GOLF:PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON'S features betrayed the tension of the occasion, his face contorted in concentration as he stared down the first fairway in preparing to hit his opening drive a little after 8.30am yesterday morning.
The first tee at the Ryder Cup is a tiny, unforgiving arena that quickens the pulse of even the most doughty competitor; even a three -time major winner.
The packed grandstand had tried to coax the Irishman and his playing partner, Luke Donald to relax, initially serenading them with the now familiar European anthem of Ole, Ole, Ole and temporarily lightening the occasion when a voice cried out “he’s the real Paddy power”.
The American rookie pairing of Jeff Overton and Bubba Watson had already driven, the adrenaline and nerves fighting a physical and mental battle for control.
Watson’s candour in articulating the moment he addressed his tee shot highlighted that turmoil, a recollection though that would have been softened by the fact that the Americans won the first two holes with birdies before the elements intervened and play was suspended.
“When I saw Overton hitting the first shot and saw USA on the back, that’s when it hit me we are in The Ryder Cup and it’s a dream come true. I tried to hit real quick and after my partner hit the fairway it made it a little bit easier. Those (birdies) calmed us down. I think it showed that we can play and even though we are rookies and both scared to death, it made it fun for us.”
Harrington’s unease would have been exacerbated when in playing his second shot blind to that opening hole after pulling his drive, he didn’t appreciate that the match ahead was still on the green and his ball whizzed between a squeegee operator and Steve Stricker. He bore the discomfited countenance of a man with a pebble in his shoe.
Overton holing a putt from off the green for birdie and Watson’s stunning approach to three feet on the par five, second for another completely changed the dynamic of the contest. The Europeans were expected to dominate on paper but on a grass/water composite surface that script was a soggy mess.
When play resumed in the late afternoon – Harrington had a nap in the team room – Watson could have nudged the American pairing out to a three hole advantage but struck a three and a half foot putt too firmly and it lipped out.
Donald began to find his rhythm with his irons, precision that gave him birdie opportunities from 12 and 10 feet on the fifth and sixth: his ball appeared to defy gravity on the later in finishing on the lip.
Harrington stuck a beautiful putt on the seventh but it caressed the lip and stayed above ground; if the eyes are the window then the Irishman appeared a tortured soul. He couldn’t possibly have been trying any harder but that effort wasn’t reciprocated in terms of results. Donald birdied the eighth to reduce the gap to one hole but when he returns in the morning to resume the match he’ll have to hole a six foot putt for a birdie and a half on the ninth.
Donald said: “We played steady. Obviously we didn’t make a lot of birdies but we gave ourselves some chances and the greens, being in the last group, got a little bumpy with it being so wet. There were a few footprints with even just a few players out there. It was tough to make birdies but we made a good birdie to get back one and hopefully I can make that putt on nine.”
In the match immediately ahead Ian Poulter’s wonderfully judged 15-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole ensured that particular contest would resume this morning all square. Playing alongside rookie Ross Fisher, Poulter exuded an energy and passion, patently relishing squaring off against Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.
Aside from hacking their way down the first, the Americans illustrated why they have compiled such a fine President’s Cup record in tandem and three birdies in the next nine holes reinforced that supposition. Poulter and Fisher though were equally resolute and the match like the overall contest on the opening day is finely balanced.
