Sergio Garcia sinks bunker shot to put Europe ahead, whiffs on high-5

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.

The shot put the power duo of Sergio and Rory 1-up through their first four holes. The American side had just been hanging on in this heavyweight match anchoring the four-ball session.

The Sergio shot just made things worse for the Americans early on Friday. They’re down in three of four matches and none of the four pairings has looked particularly good. The Jordan Spieth/Patrick Reed rookie pairing is up in their match, but they have also missed some opportunities against a struggling Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher. Here’s where things stand on the front 9 of four-ball.