CHASKA, Minn. — It was not yet noon on the opening day of the Ryder Cup, and the American fans gathered around the 16th green were chanting, “Sweep, sweep, sweep!”
After losing three straight Cups to the Europeans, the American team got off to the strongest possible start Friday at Hazeltine National Golf Club, winning all four of the morning alternate-shot matches to take a quick and unexpected lead.
“We are really up against the eight ball big time,” said Paul McGinley, the European captain in 2014 when Europe beat the United States at Gleneagles, Scotland.
Momentum is critical in match play, and the Americans seized it repeatedly in the foursomes, beginning with the high-profile opening duel between Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed of the United States and Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson of Europe.