By the time US duo JB Holmes and Ryan Moore snared their first birdie in the afternoon fourballs, the Spanish duo of Sergio Garcia and Rafael Cabrera Bello were in complete control of the point.
Cabrera Bello showed no signs of nerves and set the tone with an excellent opening birdie, giving him and his partner a lead they were never to lose.
Garcia had endured a difficult morning with his driving and throughout his long Ryder Cup career had only partnered one rookie before – Nicolas Colsaerts in a loss at Medinah in 2012 – but he birdied five and then came in with three more after the turn to take them out to four-up.
Holmes finally produced a birdie for the US duo at the 11th but Sergio followed him in for a half, so when rookie wildcard pick Moore got a birdie three at the 14th and Garcia missed for a half, they were still three down with four to play.
They got another hole back at the 15th, Holmes holing from outside Cabrera Bello for birdie, but at the long 16th neither American could find the fairway or the putting surface in three, Garcia’s solid birdie four being enough to secure the point 3 and 2.
“Playing with Sergio is a huge honour for me and it feels great to win my first point,” said Cabrera Bello.
Garcia added: “We needed to get back into it after this morning and to win the session was really important for us. Now we’re right back in it.”
