US captain Tom Watson sent out his two youngest rookies against Europe’s stalwart in the Ryder Cup, so it figured to be a short match.
And it was — for Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed.
It also turned out to be a short day for the young Americans when Watson did not send them back out.
Photo: Reuters
On an opening day when the three US rookies carried the load by combining for two of their team’s three points, Spieth and Reed became central figures in the greatest Ryder Cup tradition — hindsight.
Watson did not even wait for anyone to question his decision.
Trailing 5-3, he opened his press conference by saying: “I know the question is going to be asked about Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, whether I should have played them in the afternoon, and I thought at the time it was the best decision not to play them.”
“When I told Patrick that he wasn’t going to play in the afternoon — it was comical at the time, not so comical now — I said: ‘How does that make you feel?’ He said: ‘Well, I’m all right with it.’ He said: ‘Well, really captain, I’m not all right with it. I said: ‘That’s the way I want you to be.’ You’re going to be second-guessed,” Watson said. “And obviously, you’re going to second-guess me on that decision right there.”
Some were questioning what they were doing together in the first place, though Spieth and Reed delivered a quick answer. They ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch for a 5-and-4 victory in fourballs over Ian Poulter and Scottish favorite Stephen Gallacher.
They ended Poulter’s seven-match winning streak.
“It was very, very quiet out there compared to what I think Patrick and I expected in the first round of a Ryder Cup over here,” Spieth said. “And that’s the goal. That’s our team goal is just go out there and play and listen to it like’s just Sunday with your buddies. That’s kind of what it felt like.”
The Americans got even more help from another rookie.
Jimmy Walker holed out twice to win holes and to keep him and Rickie Fowler in the match. And then it was Walker again on the 18th, holing a 4-foot birdie putt to earn an unlikely half-point against US Open champion Martin Kaymer and Thomas Bjorn. Walker and Fowler were sent out in the afternoon and were on the verge of winning until Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia won the last two holes for a halve.
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