Youth leads the way
NEWPORT, Wales — There's a surprising candidate for Ryder Cup rookie of the match. Heck, Jeff Overton might just be MVP if the Americans manage to hold on to the Ryder Cup.
Overton made his pairing with fellow rookie Bubba Watson look like a stroke of brilliance, rolling in one putt after another to lead the Americans to an early edge at a rain-delayed Ryder Cup that turned sunny Saturday morning.
Tiger Woods also won — with a big hand from Steve Stricker, whose brilliant touch with a wedge at No. 18 clinched another U.S. point and kept them unbeaten as partners.
The Americans held a 2Z\x-1Z\x lead after the morning fourballs, which finished nearly 24 hours behind schedule because of Friday's torrential rains at Celtic Manor. The teams faced a busy weekend with a mishmash of a schedule that officials rigged up in hopes of avoiding the first Monday finish in Ryder Cup history.
The tenuous lead boded well for the visiting team, which is trying to retain the Cup after winning at Valhalla two years ago to break Europe's dominance in the series.
Only twice since the current U.S.-vs.-Europe format began in 1979 has a team that won the opening session gone on to lose.
Overton and Watson — but mainly Overton — provided the first full point for the Americans with a 3-and-2 win over the heavily favored team of Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington.
Having calmed his nerves by rolling in a long putt from behind the bunker at the first hole Friday, Overton ripped off four straight birdies over two days beginning at No. 9 to push the Americans out to a 3-up lead. He drove the green at the 15th, a short par-4, for a birdie that protected the advantage, and finished off the match with a conceded par at 16.
"It's pretty awesome out here," Overton said.
U.S. captain Corey Pavin raised plenty of eyebrows when he sent out the two rookies to anchor the opening session. But it sure paid off, especially after the powerhouse duo of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson was beaten 3-and-2 by Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer in the leadoff match.The Northern Irish team of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy roared back from two holes down with six to play, halving the match with Americans Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar.The 21-year-old McIlroy gave the Europeans a big boost, including a 35-foot birdie putt at the 17th to square his match.The youngster was of no help at the par-5 final hole, knocking two balls in the water after he went for the green in two. Cink tried the same thing — and wound up with the same result: two balls in the drink — so the match came down to Kuchar vs. McDowell."I've got you covered," McDowell told his partner. "It's all right."Mickelson and Johnson appeared to have the momentum in their match when play was called Friday evening, having cut the deficit from three holes to one. But they couldn't do anything right Saturday, the match with Westwood and Kaymer ending at No. 16, where Johnson flew the green with a wedge and Mickelson missed a 10-footer for par to extend the match.The second session will be followed by the last two alternate-shot matches, plus four more fourballs. Even if the weather held — and it was warming up nicely after a bit of a chilly morning — the third session will likely have to be finished Sunday morning.
