LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Americans vanquished their Ryder Cup ghosts on Friday morning, with both quick success and succession.
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| Stewart Cink says 'we decided to press' when 3 down, and the result was a 1 up victory. (AP) |
They posted a winning record in the opening morning session for the first time in 17 years.
The Yanks even ended European nemesis Sergio Garcia's flawless record in alternate-shot play, while American Justin Leonard finally won his first full point, 11 years after his inaugural Ryder appearance.
Most amazingly, the Yanks didn't lose any of the four matches in a team session for the first time since 1989, perhaps the most telling development of all, to take a 3-1 lead into the afternoon best-ball competition at Valhalla Golf Club.
"We're in a good place right now," U.S. captain Paul Azinger said when the laundry list of accomplishments was revealed to him. "We've got a long way to go and trust me, I'm still nervous, but we're in a good place right now."
Yeah, like, in a dominant position for once.
Fueled by two major comebacks, the Americans scored points in all four matches to finish 2-0-2, the first time in a span of 33 sessions that the U.S. didn't have a loss on the card.
The Americans tied two matches and won two more, but no team logged a more important point than the duo of Chad Campbell and Stewart Cink, who stood 3 down after six holes and looked dead in the water.
"We decided to press," Cink joked, using the old gambling term. "We didn't tell them that, but we decided to press."
More like impress.
After a nasty start, the two Ryder veterans see-sawed their way around the back nine, taking their first lead on the 14th and losing it on the following hole. Cink made a clutch six-footer on the 17th to halve the hole, sending it to the 18th, a 500-yard par-5.
After Justin Rose dumped his approach shot into the bunker, Campbell pulled out a 5-iron from 186 yards and hit perhaps the most memorable shot of his career. He treaded it to within eight feet, and after the Europeans blasted from the bunker and three-jacked for a bogey, perhaps the biggest point of the morning session was secured.
