Europe’s flying start in the Saturday morning Fourballs became halfway dominance as the four matches moved through the turn on the Palmer Course. The home side lead in three matches and are one down in the fourth.
Paul Casey and Robert Karlsson’s partnership continued to blossom as they led Team Europe from the front, one up on Stewart Cink and JJ Henry after ten holes.
They were followed by the sensational Spanish duo of Sergio Garcia and José Maria Olazábal, who had an awesome front nine against Chris DiMarco and Phil Mickelson and went to the turn three up.
Garcia was majestic with his short and mid-irons on day one and he continued in the same vein on Saturday morning with a brilliant second from the rough on the third hole to eight feet, from where he holed out put Europe one up.
Olazábal then holed from 15 feet for birdie on the eighth to put Europe two up, before Garcia did it again, nailing his 184 yard approach at the ninth to five feet to surge further ahead of a bewildered looking American partnership.
Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, meanwhile, went two up on Team USA’s highest ranked pair – World Numbers One and Three Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk – after Clarke notched successive birdies on the fourth and fifth.
Woods had a great chance to half the deficit to one going to the tenth tee, but, in keeping with the American’s poor performance, he missed a birdie chance from four feet on the ninth to leave Europe two up.
Padraig Harrington and Henrik Stenson, the fourth European partnership of the morning, went one behind to Zach Johnson and Scott Verplank on the eighth, after both men made bogey fours on the 173 yard par three.
