Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed lost to Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson 5 and 4
On the Par 4 7th, Rose put his approach into the hazard; Stenson put his approach into six feet, sank the birdie putt and, for the first time, the Euro duo were up. It lit the fire, with Stenson - aka The Iceman - stayed hot. In getting quick revenge for their foursomes defeat at the hands of Spieth and Reed, the Stenson/Rose pairing were flawless and shared nine birdies.
JB Holmes/Ryan Moore lost to Sergio Garcia/Rafa Cabrera Bello 3 and 2
Nobody revels in the Ryder Cup as much as Garcia - but he has found a kindred spirit in his compatriot Cabrera Bello. The two Spaniards raced out of the traps, Bello rolling in a birdie on the first, and never looked back. The defining moment came with Garcia's chip-in for birdie on the ninth from greenside rough which put them four up at the turn. Moore made a fight of it with back to back birdies on 14 and 15 but Garcia's birdie on the 17th sealed the deal.
Brandt Snedeker/Brooks Koepka beat Martin Kaymer/Danny Willett 5 and 4
No sentiment from the crowd or his opponent for the unfortunate Willett, whose debut appearance was one of playing second fiddle. Snedeker rolled in a birdie putt on the second to give them an edge they never relinquished. As Kaymer struggled and Willett wilted, Snedeker’s putting was sublime and together with Koepka claimed seven birdies and never opened the door.
Dustin Johnson/Matt Kuchar lost to Rory McIlroy/Thomas Pieters 3 and 2
A power duo that came up trumps, the match-up of McIlroy and Pieters negated the long-hitting Johnson. Apart from a bogey blip on the 14th, the McIroy-Pieters pairing was blemish-free with the Belgian showing power and finesse in claiming birdies on two of the 200+ yards Par 3s, the fourth and 13th. DJ and Kuchar couldn’t get to grips and trailed by four holes at the turn but stuck to the task and won the 14th and 15th to leave two between them until McIlroy slammed the door shut with a fabulous eagle on the 15th.
