Ryder Cup 2014: Timelines - how the fourballs and foursomes of Day Two unfolded
Europe held on to their lead in the fourballs before asserting their dominance once again in the foursomes
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Your support makes all the difference.Fourballs
Justin Rose & Henrik Stenson (Europe) BEAT Bubba Watson & Matt Kuchar (USA) 3&2
An astonishing match, one of the greatest ever fourball contests with both groups combining for a record 21 under par and Rose and Stenson piling up a record 12-under score for 16 holes.
Only one hole was halved in pars, six were halved in birdies. Kuchar birdied the first, Rose the second and Watson the third with the Americans going two-up at the sixth. Rose missed from eight feet at the seventh, but Stenson holed from seven feet to start a run of 10 successive birdies from the home players. He said: “Justin played phenomenal golf, I just backed him up.”
Jim Furyk & Hunter Mahan (USA) BEAT Jamie Donaldson & Lee Westwood (Europe) 4&3
A nine-under par score from Watson and Kuchar wasn’t good enough to win but it brought a 4 and 3 victory for Furyk and Mahan over Donaldson and Westwood. The home players were hardly shabby at five under par but didn’t win a hole. Mahan, one of the American wild cards, was superb, birdieing the first two holes on the way to a seven-under-par contribution.
The Americans were three-up after seven holes and Donaldson and Westwood had no answers, especially when Mahan drove the green at the 285-yard 14th hole and made the eagle putt from 10 feet.
Patrick Reed & Jordan Spieth (USA) BEAT Thomas Bjorn & Martin Kaymer (Europe) 5&3
Kaymer birdied the first two holes, while Bjorn birdied the third to put the Europeans two-up. How would the two American rookies respond to trailing for the first time? With another emphatic victory to follow up their win from Friday morning.
The German-Danish axis handed them two holes with bogeys at the fifth and sixth and didn’t make a birdie after the seventh. Reed and Spieth took full advantage and were eight under par for 15 holes. Spieth birdied the ninth and tenth to go two-up and Reed followed up with back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th.
Rory McIlroy & Ian Poulter (Europe) vs Jimmy Walker & Rickie Fowler (USA) A/S
A vital anchor match that looked like going Europe’s way when McIlroy made three birdies in four holes to put the home pair two-up at the turn. But Fowler holed a bunker shot at the 10th and the Americans levelled the match at the next before going ahead at the 13th. Poulter, who had birdied the first two holes, then holed a chip at the 15th.
Fowler holed his putt for a half but Poulter’s birdie at the 16th squared things and Fowler had to hole another putt at the 17th for a half. A stirring finale saw McIlroy and Walker get up-and-down for fours while Fowler’s eagle putt just missed.
Foursomes
Jamie Donaldson & Lee Westwood (Europe) BEAT Zach Johnson & Matt Kuchar (USA) 2&1
England and Wales ham-and-egged beautifully for the European cause. The veteran Lee Westwood was given babysitting duties for rookie Jamie Donaldson. They got to 2-up after 13 holes with fine clutch putting by the Welshman, who. has revelled in the Gleneagles cauldron.
Westwood birdied the par-four 13th but the Americans fought back with an eagle. Westwood took the lead back to 2-up with a birdie on the 16th and after closing out the match they hugged like brothers. Westwood has 23 Ryder Cup points and has overtaken Seve Ballesteros.
Sergio Garcia & Rory McIlroy (Europe) BEAT Jim Furyk & Hunter Mahan (USA) 3&2
The world No 1 and world No 3 resumed their Friday partnership. The Americans began with back-to-back bogeys. Furyk and Mahan hit back with a par at the third after the Europeans gifted them a bogey, but the scoreboard stayed blue all afternoon. The turning point came at the drivable par-four 14th.
McIlroy hit first on the even-numbered holes, and his power paid off at the short 14th and par-five 16th. He found the green at the 14th to set up a birdie to go 2-up and hit another over 300 yards at the 16th. The Americans ran out of holes. A first victory for McIlroy.
Martin Kaymer & Justin Rose (Europe) vs Jordan Spieth & Patrick Reed (USA) A/S
This match almost ran out of steam. The rookie Americans have been a sensation at Gleneagles, winning two matches. Justin Rose holed everything yesterday morning but in this match he too had to fight to make anything happen. They stumbled to three bogeys in a row on the front nine but were still only 1-down after six.
That changed with a birdie at the seventh by Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. But Reed threw away the chance to win the 16th, missing a short putt. USA rallied but Rose holed a 12-footer at the 18th for a birdie and half a point.
Victor Dubuisson & Graeme McDowell (Europe) BEAT Jimmy Walker & Rickie Fowler (USA) 5&4
VDub and GMac forged a new rock-hard, rock-star duo with facial hair and cool accents to match seemingly unflappable golf, and masterful iron shorts in particular. The self-confessed loner Dubuisson was touted to be one of the stars of the European team. And so it has proved. He and McDowell fired three birdies on the front nine and not a single bogey. It was exhibition stuff.
Dubuisson has become a Ryder Cup hero if not overnight then over the weekend. The Americans couldn’t live with the heat and littered their scorecard with bogeys. Europe were 5-up after nine and cruised home.
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