Jordan Spieth discusses his incredible shot on the 17th green that almost sent him into Lake Michigan. (0:45).
SHEBOYGAN (Wis.) -- The United States led the Ryder Cup early on Friday thanks to the strong play of Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Ian Poulter, who won their foursomes match at Whistling Straits.
The U.S. won three matches. Schauffele and Cantlay raced to a 5-up advantage over the solid McIlroy/Poulter team. They won 5 and 3 and didn't lose another hole until the 10th.
After the first session, the Americans led 3-1. In the afternoon, four-ball (best balls) will take place.
McIlroy stated that the start was not great after falling five holes. "I don’t know if anybody could have beat Xander or Patrick today. They played well, they made four birdies consecutively. They played fantastic. They made a great team today, and you have to praise them for their performance.
Since 2006, Europe has not won opening session of the Ryder Cup, but it still managed to win the year in 2010. 2012, 2014, and 2018. So, it is not important to have the U.S. early lead.
Only Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth failed to score any points for the Americans. They were 3-1 in Paris three year ago and are expected be frequent partners.
Thomas and Spieth were in serious trouble against Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm, Spaniards from Spain. Sergio Garcia took the lead with a birdie at par-3 seventh. He never trailed by more than two holes throughout the round. They won 3 and 1.
Garcia stated, "It felt great." "I knew who I had by my side. He was the best. He was incredible. He made every putt. He made every putt he had to make.
Rahm-Garcia and Smith made six birdies each in the alternate shot format, while Thomas Smith only managed three.
Spieth stated, "Sometimes you run into the buzzsaw." "I believe the only regulation green [Thomas] missed was 17 and that even though it was on line, shouldn't have been missed. Excellent game. We would have won many matches the way that we played today.
Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Paul Casey defeated Viktor Hovland and Viktor Hovland in the other matches. Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger and Lee Westwood defeated Matt Fitzpatrick and Matt Fitzpatrick 2, and 1.
The Friday afternoon four-ball pairings (ET) and tee times are as follows
