Oct 1, 2016: Phil Mickelson, a veteran of 21 previous Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups, acknowledged he was tight entering his opening Foursomes match with Rickie Fowler on Friday at Ryder Cup.
But it wasn’t the first tee jitters. Instead, Mickelson felt the pressure – which he called “certainly as great or greater than I’ve ever felt” — due to his role in the formation of the Ryder Cup task force two years ago after yet another U.S. loss, its eighth in the last 10 renewals.
Mickelson had strong words about the lack of player involvement in Tom Watson’s captaincy that Sunday night at Gleneagles. Not everyone appreciated his criticism of a golfing icon but those comments and Europe’s domination, convinced the powers that be something needed to be done.
This week at Hazeltine the world finds out whether the task force that morphed into the Ryder Cup committee has had an impact. Hence, Mickelson’s consternation Friday morning.
“I could have copped out and asked to sit, that would have been a total weak move, and I wanted to get out there,” Mickelson said. “Put me out there. I enjoy that pressure.”
He also enjoys playing with Rickie Fowler and in a reversal of roles, the 27-year-old clearly helped settle the veteran down. The result was a 1-up win over Europe’s Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan where the Americans won three of the last four holes in Foursomes.
“Certainly I played tight. This guy loosened me up,” Mickelson said after the match. “That’s why I wanted him as my partner. He knows what to say and when to say it.
“He got some of my best golf out there in the end. Some of the iron shots down the stretch, a lot of it was due to things that he said to get me in the right frame of mind.”
The two had played together in 2010 but lost to Ian Poulter and Martin Kaymer. In fact, Fowler had never won a match in the three Ryder Cups he’d played until Friday.
“The way we stepped up again on the closing of the back nine, just like we did on the front nine, hitting some shots when we needed to; it was a lot of fun,” Fowler said. “Nice to finally get my first (win).”
Brandt Snedeker had two jobs to do on Friday afternoon, and he excelled at both.
The first was to make birdies and the man who has ranked in the top 10 in the PGA TOUR’s strokes gained: putting stats four of the last six years did just that. Snedeker ended the day with four birdies, more than any other American, and each won a hole for the U.S. Team.
Snedeker’s other job was to make sure rookie Brooks Koepka was comfortable in his Ryder Cup debut. Judging by the team’s 5 & 4 win over Martin Kaymer and Danny Willett, picking up the only U.S. point of the afternoon, that mission was accomplished, too.
“He drove the ball unbelievably,” Snedeker said of his teammate, who contributed three birdies to the effort. “He did everything you could want to put pressure on people, and I was able to chip in some birdies and made some putts and keep the momentum going and get the crown going a little bit.
“Obviously, not the session we wanted in the afternoon but something to build on for Brooks and I and hopefully the team for tomorrow.”
Koepka, who was on the first tee Friday morning to see every group tee off, said he felt like he and Snedeker were “always like one step ahead” of their European opponents.
“We played really well as a team today, so that was nice to see,” the rookie said.
The two played so well, in fact, they were tapped to go out in Foursomes on Saturday morning, facing Henrik Stenson and Matt Fitzpatrick in the second match. Snedeker said he and Koepka knew they would be playing together at some point during the weekend so they played several practice rounds together.
“We’re comfortable with each other and we’ll be ready to go,” Snedeker said.
PGA Tour Release
