hatton refused to roll over and wins on 11, 12 and 13 squared the match. Thomas made his move to reclaim the lead on the 15th hole and they held firm over the difficult closing stretch.

Quotes: “It was great. Playing Ryder Cups over here are extremely fun. We were able to feed off each other. We ham-and-egged it extremely well around this golf course. I don't think we birdied the same hole once. We made a lot of birdies today. What a blast that was.” – Jordan Spieth

“We've talked about this really for so long, so long being all of nine or so years, but it's cool to finally be here and doing it. We've spent time at Ryder Cups together. We've played in the Junior Ryder Cup and he's played in a couple of these now and it's been my first. There's not a partner in the world I'd rather have a chance to go out here with.” – Justin Thomas

Match 4: Francesco Molinari / Tommy Fleetwood, Europe, def. Tiger Woods / Patrick Reed, USA, 3 and 1

Holes won: Europe 7, USA 4

Holes led: Europe 7 USA 3

Recap: The most up and down battle of the morning finished with a European flurry to post their only point of the Four-ball session. Woods and Reed were touted to be a formidable mix but Molinari set a tone with an opening birdie. Through eight holes things were tight and square before Woods took the ninth with birdie and Reed chipped in for birdie on the 10th to go 2-up. And then the European revival took flight. Molinari posted back-to-back birdies to square the match at 11 and 12 before Fleetwood stepped up late. Huge birdie putts on the 15th and 16th holes from the Englishman took control of the match and then just for good measure Molinari made a long one on the 17th to close it out.

Quotes: “Just unreal. We had that little tough stretch in the middle of the round, I lost three holes out of four, I think, it's easy for it to go flat, but the crowds, the home crowds, as soon as Fran holed that putt on 11, things changed straightaway. And the crowd carried us through it all the way. There is nothing like it. And that's just my first morning experience. Guys have done this 10 times. There is nothing like it, and I can't wait to get out and do it again.” – Tommy Fleetwood

“I love him. What can I say? I love him. We both played really well. We had a couple of moments where we had to dig in, but we both stayed positive.” – Francesco Molinari

FRIDAY AFTERNOON FOURSOMES

Match 1: Henrik Stenson / Justin Rose, Europe, def. Dustin Johnson / Rickie Fowler, 3 and 2

Holes won: Europe 5, USA 2

Holes led: Europe 12, USA 0

Recap: This European pairing of two FedExCup champions is succeeding on home soil once again. Four years after going 3-0 at Gleneagles, Rose and Stenson gave Europe a win in the opening match of Friday’s foursomes session. It started with Rose’s chip shot to save par on the fifth hole. That was the first of three consecutive wins for the European team. Europe went 5 up after winning the 10th and 11th holes. Europe won easily despite making just two birdies.

The Americans tried their hardest to extend the match. Johnson holed a 5-foot par putt to win the 12th hole. Putting cross-handed, he then holed 15-footers for birdies on the next two holes. The United States won the 13th hole and halved the 14th.

Quotes: “Henrik and I have had great vibes in this event. So to rekindle that was the perfect thing for me this afternoon.” – Rose

“Playing at home, we got the full support, and it's a joy to be out there.” -- Stenson

Match 2: Ian Poulter / Rory McIlroy, Europe, def. Bubba Watson / Webb Simpson, 4 and 2

Holes won: Europe 7, USA 3

Holes led: Europe 9, USA 6

Recap: Europe got off to a tough start in this one, with Poulter hitting the opening tee shot into the water. Only 2 percent of players hit it in the water at this year’s French Open. Watson and Simpson won two of the first three holes, but they would win just one the rest of the way.

Poulter and McIlroy took the lead by winning the last four holes of the front nine. Only one of those holes was won with a birdie. The match ended with a concession on the par-3 16th after Watson’s chip ran by the hole. Watson and Simpson are now 0-2 in Foursomes and 2-1 in Four-balls.

Quotes: “It's been a long time since I played a Ryder Cup. Four years is a long wait but the second I got going this morning, I felt good. It's great to play with Rory. I mean, the buzz around the golf course is just incredible.” – Poulter

“We played well together at Medinah. We played well together at Gleneagles. It was nice to get back out there with them and deliver another point for Europe.” -- McIlroy

Match 3: Sergio Garcia / Alex Noren, Europe def. Phil Mickelson / Bryson DeChambeau, 5 and 4

Holes won: Europe 8, USA 3

Holes led: Europe 13, USA 0

Recap: This one got out of hand quickly. Garcia and Noren won seven of the first nine holes. The United States won three of the five holes played on the back nine, but it was too little, too late.

Noren has finished in the top 10 in each of the past three French Opens at Le Golf National, including a win this year. He has a combined head-to-head record of 440-16-2 in those three events. Garcia, a captain’s pick, finished in the top 10 of this year’s French Open.

They combined for five birdies on the front nine, including three in a row on Nos. 5-7. Noren hit the approach shot on two of those three holes, hitting it to approximately 12 feet on both the third and fifth holes. He drove to the fringe of the green on the short par-4 fourth hole, as well.

This was Garcia's 10th win in a foursomes match, the second-most of all time. He trails only Bernhard Langer (11). Garcia's 23.5 points are also tied for third-most all-time, trailing only Nick Faldo (25) and Bernhard Langer (24).

Quotes: “They played some great golf. They were 4 under on the front nine in some very difficult conditions. I thought if we could shoot around par, it would be a heck of a day. We played poorly the front but they shot 4 under. It was just some very impressive golf, and we just didn't keep up.” -Mickelson

Match 4: Francesco Molinari / Tommy Fleetwood def. Justin Thomas / Jordan Spieth, 5 and 4

Holes won: Europe 7, USA 2

Holes led: Europe 12, USA 0

Recap: Molinari and Fleetwood continued their fine form. They were the only European team to play both sessions, and they went 2-0. Fleetwood won the 2017 French Open at Le Golf National, while Molinari is a two-time runner-up at this course.

Both of the Europeans’ bogeys came on par-3s (Nos. 8, 11) but they also made three birdies. Spieth and Thomas made just one birdie versus four bogeys. They pulled within 2 down after winning the eighth hole with par but lost the next two holes, including the par-5 10th, with bogeys.

Quotes: “We enjoy playing together, and obviously spending time together. He's played amazing this morning and this afternoon. Yeah, I think we just combine really well.” -- Fleetwood