Ryder Cup 2014: Saturday preview, predictions

The Americans were undoubtedly impressive in the morning session of the first day of the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles Resort in Scotland on Friday, where they earned a 2.5-1.5 point lead led by Ryder Cup rookies Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed as well as Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley.

More from Golf

The afternoon session was a different story.

It was Team Europe’s turn to impress. Europe scored points in all four afternoon alternate shot matches. They won three and tied one. This gave Europe a 5-3 lead going into day two of the festivities.

Tomorrow, the U.S. has a chance to get right back in it. Here are my morning match preditctions:

Match 1 (7:35 AM): Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose (Europe) vs. Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar (USA) 3 and 2

Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose played in both the morning and afternoon Friday sessions and won both. They defeated Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson 5 and 4 followed by defeated Hunter Mahan and Zach Johnson 2 and 1 in the afternoon. The pair nabbed four birdies in their fourball match and five birides in their alternate shot match and they’ll pick up right where they left off.

Bubba Watson has always struggled in Europe as the conditions and climate does not support his big hitting style of play. I think Watson and Kuchar will fight, but Stenson and Rose will wear them down and win on the 16th hole.

Match 2 (7:50 AM): Jaimie Donaldson and Lee Westwood (Europe) vs. Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan (USA) Halved

I’m not too crazy about either of these pairings. It’s bland. Donaldson and Westwood defeated Furyk and Kuchar in an alternate shot match 2 up, scoring four birdies. Donaldson and Westwood were impressive, but at the same time the Americans weren’t. Teaming up Furyk and Mahan is an interesting pairing, Furyk’s Ryder Cup record is tied with Phil Mickelson for the most losses at 18 as his overall Ryder Cup record is 9-18-4. Furyk will look to get over some bad ju-ju and see if he can get some points on the board for Team USA. While Donaldson and Westwood have home-course advantage, Furyk and Mahan will battle and halve the match.

Sep 26, 2014; Auchterarder, Perthshire, SCT; USA golfer Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed walk together after teeing off on the first hole during the first round for the 2014 Ryder Cup at The Gleneagles Hotel-PGA Centenary Course. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Match 3 (8:05 AM): Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer (Europe) vs. Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth (USA) 4 and 3

Tom Watson made a coaching mistake when he decided not to play Ryder Cup rookies Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth in afternoon session after the duo defeated Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher 5 and 4 in just 14 holes in the morning session.

After considerable rest, Watson still decided to play Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in the afternoon session after they were the final match to finish after playing 18 holes. Reed and Spieth will show why that was a mistake tomorrow morning when they defeat Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer 4 and 3. Kaymer and Bjorn played well together as they had the U.S. pair of Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker on their heels, before the U.S. duo was able to halve the match.

I think Spieth and Reed have a fire and will carry a momentum from Friday morning into the match to defeat the much older Bjorn and talented Kaymer.

Match 4 (8:20 AM): Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter (Europe) vs. Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker (USA) 1 up

Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter were not paired on Friday. McIlroy was paired with Sergio Garcia and the pair struggled with bad driving accuracy and failed to get a win for Team Europe. They lost in the morning to Mickelson and Bradley and they halved with Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker in the afternoon. Poulter played with Stephen Gallacher in the morning and the pair couldn’t get anything started as they ended up losing 5 and 4 to Spieth and Reed.

Poulter, a Ryder Cup hero for Team Europe in 2012, did not play particularly well and neither did McIlroy. I think this is a good pair that will play in the afternoon session as well, but they will fall to an American pair that is hungry for a win after halving both of their Friday matches.

Morning session: USA 2.5, Europe 1.5

Total: USA 5.5, Europe 6.5

Going into the afternoon session of alternate shot the U.S. will gain a point back on Europe and still have work left to do. Here are my pairing predictions for each team in the alternate shot portion of Saturday that will be announced after the conclusion of the first two morning session matches (not in order of tee time).

weSep 25, 2014; Auchterarder, Perthshire, SCT; United States players from left to right Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker and Bubba Watson sit on stage during the opening ceremony for the 2014 Ryder Cup at The Gleneagles Hotel-PGA Centenary Course. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

USA

Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley: Watson hinted at splitting the duo up, but they rely on each other too much and it’s his own fault they’re 4-1 in the Ryder Cup together after playing them tired on Friday.

Zach Johnson and Bubba Watson: Watson will bounce to his third different playing partner, but Tom Watson definitely wants to see him play twice. Zach Johnson is a good, grounded partner for him in alternate shot.

Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth: Tom Watson will learn from his Friday mistake and play the young-gun rookie duo after they score another big win for the U.S.

Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker: They’ve proved they can score points for the U.S. and keep up with the best.

Webb Simpson will not get the nod tomorrow after his rough play in Friday morning’s match.

Europe

Sergio Garcia and Stephen Gallacher: Rory got paired with Poulter and I think Europe captain Paul McGinley will just swap Garcia into the spot with Gallacher. They should perform well.

Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson: The duo performed and meshed well together in Friday afternoon’s win and they’ll be paired again and expected of similar results.

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson: The duo will be 3-0 in the Ryder Cup going into Saturday afternoon, there’s no way you don’t play them again.

Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter: You have to play the world No. 1 and Europe’s best Ryder Cup player (Ian Poulter 12-4). The duo will play well in a loss in the morning, but will get a win in their afternoon session.

Total after Saturday afternoon session: USA 7.5, Europe 8.5

Saturday’s Day 2 coverage

TV:

3 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET — NBC

3 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. — Golf Channel’s “Alternate Shot” coverage

Online streams:

3 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Golf Channel/NBC Sports LiveExtra simulcast stream

Other streaming options

Ryder Cup App’s “Ryder Cup Live” from 2:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET (Apple, Android)

Radio:

2 a.m. until completion of play — PGA Tour Radio on Sirius-XM (Ch. 93/208)

More on FanSided.com

Europe ties score with U.S.A. with win
U.S.A. takes 1-point lead into afternoon session
Full 2014 Ryder Cup preview, predictions
Ryder Cup Friday afternoon session predictions

Home/Golf