SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Tiger Woods' Ryder Cup record got a little worse on Friday morning.
After his 3 and 1 loss alongside Patrick Reed to Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood, Woods is now 5-9-0 in fourball matches and 13-18-3 overall. Woods birdied just two holes playing in his first Ryder Cup since 2012, but his poor play (outside of a few great shots) wasn't the most disappointing of the morning.
Woods was watching the afternoon foursomes as captain Jim Furyk brought in Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson.
Pivotal moment
Justin Rose and Jon Rahm had at least a one-shot lead for 15 of the first 16 holes until a stroke of luck from Tony Finau. His tee shot on the par-3 16th narrowly avoided the water, hit a railroad tie and jumped onto the green to set up a birdie putt that squared the match. After two pars on No. 17, the Europeans played a disastrous 18th hole so instead of a loss, the Americans took a full point with a Brooks Koepka par.
Best celebration
Well done, Tommy Fleetwood. His match with Molinari against Woods and Reed flipped back and forth all morning. On No. 16, a difficult par 3, Fleetwood sunk a long putt and stole the show with his celebration.
Biggest surprise
You wouldn’t have known Rory McIlroy, the heart of the European team, was even on the course in his match with Thorbjorn Olesen vs. Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler. McIlroy was the lone player in the morning matches who did not make a birdie, and relied on his rookie partner to carry him through the match.
Star of the day
Jordan Spieth went out and did Jordan Spieth things and caught fire early. The three-time major champion birdied five of the first seven holes, parring the other two. The Americans appeared to be cruising to a 3 and 2 victory until consecutive birdies from Paul Casey and a birdie from Tyrrell Hatton squared the match on No. 13. Justin Thomas took the 15th hole with a birdie and the Americans cruised to a one-up victory. Spieth led the field with six birdies and closed out the 1-up victory with a clutch par on the 18th green.
