ryder cup quotes of the day
Even Garcia had goosebumps.
By Phil Casey, PA Sport, Dublin
"I'd better not or I will start welling up. That will stay with me forever." Darren Clarke talks about the reception he received on the first tee ahead of his fourball match with Lee Westwood on Friday morning. "I don't know how I managed to do it, but I went flush-flush-flush on the first and made three." Clarke again. "Emotions hopefully you don't ever have to feel." Clarke once more when asked what he was feeling less than six weeks after the death of his wife Heather. "There was one secret today and that was Sergio. He was just awesome. He has all the tools and the way he played today, the game of golf looks easy." Jose Maria Olazabal could have found a replacement for Seve Ballesteros. "I had, what do you say, 'goosebumps?' down the back of my neck." Garcia even finds time to learn some new English words after his birdie on the 16th seals victory over David Toms and Brett Wetterich. "It even got to starter Ivor Robson. Just before the start he said 'Welcome to the foursomes' instead of fourballs. That shows you what it felt like." Colin Montgomerie spots a mistake on the first tee. "I was struggling, I didn't warm up particularly well. I struggled in the middle part but Jim was in about every hole." Woods gives an honest assessment of his play after driving into water on the first tee and relying on partner Jim Furyk. "They're all square." An astute American fan as the first match goes down the first fairway. "Jesper Parnevik told me in my first Ryder Cup, you either ride the adrenalin or try to fight it. Either way can work." Paul McGinley reveals how to deal with all the home support. "Like he said on Monty Python, I know nothing." Henrik Stenson gets his British comedy shows mixed up when asked if he will be playing in Saturday's fourballs. Fawlty Towers not popular in Sweden perhaps. "He hasn't had a putt since the fifth and he said 'Thanks Monty, you've left me a 35-yarder!" Colin Montgomerie reveals what was being said on the 18th green in their match with Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco. Westwood putted down to six feet and Montgomerie holed to halve the match. "We are all contributing, which is great news, and we've all played on the first day which is very positive." An unbeaten and happy Westwood. "What a game of golf that was. Two points ahead? I don't know what we are." European captain Ian Woosnam is caught up in the excitement. "It was a tough finish, no doubt about it. It stings a little but the team has played well. At 5-3 it's still anybody's ball game, I don't feel too concerned but still a little frustrated." US Captain Tom Lehman reflects on a day when seven of the eight matches were concluded on the 18th. "I struggled in the first six or seven holes this morning but got it turned around and this afternoon I actually hit it pretty good." Tiger Woods said at the end of the foursomes matches. "But we got down early in the afternoon and just weren't able to get it together." Jim Furyk agreed. "My partner hit it well this afternoon. I struggled to get some 15 footers for birdie. If we left anything out there in the round it was early on." Seven of the eight matches reached the 18th green and Woods said that just highlighted how finely-balanced the competition was. "It shows how close these teams are, like in the past three or four Ryder Cups. A lot of matches seem to go to 18 now - you rarely get blow-outs. But it makes for an exciting finish for 16, 17 and 18."
