Cink-Campbell comeback big part of near perfect start for U.S.
Campbell, a stoic Texan and a guy who isn't one for flowery prose, was practically beaming afterward.
"It was awesome," he said. "I had chills after I hit it."
Cink had obliterated a drive of around 320 yards to put Campbell in the prime position.
"We didn't play perfectly," Cink said, "but it's amazing what happens when you put pressure on."
This time, the pressure's on the Europeans, who have won five of the past six competitions.
Cink and Campbell weren't the lone guys to erase daunting deficits. Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim were 3 down and mustered a tie against Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson, while the long-suffering Leonard and partner Hunter Mahan erased a 2-hole deficit toe win their match.
Cink said he understood why the U.S. was listed as the underdog, but said these affairs are never slam-dunk certainties. That will surely hold true over the rest of the competition, too.
"That shows what a lot of people know about golf," he said. "The oddsmakers can take the odds and tear them up."
The 5-iron shot from Campbell might be the type of blow that resonates for days.
"He staked it," Cink said. "Under that kind of heat, it was an unbelievable shot.
"We took our knocks and had our hiccups, but hopefully that will be big the rest of the way."
Cink said he and Campbell were somehow able to joke about their sloppy start as Cink harkened back to something football coach Lou Holtz, who won a national title at Notre Dame, told them in the team room two days earlier.
"He said rule No. 1 when you've dug yourself a hole is to stop digging,'" Cink said, laughing.
Just as important, the Americans managed to demonstrably win the alternate shot session that had caused them so many problems over the years.
The way the day began, with Europe winning the first hole in three of the four matches, it looked like a reprise of the same old song.
"You just don't want to get down in this thing," Mahan said. "To kind of fight back after that start was pretty huge."
