Europe fight back at Hazeltine

But Europe answered by taking the afternoon four-ball matches 3-1 with McIlroy sinking a dramatic eagle putt to lift the world number three and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters over US Open champion Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar 3 and 2.

The United States opened the 2016 Ryder Cup in dominating fashion on Friday, sweeping the foursome matches of the opening session. “I think it was exactly what we thought it was going to be”.

The 41st biennial US-Europe team golf showdown begins today at Hazeltine with four morning alternate shot foursomes matches, with Spieth and Reed out first for the Americans.

This was just what the Americans – wearing red shirts and navy slacks – needed to try to avoid a record fourth straight loss, and the 4-0 start was fitting.

To honor Arnold Palmer, who died Sunday, Ryder Cup officials placed on the first tee Palmer’s golf bag from when he was captain of the 1975 Ryder Cup team.

“We’ve played so many fun matches together”, said Fowler.

They created a Ryder Cup Task Force to develop a plan geared toward bringing out their best golf.

Danny Willett had already apologized a day earlier to USA team captain Davis Love and then to the members of the US squad.

The 1981 team, with 11 major champions, is considered the best ever.

That will be followed by fourballs Friday afternoon.

“It’s not an ideal start but we have come back from starts worse than this in the past”.

The European duo took the lead on the second hole and held it for nine holes but Garcia missed a couple of crucial putts to extend their advantage and US hit back by winning five holes in a row in a 4&2 victory. Europe won only one hole, No. 9, when Kuchar missed a short par putt.

However, Pieters calmly rolled in his own birdie putt from 15 feet and raised a finger to his lips to “shush” the hostile home crowd, a gesture made famous by Patrick Reed at Gleneagles in 2014. He teamed with countryman Rafael Cabrera Bello to win his afternoon match and has often served as the emotional engine for the European side, a role he inherited from the late Seve Ballesteros, another of his countrymen.

The middle foursomes matches turned a tight start into a sweep.

If that were not enough of a momentum drainer, Andy Sullivan rinsed his ball in the lake at the par-3 17th to gift America a lead they would not surrender.

Group two featured Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Danny Willett and Lee Westwood, with stablemates Willett and Westwood – who were first and second in the Masters in April – a likely pairing.

Earlier, he got into an exchange with a fan between the seventh green and eighth tee.

Jordan Spieth had landed the first two blows with birdie putts at the second and third to give himself and Patrick Reed a lead they were not to relinquish, but it was the elder of the young Texans who carried the fight for the most part in a game that took an unacceptable four hours to play the 16 holes required and was conducted “on the clock” for nearly the entire back nine.