Saturday's Fourball Matches:
1) Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson VS Bubba Watson/Matt Kuchar > EUROPE 3&2
2) Jamie Donaldson/Lee Westwood VS Jim Furyk/Hunter Mahan > US 4&3
3) Thomas Bjorn/Martin Kaymer VS Patrick Reed/Jordan Spieth > US 5&3
4) Rory McIlroy/Ian Poulter VS Jimmie Fowler/Rickie Fowler > HALVED
This morning's fourball matches brought a wave of US success, with the US winning most of the points. In the opening match, the match was back and forth between US and Europe. However, on the back nine, Justin Rose's putter was on fire, as he was making putt after putt. This eventually lead to the match concluding at the 16th hole, where Europe went 3UP. In the second match of the day, the US dominated most of it and Donaldson nor Westwood won a hole between them. On the other, Furyk and Mahan both played very well and deserved the win. Europe didn't lose that match, rather the US won it. In the third match, despite an early lead through the first few holes, the rookie duo Reed and Spieth rallied back to an eventual 5UP win, with the match concluding after the 15th hole. It was again another great performance by the formally considered underdog rookies, who are continuing to shock us every time they play. In the last fourball mach, Rory McIlroy was paired with an off Ian Poulter. This match also went back and fourth between Europe holding the lead and the US holding it. However, on the 16th and at 1 DOWN, we saw a glimpse of the old Ian Poulter, as he chipped in from off the green to secure a point for Europe (which would eventually result in them halving the match).
The afternoon foursome matches saw another European dominance, as we saw yesterday. Here were the pairings and scores for each match:
Saturday's Foursome Matches:
1) Jamie Donaldson/Lee Westwood VS Zach Johnson/Matt Kuchar > EUROPE 2&1
2) Sergio Garcia/Rory McIlroy VS Jim Furyk/Hunter Mahan > EUROPE 3&2
3) Martin Kaymer/Justin Rose VS Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed > HALVED
4) Victor Dubuisson/Graeme McDowell VS Jimmie Walker/Rickie Fowler > EUROPE 5&4
The first afternoon match saw a redemption for the Donaldson/Westwood duo. The match was again back and forth on the first nine, but Europe took a solid lead on the back nine after going 1UP, 2UP on the 9th and 10th hole. They held onto this lead and the match was concluded after the 17th hole. In the second match, a rested Garcia and McIlroy were reunited. The two took an early lead of 2UP after the first two holes and most of the holes were halved from there on, except for a US-won hole, and two Europe-won holes. This match was also concluded early at the 16th hole, where Europe went 3UP. The third match of the day saw Rose playing not with Stenson (who had a tight back and did not play), but with Martin Kaymer. Again the amazing US rookie duo of Spieth and Reed were leading for most of the match (and for most of the afternoon were the only winning US team). Justin Rose's putter had also gotten cold this afternoon, but right at the last minute, Europe began a rally that would result in them halving the match. We also saw on the 16th hole that the US rookie duo were in fact human, when Patrick Reed missed a two-foot putt that would have won the US the hole. The last match of the day was probably one of the most exciting matches so far. An excellent-playing Victor Dubuisson was on fire and playing excellent golf. His great tee shots, combined with McDowell's putting resulted in Europe going 5UP after 8 holes. Despite much effort by Walker and Fowler, the could not catch Dubuisson and McDowell, and the match was ended after the 14th hole.
Incidentally, Europe holds the lead by the same amount that the US did during the 2012 Ryder Cup, going into the final round. Due to this, everyone is reluctant in saying that Europe has won yet. Remember, this is match play, and this is the Ryder Cup. As we saw back in Medinah, anything can happen.
We'll be covering the last day of the Ryder Cup tomorrow as well with some live tweeting and our Recap post, when it concludes. Stay tuned for that and some exciting golf tomorrow,
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment