The Europeans dared to dream that their team could dominate the opening day of the Ryder Cup and get a much-needed leg up on Team USA. It happened. A record-breaking annihilation of the Americans in the first session on Friday morning put the blue & yellows up 4-0. It was the stuff that fairytales are made of. They backed it up with a win and three tied matches in the aft ernoon Fourball session.
After the dominant performance by Team USA at Whistling Straits two years, it seems quite unfathomable to think that they didn't win a single match, out of 8, on the first day of the Ryder Cup. In addition, it's the first time in Ryder Cup history that this has occurred. Jon Rahm, who really hadn't been firing on all cylinders during the FedExCup Playoffs, certainly lit up Marco Simone with some exceptional play, sinking a clutch putt on the final hole in his Fourball match to deny USA a flash of red on the leaderboard.
An impressive debut performance from rookie Ludvig Aberg saw him and Hovland's Scandinavian partnership flourish, and for the first time in his Ryder Cup career, Rory McIlory took points from both of his opening matches. As the sun set over the Eternal City, Europe lead with 6.5 points to the Americans' 1.5. For Team Europe to claim back the Cup, they have to reach 14.5 points.
Europe are now the obvious favorites to win at -550, with the U.S. at +600 (Draftkings Sportsbook). I still can't believe it, even as I type it! Also, as I told you in my pre-contest preview, history tells us there's a 70% chance that the team that leads after Day 1 goes onto win. We all know the U.S. team is stacked with an exceptional amount of talent, therefore you have to think that something about the partnerships was possibly off. However, not too much is changing on Saturday.