Luke Donald had repeatedly said in the long build-up to this Ryder Cup that opting for an opening foursomes gave Europe the best chance of taking an early lead.
But not even in his wildest dreams could the captain have imagined such a strong start.
‘Team Angry’, the Scandinavians, and even the pairing of Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry, who would not have necessarily been everyone’s choice for the opening foursomes, all delivered a point.
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And the hope of pulling off a first European clean sweep in the opening session in Ryder Cup history was achieved when Fleetwood Mac, caught in a tense battle with Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, came through.
Every point won, sunk putt or American failing, which were surprisingly plentiful, was cheered to the rafters by a partisan crowd dressed as Vikings, matadors and European flags in the glorious Rome sunshine.
The morning’s results left the United States with a mountain to climb and piled the pressure on captain Zach Johnson for some of his decisions, notably opting to include rookie Sam Burns, who had a dire morning, and omitting the established partnership of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
When Europe succumbed to a record 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits two years ago, the Americans were the overwhelming favourites to win across the Atlantic for the first time in 30 years.
Slowly in recent months that shifted, as Europe’s big names climbed the world order and its rookies found their best form to give the hosts the edge in the bookies’ eyes on the eve of the event.
At the time of Whistling Straits, one of those rookies, Ludvig Aberg, had been competing in the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in Texas, where he finished 26th. And yet, 77 days after turning pro, he was on the opening hole.
The morning’s results left the United States with a mountain to climb and piled the pressure on captain Zach Johnson for some of his decisions
Having already earned a reputation for an ice-cool temperament, he finally showed he was human after all, as he initially struggled to find his feet. The fact his playing partner, Viktor Hovland, is arguably the world’s most in-form golfer, gave him the breathing space to settle.
Hovland set the tone by chipping in from the edge of the green on the first for a birdie and to go one up. A putt on the second from the Norwegian doubled that lead.
Aberg joined the fray with a great birdie putt from 15 feet at the sixth and another at the turn, the pair’s fifth birdie to put them three up going onto the back nine.
Their partnership is only 15 holes old, but already it has the makings of being an historic one for Europe in the years to come.
While rookie Aberg shone in the 4&3 win over Max Homa and Brian Harman, another debutant in Burns could rarely have had a tougher initiation. The man with the long locks and USA cut into the side of his head was wayward with his tee shots and approaches, his only saving grace really his putting.
It was to world No1 Scottie Scheffler’s credit that they remotely stayed in contention, even with his own putting problems, against Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, aka ‘Team Angry’.
The pair were not quite faultless in earning Europe’s first point, but had four birdies and an eagle in a 4&3 win, and Rahm came close to the first hole-in-one at the Ryder Cup since 2006 and only the seventh in the event’s history.
Few pairings had a more audible following than that of Straka and Lowry, with a questionable chant of Lowry’s name to the tune of the Cranberries hit Zombie. Lowry had bristled when his selection was questioned at the BMW Championship at Wentworth, but he fully justified that, while his rookie playing partner initially struggled.
Their opponents, Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa, will be left to rue some the chances — notably an opportunity to win the hole on six and then half it on seven. And while they halved a four-hole disadvantage, they could not claw their way back into the match late on as Europe won 2&1 to go three up.
Match four was the only really tight contest, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood against America’s supposed sure bet, the close friends and neighbours Cantlay and Schauffele having never lost a Ryder Cup match together.
The Europeans led from the fourth, and that advantage ebbed between a hole or two throughout, with it looking like going down to the wire. But McIlroy and Fleetwood held their nerve to deliver a fourth point with a 2&1 win and that clean sweep.
