Gleneagles, Scotland (SportsNetwork.com) - Phil Mickelson got up and down for birdie on the 18th hole to give the United States a 2 1/2 - 1 1/2 lead after Friday morning's four-ball play at the Ryder Cup.
Mickelson and Keegan Bradley earned a hard-fought 1-up win in the final match of the morning at Gleneagles over Sergio Garcia and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy.
Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker rallied from an early 3-down deficit to halve their match with Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer.
"It is not devastating. It's a point lost, no big drama. These are great players, they'll bounce back," said European captain Paul McGinley. "They do it week in and week out. It's a point lost in the Ryder Cup, it's not that big of a deal."
After the Europeans dominated the last few holes in 2012 at Medinah, Walker and Mickelson won the 18th with birdies to halve and win their respective matches.
"I really liked the way they finished, that's the most important thing," U.S. captain Tom Watson said of his team. "That's what I'm looking for in Ryder Cup play and it's what I've been trying to stress - how you finish. It's not how you start, it's not how you drive, it's how you arrive."
The other two matches were 5 & 4 blowouts. In the mornings first match, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson rolled over Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson. Simpson and Watson failed to make a single birdie on the four-ball session.
The other big win went to the American rookie duo of Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth as they trounced Stephen Gallacher and Ian Poulter. Reed and Spieth combined for six birdies in the first 11 holes.
Garcia holed out for birdie on the par-3 fourth. After a pair of halves, Bradley squared the match with a par at the seventh.
Mickelson got up and down for birdie on No. 9, then Bradley rolled in a birdie try from the fringe on No. 10 as the Americans grabbed a 2-up lead.
Garcia made par at 11 and that was enough to trim the Europeans deficit to 1- down. The Americans made a mess of the 13th and McIlroy won the hole with a par to square the match.
Mickelson made another bogey on No. 15, the third bogey in five holes for the Americans, to give the Europeans their first lead since the sixth. However, Bradley answered with an eagle on No. 16 to square the match.
McIlroy got up and down for par at 17, while Bradley 2-putted for his par. There were several poor shots in the final match on the 18th. Mickelson hit a solid flop shot to four feet. After McIlroy missed his par putt and Bradley his birdie effort, Garcia rolled in his par try.
It was all up to Mickelson. The 10-time Ryder Cup performer knocked in his 4- footer for birdie to win the match and give the Americans the early lead.
"That eagle he made on 16 was so tight. Three incredible shots, and I was telling him that I got such an adrenaline rush from his putting. It was just awesome. What a big eagle that was," Mickelson said of Bradley.
Bjorn and Kaymer, who won the U.S. Open in a rout earlier this year, grabbed a big early lead on Fowler and Walker. Kaymer birdied the first and fourth, while Bjorn birdied the second to give the Europeans a 3-up lead after four holes.
Fowler cut into that lead with a birdie on the fifth. After the teams matched pars on the next three holes, Walker holed out from a bunker on No. 9 for birdie and the win
The Americans were within 1-down at the turn. Bjorn chipped in for birdie at 13 as the Europeans moved 2-up with five to play. The short game magic continued as Walker again chipped in for birdie, this time at the 16th.
Kaymer and Walker parred the 17th as the Europeans went to the last 1-up. Walker converted a 5-footer for birdie at the 18th to halve the match.
"We knew we were hitting it good, so we just said let's just keep giving ourselves looks and we did all day, but we didn't get a lot of them to go in," Walker stated. "Rickie got one to get us back to 2-down and we just said let's just keep chipping away until the end. When they missed on 17, we said this was our 1/2 point and let's go get it."
Rose and Stenson took control of their match early on. Stenson made birdie at the second, and Rose birdied the par-3 fourth to give the Europeans a 2-up lead.
After four halves in a row, Stenson drained a birdie on the par-5 ninth. Rose pushed their lead to 4-up with a birdie on the 10th. The team halved three more before Rose poured in a birdie effort at No. 14 to close out Simpson and Watson, who didn't win a hole in the match.
"We definitely ham-and-egged it well, especially to start with. I played the first hole really cleanly and Henrik bailed me out on two and three, then I took care of four," Rose explained. "We really worked well as a team."
Spieth took the first with a par to put the Americans 1-up in the third match. The teams matched three pars and a birdie over the next four holes before the Americans caught fire.
Reed birdied the sixth and Spieth followed with a birdie at the seventh. Reed's third at the par-5 ninth stopped four feet from the hole and he knocked that in for birdie.
Spieth followed with 12-foot birdie putt on the 10th. Reed made a birdie on the 11th from a similar distance to push the Americans 6-up with seven to play.
Gallacher won the 12th with a par after Spieth missed his par attempt. Gallacher and Reed parred No. 13. After Spieth and Reed missed their birdie chances at 14, Gallacher missed his birdie from about 13 feet.
That left it to Poulter. The Englishman entered the match with a 12-3 Ryder Cup record, but he failed to convert his 11-footer to give the Reed and Spieth the 5 & 4 victory.
"The first tee shot, Patrick and I both agreed it was the most nervous we'd ever been, even the first tee shot at Augusta. We piped a couple 3-woods out there and got off to a 1-up start and I think that kind of calmed us down," said Spieth.
