Garcia and Rahm are looking to establish a "new Spanish tradition” at the Ryder Cup
Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm were the first to strike for Europe in the 43rd Ryder Cup, but the United States won the opening foursomes to take an impressive 3-1 lead at Whistling Straits.
Rahm, the world number one, holed birdie puts on the seventh and eight holes to give Europe control. They beat Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth 3&1 in their top match.
Garcia's victory equals Sir Nick Faldo’s Ryder Cup record for winning 23 matches.
Rory McIlroy & Ian Poulter, an experienced pairing, lost the first five holes to rookies Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele.
Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger and Lee Westwood never trailed Matt Fitzpatrick. They eventually won 2&1, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa won 3&2 against Viktor Hovland and Paul Casey.
The matches were played on a cold but still morning on the Wisconsin course, which has hosted the US PGA Championship three times.
The expected pantomime boos were heard on the first Tee for European players. However, the US players received raucous cheers that drowned out the meager support from the visitors. Due to the strict Covid-19 travel rules, there will be as many as 40,000 people each day. However, few Europeans will be present.
The home fans were able to cheer Thomas and Spieth's early lead, but Rahm spoke on Thursday about his desire to continue the "Spanish legacy". He made three birdies in five holes to give Europe the lead at the turn.
Garcia hit a 20-footer on 15th to give Europe three more holes. Three are left to play in the alternate shot format. This will guarantee Europe at least half of a point.
The match ended on the 17th, despite Spieth's spectacular shot. He nearly fell into the lake after he was too heavy-handed while playing from heavy rough on steep banking.
Spieth stated, "I don’t think I exaggerated the fall, you know that it is steep,"
Garcia was impressed and said, "I was clapping. He hit an incredible shot, and I was hopeful he wouldn’t hurt himself.
"I didn’t believe there was any chance he could get it onto the green."
Europe captain Padraig harrington stated that the top match was "big" for both sides after the pairings were announced. Given how the opening session turned out, it's been a huge point for Europe.
The top match was blue starting at the fourth hole. However, the three other matches were all pretty much red.
The world number two Johnson and Open champion Morikawa won with a birdie the first hole. Although Casey and Hovland won the third and fourth holes to lead the match, the US won two of the remaining holes to win it back.
Fitzpatrick and Westwood were always in the match against Koepka, Berger. A birdie on hole nine saw them tie the match. The Americans won the two remaining holes with birdies, and the match was halved after six holes.
Harrington chose experience for his last pairing with Poulter, McIlroy and McIlroy. They have both played in 13 Ryder Cups and will be up against debutants Cantlay, Schauffele, and Schauffele.
The Americans are in great form this season. Cantlay was named PGA Tour player-of-the-season after winning the season-ending Tour Championship earlier in the month. This earned him a $15m bonus, as FedEx Cup champion. Schauffele, however, won the Olympic title at Tokyo in August.
They raced to a five-hole lead. Poulter, McIlroy won both the 10th & 11th holes to give hope of a fightback. However, the Americans equaled their birdies on the two remaining holes before taking the win.
Since 2006, when the K Club in Ireland was founded in Ireland, Europe has not been the leader after the Ryder Cup's opening session. They were 3-1 down in Paris in 2018, before winning.
