KOHLER, United States — Europe vowed a Ryder Cup fightback after falling
behind the US 6-2 on Friday in a dismal opening showing, handing the Americans
their largest first-day lead since 1975.
اضافة اعلان
Holders Europe
dropped the foursomes and four-ball matches each by a 3-1 margin, with
four-time major winner Rory McIlroy suffering the first two-loss day in his
Ryder Cup career.
"We can come
back from 6-2," vowed McIlroy, who was benched by Europe captain Padraig
Harrington from Saturday's opening foursomes matches.
Harrington said it
would be a long slog back for Europe, winners in nine of the past 12 editions
of the biennial team golf rivalry, if the Europeans hope to retain the trophy.
"You can't just
turn around and try to eat into a lead straightaway in one session,"
Harrington said. "It would be lovely if it happened, but you can't think
like that. You've got to do it slowly, one step at a time.
"We've got 20
points to play for and we've got to prepare ourselves for at this stage a long
battle all the way through.
"If we're going
to get this done, it's going to be a very tight one."
Norwegian rookie
Viktor Hovland was confident after he and Tommy Fleetwood tied Justin Thomas
and Patrick Cantlay in four-balls.
"I would have
liked to maybe put some more points on the board," Hovland said. "We
could have gotten the win outright but hopefully we have a chance to set the
record straight tomorrow."
England's Tyrrell
Hatton birdied the 18th hole to tie him and Jon Rahm with Bryson DeChambeau and
Scott Scheffler.
"You're never
out of the fight," Hatton said. "That was obviously huge for the team
there at the end. Hopefully that can kind of turn the momentum our way and ...
go into tomorrow with momentum on our side."
Harrington says there
is still all to play for with Europe needing 14 points to retain the Cup from
eight pairs matches Saturday and 12 concluding singles matches on Sunday.
"No doubt it was
a tough day. Clearly not what you wanted," he said. "There's obviously
still 20 points to play for. It isn't a good start, but there's still a lot to
play for.
"My team played
well today. Just a few times, the momentum, the odd putt didn't go in, and you
need a bit of momentum.
"The last couple
of matches there, when it was really, really tight, the boys came through.
Those two halves at the very end were crucial for us."
Maybe a little bit of
momentum swing there, and we feel good about that. And coming out tomorrow,
obviously we need a big day."
A big part of that,
Harrington said, will involve making more putts.
"Clearly if we
have that couple of putts more, that creates that momentum," he said.
Read more Sports news
.jpg)
.jpg)
