The post Ian Poulter, Billy Horschel confronted each other. Poulter shares his side. appeared first on Golf.

The post Ian Poulter, Billy Horschel confronted each other. Poulter shares his side. appeared first on Golf.

Horschel raised his left hand. 

Horschel took a small step back. 

Poulter took a small step forward. 

Poulter raised his left arm. 

Horschel took a small step forward and raised his left arm. 

Poulter slid over to Horschel’s left side with his left arm raised. 

Poulter took two steps back. 

All the while they were talking, though the sound was barely audible. 

The scene, captured in a video shot by George Cooper of National Club Golfer, didn’t look good Wednesday at Wentworth Golf Club. It looked heated. You can imagine why, and many have. In short, Poulter is a longtime DP World Tour and PGA Tour pro who has joined upstart LIV Golf, but is playing this week’s event at Wentworth, the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour, ahead of a trial that should determine whether he and other LIV players can play more DP World Tour events in the future. Horschel, meanwhile, is a longtime PGA Tour player, the defending BMW PGA champion, and has been vocal in his displeasure at the idea of LIV players returning to the PGA Tour or the DP World World Tour, including on Tuesday, when he spoke during his pre-tournament press conference. And a day later, one day before the start of the event, Poulter and Horschel met on the Wentworth practice green. It’s complicated. 

But Poulter said it shouldn’t be. He dismissed the discussion on Thursday. Both sides also said they talked on Tuesday, after Horschel’s press conference. And on Saturday morning, Poulter even spoofed the video on his social media channels, and Horschel shared it.        

Was everybody trying to diffuse things? Perhaps. But Poulter told Golf Digest on Thursday that he had “no problem with Billy.”

“All these [players] out here, I have been friendly with for a really long time,” Poulter told Golf Digest. “So let’s draw a line between personal and business. It’s really easy to have a level-headed conversation with someone when you respect them, even though you have a difference of opinion. That’s fine. I can still be somebody’s friend.

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“That’s the nice thing about this game we play, and it will be a sad time if people let it spill over and take friendships away. That would be sad. We had a lovely chat the night before for an hour, outside the front of the hotel. There’s nothing in it. Billy is quite an animated guy, and I am, too. He has strong opinions, and I normally do, too, so you can tell how that would look on camera.”

Horschel also said he and Poulter talked Tuesday night. In an interview on the Gravy and the Sleeze show on SiriusXM radio on Wednesday, Horschel explained why he thought LIV players shouldn’t be playing this week and said he had a “conversation” with Poulter and Lee Westwood, another longtime PGA Tour and DP World Pro who is now playing for LIV.  

“Obviously I’ve said my comments, and I’ve been consistent with everything I’ve said for the last couple months,” Horschel said on the show. “I don’t feel these guys should be in this tournament this week. I understand that a lot of these guys, several of these guys have supported the European Tour for many, many decades. But the reason I don’t feel like they should be here is one, they didn’t follow all the process; they didn’t get a release and then they got suspended, or whatever they did on DP World Tour, and they put an injunction in that allowed them to play, so that court case gets decided in February. The one thing I looked at too is that these guys signed for a lot of money and they’re playing for a lot of money on that LIV tour. And I’m very happy for them, and I’ve said that from the very beginning. I’m very happy for these guys that made that decision and that’s the decision they wanted to make for their career. Like, that’s really cool. That’s not what I want to do, but that’s what they want to do. So I’m happy for them. 

“But the DP World Tour guys have struggled over here financially to play for big, big purses. Now, they’re playing at the biggest purse I think they have on this tour, that’s a full-field event, and you got X-amount of LIV guys that are taking spots away from players that are trying to keep their card, or raise their profile in the game of golf, and at the end of the day, depending on how many of those LIV guys play, they’re going to wind up taking money away from these other DP World players that need it more honestly. And so, that’s tough. That’s why I said I don’t think they should be here personally. 

