The bad news continued for the U.S. Team on Day 2 of the Ryder Cup. Unable to capture the magic of Friday morning with virtually the same lineup. Match after match seemed to slip away.
The lineup for Saturday’s fourball matches.
- Brooks Koepka & Tony Finau vs. Rory McIlroy & Sergio Garcia
- Dustin Johnson & Rickie Fowler vs. Paul Casey & Tyrrell Hatton
- Tiger Woods & Patrick Reed vs. Francesco Molinari & Tommy Fleetwood
- Jordan Spieth & Justin Thomas vs. Ian Poulter & Jon Rahm
Brooks Koepka & Tony Finau (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy & Sergio Garcia (EUR)
McIlroy and Garcia were 4 holes up before the Americans even got on the board. Still, a late run with wins on 14, 15, and 16 brought Koepka and Finau to within a hole at 5-4. A Sergio Garcia birdie on 17 won the hole and the match 2 up with 1 to play.
Dustin Johnson & Rickie Fowler (USA) vs. Paul Casey & Tyrrell Hatton (EUR)
Despite trailing 4-2 after 11 holes the Americans were playing well. Johnson and Fowler’s scorecard showed the pair at 5 under par. Unable to sustain the momentum on the back 9, a Casey birdie on the par 5 14th earned the Europeans a win. They closed out the match 3 up with 2 to play.
Tiger Woods & Patrick Reed (USA) vs. Francesco Molinari & Tommy Fleetwood (EUR)
All square after 10 holes, this match seemed destined to go down to the last hole. Molinari and Fleetwood won holes 11, 12, and 13. A par by Fleetwood on the 15th closed out the match with Woods and Reed, 4 up with 3 to play.
Jordan Spieth & Justin Thomas (USA) vs. Ian Poulter & Jon Rahm (EUR)
A nail-biter with Spieth and Thomas 1 up heading into the final holes. Finally, the Americans were able to take and hold a lead. Thomas’ birdie on 17 won the hole as Poulter and Rahm failed to get the sweep for the Europeans losing 2 down with 1 to play.
Afternoon Foursomes
With Team Europe building their lead to an 8-4 advantage, Team USA needs to close the gap to put some pressure on the singles matches scheduled for Sunday. Saturday afternoons pairings for foursome play are as follows.
- Brooks Koepka & Dustin Johnson (USA) vs. Justin Rose & Henrik Stenson (EUR)
- Webb Simpson & Bubba Watson (USA) vs. Alex Noren & Sergio Garcia (EUR)
- Tiger Woods & Bryson DeChambeau (USA) vs. Francesco Molinari & Tommy Fleetwood (EUR)
- Justin Thomas & Jordan Spieth (USA) vs. Ian Poulter & Rory McIlroy (EUR)
Brooks Koepka & Dustin Johnson (USA) vs. Justin Rose & Henrik Stenson (EUR)
After winning the 1st hole Koepka and Johnson saw the Europeans move out to a 3-1 lead after 11 holes. Twice the U.S. cut the lead to a single hole, a bogey on 17 cost them the match. The final tally, 2 down with 1 to play. Thoughts of a sweep disappeared quickly. For the U.S. to cut into the European lead they would need to sweep the remain 3 matches of the day.
Justin Rose & Henrik Stenson hang on to win their match over Koepka/DJ#RyderCup pic.twitter.com/sNEaEepBd3
— PGA of America (@PGA) September 29, 2018
Webb Simpson & Bubba Watson (USA) vs. Alex Noren & Sergio Garcia (EUR)
Simpson and Watson did their job. They built a 5-1 lead over Noren and Garcia after the 1st 9 holes. The Europeans were unable to make a recovery on the back 9 and lost 3 down with 2 holes to play.
Tiger Woods & Bryson DeChambeau (USA) vs. Francesco Molinari & Tommy Fleetwood (EUR)
Tommy Fleetwood has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Europeans and Tiger Woods a disappointment for the U.S. team. So paired against each other the Americans were 5 down after 9 holes. After trading hole wins twice through the 14th, the match mercifully ended with the U.S. down 5 with 4 holes to play.
Justin Thomas & Jordan Spieth (USA) vs. Ian Poulter & Rory McIlroy (EUR)
Needing this match to just stay 4 down to the Europeans going into Sunday’s singles, the U.S. Team got off to a slow start. Two down after two holes, Thomas and Spieth turned up the wick. They won 3 holes in a row to take the lead. Three more holes won finished the match 4 up with 3 to play.
Trailing 10-6 going into the final day will require a huge comeback by the Americans in Sunday’s singles. The pairings that will determine who wins the Ryder Cup are as follows. (Americans listed first.) The Americans must win 8 out of the 10 matches, or win 6 and halve the remaining 4 in order to retain the Cup.
Justin Thomas vs. Rory McIlroy
Paul Casey vs. Brooks Koepka
Webb Simpson vs. Justin Rose
Tiger Woods vs. Jon Rahm
Tony Finau vs. Tommy Fleetwood
Dustin Johnson vs. Ian Poulter
Jordan Spieth vs. Thorbjorn Olesen
Rickie Fowler vs. Sergio Garcia
Phil Mickelson vs. Francesco Molinari
Patrick Reed vs. Tyrrell Hatton
Bubba Watson vs. Henrik Stenson
Bryson DeChambeau vs. Alex Noren
