Ryder Cup Even After First Day Four Matches Make It To 18th Green; Rain, Darkness Delays Two Matches

The bone-rattling thunderstorm that rumbled off the Mediterranean Sea and soaked the Spanish coast just before dawn Friday was merely a wake-up call for what was to come at the Ryder Cup.

The cheers and jeers, made putts and missed shots, strategic moves and coy gamesmanship later in the day were the real reminder that this is the most electric event in golf.

“Isn’t the Ryder Cup neat?” Tom Kite said after the rain-delayed opening round was suspended by darkness with two matches still on the course and his U.S. team tied with Europe, 3-3.

Four of the six matches completed Friday made it to the 18th green. Scott Hoch and Brad Faxon rolled in important putts for the Americans and Jesper Parnevik sank a couple for Europe.

Nick Faldo, playing in a record 11th Ryder Cup, proved no one was immune to the pressure when he missed a 6-footer on the final hole of his better-ball match.

He then watched as Faxon made almost the same putt to give him and Fred Couples a 1-up victory over Faldo and Lee Westwood.

“That was a huge putt, not only for Brad’s confidence, but for the entire team,” Kite said, referring to a putt of about the same length that Faxon missed on the last hole to lose his Sunday’s singles match 1-down to David Gilford in 1995.

Davis Love III and Phil Mickelson lost to Jose Maria Olazabal and Costantino Rocca 1-up in better-ball, but that was because the European pair played five holes at 5-under par, including a 131-yard wedge holed by Olazabal for an eagle on No. 15.

And Tom Lehman and Jim Furyk lost to Parnevik and Per-Ulrik Johansson in better-ball 1-up when Parnevik made 15-foot birdie putts on the last two holes.

The only two matches that didn’t go the entire way involved Tiger Woods, who was noticeably annoyed when he was hooted after a poor bunker shot on No. 7 in the afternoon. He was teamed with Mark O’Meara and won their morning better-ball match 3 and 2 over Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer.

The same pair then lost to Montgomerie and Langer in alternate-shot play 5 and 3.