Ryder Cup 2014: Match results, live updates, and scores from Friday at Gleneagles

The Jimmy Walker and Rickie Fowler pairing have been on the ropes for much of their match against Martin Kaymer and Thomas Bjorn. But Walker has done his best to keep the USA side in it, first holing out from a bunker and then chipping in here at the 16th green to cut the deficit to 1-down with two to play.

Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley are some of our country’s leaders in the golfing buttslap space. The Ryder Cup always puts these pros in the position of having to emote and celebrate with a partner, something they don’t do every other week of the year. This always leads to awkwardness, usually in the form of stilted and missed high-fives. Phil and Keegan, however, have always gone for the buttslaps, whether it’s the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup. Here’s our first of 2014, coming on the 10th hole. (via GolfDigest)

What’s more impressive, was Mr. Mickelson’s face as he went in for the contact.

We have our first hole-out roar of the Ryder Cup thanks to Sergio Garcia. After four poor tee shots from Sergio, Rory McIlroy, and the American duo of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley, it looked like par would be enough for at least a halve at the par-3 4th hole. But Garcia changed that quickly, blasting out of a bunker and rolling it perfectly down the slope.

Phil Mickelson would try to match that work and have his caddie pull the flagstick, but the legendary wedge player couldn’t sink it like Sergio. In addition to being the first hole-out, the sequence also provided our first awkward and missed high-five celebration.

A good 21 years have passed since the USA won a Ryder Cup on European soil. The captain in 1993 was Tom Watson, who I guess wanted to go back to the same sweater style looking for a bit of that ‘93 good fortune.

Bubba Watson was back at it on the first tee of the Ryder Cup, and it appears he’s carving out his own tradition. Watson memorably requested that the crowd at Medinah in 2012 actually cheer as he addressed the ball and get louder as he took his first swing on the first tee. Ian Poulter responded by encouraging the away crowd in Chicago to keep the noise up for his first swing.

Playing an away game this time, Bubba couldn’t resist as the crowd roared when his name was announced. So he had to ask them to keep it up.

Well, the Americans aren’t off to the best of starts at the 2014 Ryder Cup. The competition opened with legendary British Open starter Ivor Robson announcing Bubba Watson as being on the first tee. There was just one problem -- Webb Simpson was leading off and taking the first shot of the American twosome.

Simpson then proceeded to almost miss the ball entirely, popping it up and barely making it to the front edge of the fairway. So yeah, it wasn’t the best of starts for the USA.

I wrote on Thursday that one of the reasons the Ryder Cup was the best event in golf is that it’s the only competition that comes close to approaching the atmosphere at some of the other sports.

And it starts at the first tee, where the European Tour has set up a football or futbol style “coming out of the tunnel” entrance to the enormous horseshoe-shaped grandstand.