Molinari clinches Ryder Cup glory for dominant Europe

PARIS - Italian Francesco Molinari fittingly took the glory as Europe regained the Ryder Cup from the United States in dominant style on Sunday, but it was a complete team effort that delivered what turned out to be a crushing 17.5-10.5 victory.

With Molinari safely on the 16th green, Phil Mickelson conceded their singles match after firing his tee shot into the water, taking Europe to the magical 14.5 mark they needed to win the Cup for the fourth time in the last five.

It completed a magical year for Molinari, the British Open champion, who became the first European to win all five matches in a week -- having not won any of his previous six.

Europe were effectively assured of victory when the Italian teed off as he, Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia were all dormie and guaranteed at least half a point - with Europe needing just one more.

All three went on to secure wins and Swedish rookie Alex Noren completed the day's action in style when he sunk a 40-foot putt to beat Bryson Dechambeau on the last and complete a 7.5-4.5 singles victory for Europe.

It seemed a long time since the United States won Friday's opening morning fourballs 3-1 but, after Europe roared back to sweep the foursomes 4-0 in the afternoon, they never looked back.

"How do you sum that up?," European captain Thomas Bjorn said. "I just cannot describe how I feel about these 12. They have been amazing from day one and it was easy for me to guide them.

"It doesn't happen very often that everybody on the team scores points and so I think we got it right this week - we worked as a team."

The Europeans, playing in France for the first time, had started the day 10-6 up needing to secure four and a half of the 12 points available to win back the trophy and extend their stranglehold on home soil dating back to 1993.

Only twice before had a team come from four down going into the singles to win -- the U.S. at Brookline in 1999 and Europe in 2012 at Medinah but another stunning comeback never really looked on the cards.

Justin Thomas, who was the top American performer with four points, Webb Simpson and Tony Finau gave Jim Furyk's team a glimmer of hope with early wins but then the European points started pouring in.

Thorbjorn Olesen hammered Jordan Spieth and fellow rookie Jon Rahm beat Tiger Woods -- leaving the weary-looking 14-times major champion with a stunning four defeats out of four.

Ian Poulter, "Mr Ryder Cup", then got to smash his fist against the European crest on his chest one more time as world number one Dustin Johnson conceded on the 18th green.

AMAZING SCENES

The three dormie games meant victory was secure but Ryder Cup tradition demands a man who delivers the winning point and nobody has delivered this week like Molinari, whose mesmerising consistency was perfectly suited to a course designed to offer maximum punishment for the wayward.

"This means more than majors, more than anything, I couldn't even dream of a summer like this," said Molinari, who won all his four pairs matches with Tommy Fleetwood in another European first.

"I've been carried the other guys the other two times I was on the winning side and it was about time to help them."

Moments later Garcia beat Rickie Fowler 2&1 to become the competition's all-time leading scorer, his three points taking his career tally to 25.5 to overhaul Nick Faldo and fully justify Bjorn's decision to select him as a wildcard.

"I don't usually cry but what a week," said the Spaniard.

Stenson duly handed Bubba Watson his fourth defeat in four singles matches before Noren added the icing with the last shot of the week.

"They outplayed us," said U.S. captain Jim Furyk, who has cut a dignified figure through difficult times for his team which included nine major champions.

"We got some momentum but the Europeans responded well as they have all week," he said. "It's a course they know pretty well but they did a great job playing it. They hit key shots and knocked in the clutch putts.

"But you could not ever have a better venue or better crowd to play in front of - it's been a wonderful week."

Four years ago after defeat in Gleneagles Mickelson was hugely critical of captain Tom Watson but he had nothing but praise for Furyk.

"We had phenomenal leadership - they put us players in a position to succeed but unfortunately it didn't happen," said the 48-year-old Mickelson, the five-times major champion who lost both his matches this week.

"The European side played some exquisite golf and flat-out beat us - but they beat us on the course."

