The Ryder Cup will have a Monday finish for the first time today after torrential rain caused more delays at waterlogged Celtic Manor yesterday.
Organizers of the 38th Ryder Cup between Europe and the US said the 12 singles matches, initially planned for yesterday, would now start at 9:05am today.
Spectators were prevented from entering the course early yesterday morning after heavy rain made the Twenty Ten layout unplayable and turned the walkways and access routes into quagmires.
PHOTO: AFP
By mid-morning, the rain began to move away and play was scheduled to start at 1:30pm when the concluding two foursomes and four four-ball matches would be completed.
Fans were eventually allowed to start entering the course at 11am.
On Saturday, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald turned the tide blue as Europe made a storming fightback in the unfinished third session to lead in all six matches.
PHOTO: EPA
Trailing holders the US 6-4 after the rain-delayed foursomes were completed earlier, Europe rallied superbly in the two foursomes and four four-balls, with all the momentum on their side when play was halted in fading light.
Britons Westwood and Donald, in the top foursomes encounter, were four-up on US heavyweights Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker after nine holes.
Woods and Stricker had won their first two matches of the weekend but, with the world No. 1 struggling for form on Saturday afternoon, the US were four-over with their own ball.
“It’s a shame it got dark,” world No. 8 Donald told reporters after he and Westwood had birdied the first two holes, before going five-up on the US after seven. “It was great to see so much blue [for Europe] on the board. I think it motivated all of us.”
European captain Colin Montgomerie gave his team a fiery briefing before they set off for the third session with a specific goal in mind.
“There wasn’t enough passion on the golf course,” the 47-year-old Scot said. “When the [afternoon] foursomes finished, it was a bit stale. My objective at the start of the session, 6-4 down, was to get into the singles at 8-8. Although none of these games is finished this afternoon, we are in a very strong position. It was a very important two hours of play and we came through it with flying colors. The job is half done and we have to keep going and maintain this momentum tomorrow morning. Then we’ll see how we’re lying going into the singles.”
Inspired by Westwood and Donald in the first match, the rest of the Europeans responded and rousing cheers steadily rang out across the course as putts dropped and blue numbers dominated the board.
Northern Irishmen Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, who birdied the par-three seventh after McDowell struck his tee shot to within four feet, were three-up on Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan after seven holes of their foursomes.
“We have been on the wrong side of it this week, but hopefully we’ll be on the right side of it tomorrow,” said McIlroy, who had earlier lost a tight foursomes match with McDowell against Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar.
The Europeans, cheered on by jubilant fans in the late afternoon, were also in control of the four four-ball encounters that were included by organizers in a revamped format for the third session to try to make up for lost time.
Padraig Harrington and Ross Fisher were one-up on Jim Furyk and Dustin Johnson after eight holes, while Peter Hanson and Miguel Angel Jimenez were two-up on Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton after six.
Italians Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, the first brothers to be paired together at the Ryder Cup since Charles and Ernest Whitcombe in 1935, were one-up on Cink and Kuchar after five holes.
In the bottom four-ball match, Britain’s Ian Poulter and Germany’s Martin Kaymer were two-up on Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler after four holes.
Corey Pavin’s US team, with Stricker and Cink putting superbly to lead the way, had clinched the afternoon foursomes by 3.5 points to 2.5 points, before the late rally by the Europeans left the Ryder Cup delicately poised.
“It’s very close,” Pavin said. “We had a good finish to the first session. The second session went nicely for us and the third session is going pretty nicely for Europe. We are just going to have to go back tonight, rest up, come out and fire at them tomorrow. We are down in all six matches ... and we have to try to turn those around, try to turn the momentum back in our favor.”
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