Europe whitewashed the United States in foursomes for the first time in Ryder Cup history to turn the 42nd biennial contest on its head in Paris.
Trailing 3-1 after the morning fourballs, home captain Thomas Bjorn kept faith with his planned afternoon pairings – including a desperately out-of-sorts Rory McIlroy – and was rewarded with a remarkable rout at Le Golf National to close day one 5-3 ahead.
Here Press Association Sport recaps Friday’s action.
Shot of the day
"That's unbelievable!"#TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/1kJTGBP5bi
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 28, 2018
McIlroy may have struggled in the morning but he showed flashes of brilliance in the afternoon, most notably with a second shot to the 13th which was played from a hanging lie on the edge of a water hazard, but still finished 15 feet from the pin to set up partner Poulter for a winning birdie.
Moment of the day
Are you KIDDING?
Golf is a funny game. pic.twitter.com/Sp4CHXniN4
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 28, 2018
Justin Rose and Jon Rahm twice enjoyed a two-shot lead over Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau in the opening match, but were pegged back to all square when Finau’s water-bound tee-shot on the 16th hit a wooden sleeper surrounding the hazard and bounced up to within three feet of the hole.
Statistic of the day
This is the first swept session in Ryder Cup history in which every match was a margin of 3&2 or greater.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) September 28, 2018
Not only did Europe win a foursomes session 4-0 for the first time, they did it in dominant fashion too.
Quote of the day
Brooks Koepka felt terrible after learning his errant drive on the sixth in the morning fourballs had struck a spectator, who thankfully suffered no serious injuries.
“I didn’t actually see her at first, I didn’t know I hit anybody and then someone from the crowd yelled, ‘You hit someone’.
“And I turned around and then obviously you see someone’s lying on the ground, and you’re thinking, oh s*** I did it again.”
What’s next?
Ryder Cup 2018 – Day 1 Thomas Bjorn Press conference#RyderCup #RyderCupEurope #TeamEurope https://t.co/EixHTU22Lt
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 28, 2018
Europe take a 5-3 lead into the second day, which is a repeat of the first in terms of format. The fourball matches get under way at 0710BST at 15-minute intervals, with the afternoon foursomes starting at 1250BST with the same interval between matches.
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