(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Toby Davis and Ed Osmond)

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Ryder Cup glory in sight for Europe as they lead by four

PARIS - Europe head into the final day of the 42nd Ryder Cup with Jim Furyk's American side exactly where they want them after stretching their lead to a commanding 10-6 on Saturday.

Thomas Bjorn's men began the day 5-3 ahead, ended the morning fourballs 8-4 to the good and consolidated their advantage during the foursomes despite American resistance.

Over the opening two days there have been few chinks in the European armour with Anglo-Italian pairing Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari leading the onslaught.

Sent out again by Bjorn, they combined to inflict two crushing defeats on 14-times major champion Tiger Woods on Saturday as the American's miserable weekend continued.

Fleetwood, one of five rookies in Bjorn's dozen, is the first European debutant in Ryder Cup history to win his first four matches while his union with this year's Open champion, already nicknamed Moliwood, is the first from Europe to win maximum points from the first two days.

"They were phenomenal," Bjorn said.

Stunning cameos from Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey and another rookie, Tyrrell Hatton, mean Europe are 4.5 points from regaining the trophy they lost at Hazeltine two years ago.

Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas valiantly kept the U.S. afloat but Furyk's misfiring team require a miracle on Sunday.

Only twice has a side overturned a four-point deficit on the final day although a draw would retain the trophy.

"We need a big couple of points early on, and then the pressure moves solely on to them," said Spieth, who has three points from four matches here with Thomas.

"If we can get two or three points early, it gets to be quiet and uneasy around here. That's the goal."

It would take more than that to silence the raucous crowds that swarmed to the Parisian countryside, serenading their heroes as the putts dropped and iron shots stung the greens.

'MOST IMPORTANT 18 HOLES'

But while Bjorn admitted he is "really, really, really" happy with the first two days, he knows it is not over -- pointing to Europe's "Miracle in Medinah" in 2012 when they overturned a four-point deficit on the Sunday to stun the Americans.

"You think of Brookline, Medinah and plenty of other examples where scorelines don't mean much," the Dane said.

"This is probably the most important 18 holes ahead of these 12 players for a long time."

Incredibly, Europe had trailed 3-1 after Friday's fourballs, before a barnstorming sweep of the foursomes.

Furyk picked exactly the same pairs for Saturday's fourballs -- players with 23 major titles between them -- but this time, with a teasing north-easterly wind up across Le Golf National, they could barely locate a fairway or green.

McIlroy and Garcia withstood a fightback by Brooks Koepka and Finau for a 2&1 victory -- Spain's Garcia nailing it with a stupendous 25-foot birdie on the 17th that provoked an eruption of roars aross the course.

Casey's red-hot putter helped him and Hatton to a comfortable 3&2 win against Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, and Woods was given little support from Patrick Reed who spent most of his time hacking through knee-high rough in a 4&3 loss to Fleetwood and Molinari.

When Woods lost again later it was his 19th defeat in 29 fourballs and foursomes.

Spieth and Thomas snapped a sequence of eight unanswered European points as they beat Poulter and Spanish rookie Jon Rahm.

Woods toiled away in the afternoon with Bryson Dechambeau but the magic was not there and he was powerless to prevent a 5&4 defeat by "Moliwood".

Johnson and Koepka lost a fierce tussle 2&1 against Europe's old reliables Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.

The U.S. finally put some more red on the board, though, with Spieth and Thomas defeating Poulter and McIlroy 4&3 after losing the first two holes, and Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson getting the better of Garcia and Swede Alex Noren -- a match in which the second hole was shared with triple-bogey sixes.

It left Garcia tantalizingly short of the one point required to take his tally past the 25 of all-time Ryder Cup points record scorer Nick Faldo.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon, Pritha Sarkar and Neville Dalton)

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Ryder Cup not over despite Europe fightback warns Bjorn

Europe battled back to lead the Ryder Cup entering Saturday's second day of competition thanks to an unprecedented foursomes sweep of defending champions the United States, yet European captain Thomas Bjorn warns the trophy fight is far from over.

