Europe take first three points of Ryder Cup in stunning start at Bethpage Black
There were foursomes wins for Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Europe scored the first three points as they quietened the home crowd to make a stunning start to the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton first came from behind to beat Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas 4&3 in Friday’s opening foursomes match.
The heavyweight ‘Fleetwood Mac’ pairing of Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy then overcame Collin Morikawa and Harris English 5&4 in match three.
Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick were also in fine form as they saw off world number one Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley 5&3.
Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland found the going tougher against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay and were trailing by one after 13 holes.
Nevertheless, it remained a superb start for Luke Donald’s side in defence of their title.
The match had begun in a fiery atmosphere with the crowd, whipped up prior to the start by US captain Keegan Bradley, in good voice in the 5,000-capacity grandstand at the first tee.
Rahm – addressing the ball amid the cacophony – hit a wayward first shot but DeChambeau, treated to relative silence, smashed a superb straight drive.
That enabled the American pair to win that first hole but the Europeans settled as the crowd began to disperse around the course.
There were even rumblings of discontent as it became increasingly likely Europe would register first on the scoreboard.
President Donald Trump was expected to arrive at Bethpage sometime before the start of the afternoon fourballs session.
Security at the course was strict for the visit with gates having opened at 5am to allow fans ample time to enter and a number of personal items banned.
