Posted on 09/27/2002 5:52:48 PM PDT by mdittmar
Tiger Woods lost two more matches in Ryder Cup play Friday, as Europe took a narrow lead over the United States on the opening day at The Belfry.
The Americans trailed 3-1 after the morning's best-ball matches but made a strong comeback in the afternoon's alternate-shot play, cutting the margin to 4½ to 3½.
Phil Mickelson and David Toms picked up a crucial half-point in the final match, rallying from three holes down with four to play to halve with Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer.
Woods was the only American player to lose twice Friday.
In best-ball play, he and Paul Azinger lost 1-up to Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke. In alternate-shot play, Woods — paired with Mark Calcavecchia — lost 2 & 1 to Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood. That match turned in the Europeans' favor after Woods missed par putts of 5 feet at the 11th and 3 feet at the 12th.
Woods' career Ryder Cup record fell to 3-8-1, but the U.S. team regained the momentum by winning the alternate-shot matches 2 ½ to 1½ . Veteran Hal Sutton and cup rookie Scott Verplank rallied to beat Bjorn and Clarke 2 & 1.
The Europeans had led 2-up with six holes left. Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink won 3 & 2 over Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley to make it 4-3.
In the last match on the course, Montgomerie and Langer squandered a big lead as Mickelson and Toms made three straight birdies at 15, 16 and 17 to draw even.
The match came down to the 473-yard, par-4 18th. After fine drives by Mickelson and Mongtgomerie, Langer's 5-iron approach landed off the right side of the green, pin high. Toms reached the bottom of the massive three-tiered green, still 40 yards from the pin.
Mickelson, one of the world's best putters, chose to chip from the green, but the ball carried 10 feet past the flag and didn't spin back. Montgomerie's chip rolled 8 feet past.
After Toms missed his putt, Langer had a putt for par to win the match but slid his shot just to the right of the hole. Mickelson conceded Langer's putt, then rolled in a 3-footer to secure the half-point.
''It's disappointing, really,'' Montgomerie said. ''We're going in disappointed, but we shouldn't be. We're 4½ to 3½ up. I'm sure if you'd asked (European Captain) Sam Torrance at the start of the day, I'm sure he'd have taken that. To lead after the first day is very important.''
In best ball, Woods and Azinger shot a 9-under 63. But Bjorn and Clarke combined for a 62, including five birdie putts of 12 feet or more on the back nine.
''It was disappointing we lost, because we played really well today,'' said Woods, who had five birdies. ''To shoot that low and end up losing the match is a little disappointing, especially when you birdied the last two holes.''
In other best-ball matches, Garcia and Westwood beat David Duval and Davis Love III 4 & 3; Montgomerie and Langer won by the same score against Scott Hoch and Furyk; and Mickelson and Toms beat Harrington and Nicolas Fasth 1-up.
Eight more pairs matches are set for Saturday, with 12 singles matches Sunday.
A team gets 1 point for a win and a half-point for a tie. The United States needs 14 points to retain the cup, while Europe needs 14½ to regain it. The Americans won the last cup in 1999 at Brookline, Mass., and last year's event was postponed because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The 3-1 morning lead was Europe's biggest advantage after the opening series of matches since it led by the same margin in the 1971 Ryder Cup in St. Louis.
Since 1985, Europe has won the cup five out of eight times. During that stretch, Europe has a 15-point advantage in best-ball matches and has led six times after the first two days.
U.S. Captain Curtis Strange said Thursday it was important for his team to get off to a fast start this time. Instead, the Americans had to come from behind.
''I'm surprised,'' Strange said after the morning matches. ''I put up my best teams. I still don't believe they're better in best ball. Historically, it shows that, but I'm sorry, you've not convinced me.''
Woods said he and Azinger simply were outplayed in best ball.
''They played great. They got up and made a lot of putts today,'' Woods said. ''Thomas played beautifully on the back nine. It was just a matter of trying to make as many birdies as we possibly could, and it just wasn't enough.''
The contest came down to a dramatic finish over the last two holes.
Woods made a 12-foot birdie putt at the 17th to cut the Europeans' lead heading to the 18th. Azinger hit his second shot within a foot, giving the Americans a great chance to halve the match. The Europeans conceded Azinger's putt.
Bjorn then stepped up and ran in a 20-foot putt to win the match. After the ball dropped, he leaped in the air and raised his arms in triumph. It was Bjorn's fifth birdie on the back nine.
''Darren got off a great start,'' Bjorn said. ''That calmed me down. Then I made some putts on the back nine. It was just our day today.''
The competition began in overcast but windless conditions, with an estimated 35,000 spectators lining the Brabazon course.
While the fans were loud, there was none of the heckling and unruly crowd behavior which marred the United States' dramatic comeback win three years ago.
''This is much more how it should be,'' Woods said. ''There are no comments at all from the fans. They appreciate good shots from both sides. And that's the way the Ryder Cup is meant to be played.''
SUTTON COLDFIELD, England – Here are the pairings for Saturday morning's foursomes (alternate-shot matches):
Match No. 9 (8 a.m. local time, which is 3 a.m. ET): David Toms and Phil Mickelson, USA, vs. Pierre Fulke & Phil Price, Europe
Match No. 10 (8:15 a.m.): Stewart Cink and Jim Furyk, USA, vs. Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia, Europe
Match No. 11 (8:30 a.m.): Scott Verplank and Scott Hoch, USA, vs. Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer, Europe
Match No. 12 (8:45 a.m.): Tiger Woods and Davis Love III, USA, vs. Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn, Europe
They can't compete head to head so they use these devises to "level" (define accomplishment down) the playing field. This is why they like soccer. Talk endlessly about valient failed attempts as opposed to scores. No wonder they lost their colonies.
This is the guy (Colin Montgomerie).
Did the player also look like Mrs. Doubtfire? You must have seen Scotland's Colin Montgomerie.
"Colin Montgomerie" on the left and Bill Parcells on the right. Have they ever been spotted in the same room together? I think not. I am totally freaked out over this. No wonder the Jets crashed and burned. Parcells went off to Europe to be a golf pro and installed a look-alike double in his place on the Jets sidelines.
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