Europe seized a 5-3 lead after Friday's opening fourball and foursomes sessions at Le Golf National thanks to four romps in the afternoon foursomes, the Americans unable to last past the 16th hole.

"It was great but we need to put our heads back on quickly," Bjorn said. "There's no time to celebrate. There's still a job to be done."

Reigning British Open champion Francesco Molinari of Italy, winless in five prior Ryder Cup matches, paired with English rookie Tommy Fleetwood to beat Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed 3 and 1 in fourballs and the duo then ripped Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth 5 and 4 to complete the historic foursomes sweep.

"We didn't come here to win the foursomes," Molinari said. "We came here to win something else."

Molinari will join Fleetwood for a Saturday fourballs rematch against Woods and Reed, who sat out Saturday afternoon.

US captain Jim Furyk dismissed fears of back problems for Woods, saying: "I'd have to say that's not true. He was actually out practising after the matches. I'm not aware of anything like that."

Woods, the star attraction after ending a five-year win drought last weekend, liked his shotmaking.

"My game is fine," he said. "My putting feels solid. I'll be ready come tomorrow."

Other Saturday morning matchups, all featuring US duos trying to repeat Friday wins, send four-time major winner Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia against three-time major winner Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau, Ian Poulter and Jon Rahm against Spieth and Thomas and Englishmen Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton against world number one Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.

- 'Event still pretty young' -

"We refocus and look forward to tomorrow," Bjorn said. "I've also been around long enough to know it could swing around again."

Europe need 14 1/2 points from Saturday and Sunday's 12 concluding singles matches to win for the ninth time in 12 attempts and reclaim the Cup while the Americans need 14 to retain the trophy.

Europe's charge came after the US squad seized a 3-1 lead after morning fourballs, the best American result in an opening session in Europe since 1989.

"They wanted to go out and prove something," Bjorn said. "That says something about the group."

The Americans are trying to end a 25-year European win drought and see plenty of time to reverse their situation.

"The event is still pretty young," Furyk said. Eight out of 28 points, a pretty small percentage of this thing being played.

"Our guys, I think they will respond. I really do. We'll come back tomorrow and I think we'll be firing."

The sweep added fire to Europe's hopes with one of their greatest Ryder Cup sessions ever.

"It's hard to say it's not right at the top," Bjorn said. "It is right at the top when you clean sweep. It's something pretty special to all the guys on that golf course."

It was important to Furyk as well.

"The afternoon going 4-0 is significant," he said. "We will figure out the afternoon for tomorrow and try and do better.

"We're two down with 20 points left. There's time. We'll see how it goes and try to put ourselves in position."

js/mw

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Golf: US powers into early Ryder Cup lead despite Woods defeat

The United States made a strong start to the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on Friday as Jim Furyk's men claimed a 3-1 lead after the opening session despite a defeat for Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed.

The away team are bidding to win the trophy for the first time on European soil since 1993, and made an excellent start.

Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau stunned Jon Rahm and Justin Rose 1-up in the opening match, taking the lead for the first time at the final hole.

Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler then raised hopes of a repeat of the 2016 first-morning whitewash for the holders by swatting aside Rory McIlroy and Thorbjorn Olesen 4 and 2.

But after Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas edged out Tyrrell Hatton and Paul Casey in a thrilling match 1-up, British Open champion Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood produced a late surge to down a misfiring Woods and Reed 3 and 1.

The former world number one, playing in his first Ryder Cup since 2012, and the Masters champion were then left out by Furyk for the afternoon foursomes.

It is the Americans' largest first-session lead in Europe since 1989.

Johnson and Fowler won the first point, easing past an out-of-sorts McIlroy and European rookie Olesen.

Dane Olesen struck his first Ryder Cup tee shot into the water, but spent much of the match carrying four-time major winner McIlroy, who was out of form, failing to make a single birdie or win a hole.

McIlroy and Olesen both missed lengthy birdie tries on the 16th hole to end a one-sided match with a whimper.

