U.S.'s big flop leaves captain Hal fuming

By Doug Ferguson ~ The Associated Press

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the rest of the Americans took a beating Friday in the Ryder Cup -- first from Europe, then from their own captain.

Europe wound up with 6 1/2 of a possible 8 points, its largest opening-day lead ever and the worst deficit the United States has ever faced in the 77-year history of the biennial competition.

It was enough to leave U.S. captain Hal Sutton perplexed, disgusted and searching for what to do about it.

He benched Mickelson for the Saturday morning matches after Lefty -- already a target for changing equipment last week and then not playing the course the final two days of practice -- hit one tee shot that nearly struck his wife and another on the 18th hole that almost went out of bounds, costing him and Woods a chance to earn precious points.

"It's not going to cause us any grief in the morning because he's going to be cheering instead of playing," Sutton said.

He blistered the Americans for being too scared on the greens, where they failed to put any pressure on the Europeans while going 70 holes and 6 1/2 hours before they led in any match.

"If the Americans keep this up, it won't be long before they are considered the underdogs," Sutton said.

If they're not already.

Then Sutton headed back to the hotel for a meeting that wasn't likely to be warm and fuzzy.

"When I get really mad at myself, I don't want somebody patting me on the back and lovin' on me," Sutton said. "I can assure you I'm not going to be lovin' on them."

Europe, meanwhile, was loving every minute of it.

Colin Montgomerie set a Ryder Cup record by playing in his 29th consecutive match, teaming with Padraig Harrington to whip Woods and Mickelson 2 and 1 in the morning better-ball match and having even an easier time, 4 and 2, in the afternoon alternate-shot match against Davis Love III and Fred Funk.

Montgomerie now is 13-2-3 in his last 18 matches, the best percentage among any European. Even more meaningful was beating Woods and Mickelson -- the American Dream Team -- to set the tone.

"Psychologically, it was almost worth two points to us," Monty said.

This might have been the quietest day at a Ryder Cup, as most of the 38,000 fans sat in stunned silence watching Europe steamroll through a team that has higher world rankings, more majors and bigger stars.

"I don't think we surprised ourselves," Harrington said. "That's what we set out to do."

Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Darren Clarke also won both their matches, with Clarke and Westwood finishing off the job Monty and Harrington started.

They beat Woods and Mickelson in better ball with a bogey on the final hole, despite the Americans taking a 3-up lead after four holes.

Woods and Mickelson carved out clutch pars to square the match on No. 17, and Mickelson pulled his new 3-wood for a crucial tee shot. It soared to the left, took one hop off the out-of-bounds fence and dropped a few feet away, leaving Woods no choice but to take a one-shot penalty drop from the fence.

Mickelson had a chance to make good, but his wedge from 91 yards spun back some 25 feet.

"I let it slide on 18 with a poor tee shot ... and it basically cost us the match," Mickelson said.

No one knows how Woods felt about the pairing, the day, the tee shot, anything. Assistant captain Steve Jones drove him and Mickelson away in a cart through a throng of reporters, straight to the locker room.

"There's a lot of pressure in the Ryder Cup," Westwood said. "Everybody is entitled to make a bad swing once in awhile. He just made it in a critical situation."

Now the entire U.S. team is on life support.

The lead is so large -- the United States in 1975 was the only other team with such a huge margin, and that was before continental players were added to the other side to make it more competitive -- that Europe mathematically can clinch the cup on Saturday.

"We got off to a good start," Montgomerie cautioned. "That's all it is."

The bright spots for the United States were two rookies -- Chris Riley and Chris DiMarco, along with Jay Haas, at 50 the second-oldest player in Ryder Cup history.

Riley holed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole that avoided a morning shutout, earning a half-point for him and Stewart Cink against Paul McGinley and Luke Donald.

DiMarco, a jock in pleated trousers, was the emotional leader for the Americans, pumping his fist after every putt and urging the fans to make some noise. It didn't help.

"We pretty much got our butts kicked today," DiMarco said.

Other lowlights:

-- Davis Love III went 0-2, the first time he has lost both matches on opening day. Sutton had said he and Chad Campbell were as "strong as new rope," but they made only one birdie in better ball and lost 5 and 4 to Clarke and Miguel Angel Jimenez, the biggest rout of the day.

-- David Toms failed to make a single birdie as he and Jim Furyk were soundly beaten by Garcia and Westwood.

-- Woods started 0-2 for the second straight time in the Ryder Cup. He will be paired Saturday morning with Riley, his good buddy from junior golf, in a better-ball match.

-- Mickelson has lost his last nine matches in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.

-- Sutton's pairings turned out to be a bust, none bigger than Woods and Mickelson.

"I saw a lot of frustration on their faces," he said.

This came one day after Sutton suggested that Woods and Mickelson might be one of the greatest pairings in U.S. history -- so good "they might even shoot 58."

By Friday evening, he was left to guess which players might make a good team.

"I didn't see just a hell of a lot out there that gave me some conclusive points on what I should do," he said.

That was hardly the case for European captain Bernhard Langer.

He benched three rookies -- Paul Casey, David Howell and Ian Poulter -- but now has such a good lead, and such a good feeling about his team, that all three are playing Saturday.

"I think my team looks very good, and not just on paper," Langer said. "I have eight strong guys out there. It doesn't matter how I send them out."