The Saturday morning matchups for Ryder Cup foursomes are out, and for the first time in his Ryder Cup career, Tiger Woods will be sitting out a session. The combination of Woods and Steve Stricker yielded two points to the Europeans on Friday, but Tiger really picked up his play in the afternoon and was one of the better players out on the course. He simply ran into the hottest player of the day in Nicolas Colsaerts. Captain Davis Love III wants his players rested for Sunday singles, so it’s not surprising that Woods is sitting down. His struggles in the alternate-shot format on Friday morning likely aided Love’s decision to keep him on the bench for the same session on Saturday.
Ryder Cup 2012: Pairings and tee times for Saturday Foursomes
The pairings have been announced for Saturday morning’s foursomes at the Ryder Cup, and Tiger Woods will be on the bench for the first time in his Ryder Cup history.
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Trailing 5-3, Jose Maria Olazabal is sending out his full arsenal Saturday morning, looking get back into it and finish the day level. The power pairing of Ian Poulter and Justin Rose will lead things off against the steamrolling duo of Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson. Olazabal’s decision to keep Poulter, a renowned Ryder Cup star, out of the Friday afternoon four-ball matches came under scrutiny. But he’ll lean on him to start things right out of the gate. Something has to give in that first match of two pairings who have had nothing but success.
Love is not messing with a good thing in the second match, sending out the dynamic duo of Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson. Bradley was the star of the American team on Friday, and he and Mickelson were a natural pairing coming into the weekend. It worked out even better than expected. They’ll face Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, two Englishmen who struggled a bit on Friday. Westwood was particularly out of form with the putter, but it would have taken some courage for Olazabal to bench the decorated veteran.
Colsaerts and Sergio Garica will team up in the third match, facing the steady American duo of Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson. Colsaerts lit it up in his Ryder Cup debut, and the pairing with Garcia will certainly lead to some fireworks inside and outside of the ropes. Dufner is the most even-keeled player in the field, and he cooly clinched a point with his equally-as-accurate partner.
The final match will be a rematch of the first clash of the weekend, with the Northern Ireland pairing of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell facing Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker. Furyk has a woeful record in the Ryder Cup, and he played poorly again through the first 14 holes on Friday. But he got hot at the end of the round, bringing his team back from a 3-down hole to even things up on the 18th tee. Unfortunately, a wayward Snedeker drive led to McIlroy and McDowell picking up the point on the final green. Snedeker and Furyk will be out for revenge in a crucial anchor match Saturday morning.
Here’s the complete schedule for Saturday foursomes:
8:20 a.m. -- Ian Poulter/Justin Rose (Europe) vs. Bubba Watson/Webb Simpson (USA)
8:35 a.m. -- Luke Donald/Lee Westwood (Europe) vs. Phil Mickelson/Keegan Bradley (USA)
8:50 a.m. -- Sergio Garcia/Nicolas Colsaerts (Europe) vs. Jason Dufner/Zach Johnson (USA)
9:05 a.m. -- Rory McIlroy/Graeme McDowell (Europe) vs. Jim Furyk/Brandt Snedeker (USA)