- Beginner's luck -

Europe led for the majority of the opening match, but collapsed late on as the US edged in front for the first time at the final hole.

Rose and Rahm took a 2-up lead after some sparkling play around the turn, but lost the momentum as Koepka and Finau drew level with two holes to play.

Rookie Finau, a captain's pick by Furyk, saw his tee shot at the par-three 16th hit the wooden boards separating the green from the water, before spinning into the air and coming to rest three feet from the hole for a simple birdie.

"I like pulling those out when it really matters," he smiled. "Sometimes you get a good kick. Sometimes you don't."

Spaniard Rahm bogeyed the 18th and FedEx Cup winner Rose found water to gift the Americans victory.

The visitors secured a third point as Spieth and Thomas held off a thrilling comeback from Casey and Hatton in a high-quality clash.

Spieth and Thomas, good friends off the course, raced into a 3-up advantage as the former poured in five birdies in the opening seven holes.

The 25-year-old Thomas maintained that lead with birdies at the ninth and 10th holes, but Casey made four straight birdies before a pin-point Hatton approach made it all-square with five to play.

The Americans edged back ahead, though, and Hatton missed a 15-foot attempt to salvage half a point on the last green.

"It was great. We had a great start, too. Playing Ryder Cups over here are extremely fun," said three-time major winner Spieth. "We were able to feed off each other."

The home side started a possible fightback, though, with the heroics of Fleetwood sending the crowd into delirium with magnificent birdie putts on the 15th and 16th to grab a 2-up lead on Woods and Reed, having been 2-down after 10.

The big-name American pairing were off the pace throughout despite a strong start by Woods.

But the 14-time major champion lost his way on the back nine, with him and Reed both finding water and missing several fairways, leaving Molinari with a simple two-putt to get Europe on the board.

The Italian did even better than that, draining his birdie try to secure his first-ever full Ryder Cup point on his third appearance in style.

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Furyk named U.S. captain for 2018 Ryder Cup

Former U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk will captain the defending champion United States in the 2018 Ryder Cup against Europe at Le Golf National in Paris, the PGA of America said on Wednesday.

Furyk, nine times a player in the biennial competition, served as a vice-captain under Davis Love III at Hazeltine last October for the U.S. team that won golf's top team event for the first time since 2008.

"This is such an honor, I'm actually feeling a little overwhelmed," Furyk told a news conference at PGA headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

"It's been my favorite event in my entire career. In my opinion, the Ryder Cup embodies everything special about golf."

   
The 46-year-old Furyk was hailed as a "natural leader and great communicator" by PGA of America President Paul Levy in introducing him as the 28th U.S. Ryder Cup captain.

Furyk, a 17-times winner on the PGA Tour who last August recorded the lowest ever PGA Tour round when he shot a 12-under-par 58, was widely considered the frontrunner for the job.

According to multiple reports the selection committee, which included Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Love, whittled down their list for captain to either Furyk or Fred Couples.

Furyk, who is ranked 34th in the world and missed a large chunk of last season after wrist surgery, was part of the Ryder Cup task force created after the U.S. team he played on suffered a humbling defeat at Gleneagles in 2014.

Among the changes that came from that task force, whose aim was to help improve U.S. fortunes in an event they dominated until the mid 1980s, came a plan to groom future captains that would ascend from vice-captaincy roles.

Furyk, who will by trying to register the first U.S. Ryder victory on foreign soil in 25 years, said Love would serve as a vice-captain.

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn was named as Europe's captain for 2018 last month.

Furyk has had his share of Ryder Cup disappointments, compiling a 10-20-4 record as a player with his teams losing seven of nine competitions. Yet his love for the event burns strong.

"It has the teamwork, the camaraderie, the competition, the passion. It brings fans together from worldwide," said Furyk, whose nine Ryder Cup appearances as a player are second behind only Phil Mickelson's 11.

"I get chills thinking about all the events I have been able to participate in and how fortunate I've been."

(Reporting by Larry Fine in New York; Editing by Frank Pingue)

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