“I’ve had conversations with Lee and Ian. You know, I talked here Monday and I didn’t know where I was going to fall on this fence a little bit and then I said my comments yesterday in the media and then I saw Lee and Ian at the hotel afterwards and I just sort of said, hey, guys, just to let you know, this is what I said in the media, and we had a conversation for about an hour and the great thing I love about Ian and Lee, who I’ve known for many years and I get along with very well, is that we can disagree on views and have different opinions, but we can still be very respectful and we can give our side of what we see things and try to understand the other side, understand what the other person is trying to bring. But we can still be friends and have still the same friendship. Like I said, I have no ill will towards these guys at all and if someone has an issue with me, that is their own issue, it’s not me. I mean, I don’t — like I said, it’s nothing personal with me.”

On Saturday, Poulter and Horschel tried to put an end to it all. On his social media channels, Poulter wrote: “Don’t always believe what you read or hear in the media,” and he applied the following audio to the original video:

“Billy, we spoke about this,” the Poulter audio said.  

“No, no, no, it’s light blue on the bottom, navy on top. You got it wrong. OK, you tell me,” the Horschel audio said. 

“Listen, listen, you’re not that good looking, Mr. Ralph Pin-up Boy,” the Poulter audio said.  

“OK, Rod Stewart, what are you wearing tomorrow?” the Horschel audio said. 

“Billy, it’s Sir Rod Stewart,” the Poulter audio said. “Picture this: my tartan trousers that no one likes — I know you don’t have a pair of them — so let’s no [bleep] it up tomorrow.”

On his Instagram story, Horschel shared the video and wrote:

“Poults never told me he was mic’d up!” 

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The post Ian Poulter ignores LIV Golf request, Graeme McDowell makes one at bizarre BMW PGA appeared first on Golf.

The post Ian Poulter ignores LIV Golf request, Graeme McDowell makes one at bizarre BMW PGA appeared first on Golf.

And one of the year’s more bizarre tournaments began. Though, it may now have a twist.

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The DP World Tour is playing its showcase event, the BMW PGA Championship, this week, 18 LIV Golf players are playing it, too, and you knew the proceedings may get at least a little awkward. Comments ahead of the tournament suggested as much, after the 18, who all play for the upstart, breakaway league, entered the tournament on an established tour, thanks to an arbiter ruling. Then play at historic Wentworth Club started on Thursday. 

And on the sleeve of Poulter’s shirt were the words “Majesticks GC,” the name of his LIV Golf team. And why is that naughty to some? Ahead of the event, according to reports, DP World Tour commissioner Keith Pelley had messaged the 18 that they “will not be required to play in the Wednesday pro-am, and out of respect for our partners, our broadcasters and your fellow competitors, we would kindly ask you to consider not wearing LIV Golf-branded apparel during your participation at Wentworth.” 

On Wednesday, Pelley expanded on his request. 

“There is nothing prohibiting them from wearing LIV clothing,” Pelley said. “A couple of players, more than a couple of players, a number of players, as you may know, I sent a note asking them not to wear LIV clothing this week, and I think I stated that I’ve already believed LIV is a competitor at this point in time.

“And as a result, it wouldn’t be prudent and really good for us if they were featured on Saturday or Sunday in the hunt wearing LIV clothing, so I’ve politely asked them not to. Quite a few of them have come back and changed. There is one player individually who reacted incredibly positively and who was planning to go wear and then actually got some of his merchandise shipped over not to wear it, and I appreciated that.”

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While Pelley did not name the player, LIV golfer Patrick Reed was seen wearing LIV gear during practice rounds, then was LIV-less on Thursday. Poulter wasn’t. Notably, according to a Wall Street Journal story that examined LIV player contracts, LIV golfers are “supposed to wear LIV apparel, even when playing in non-LIV events.”

“This is a business that I actually own part of, so it has a right to be there,” Poulter told the Guardian. “I have had about six different sets of clothes in the last five weeks. I can’t possibly go to the embroiderers and have another set made up for this week. I am here for three weeks. I’m traveling, so this was the set I brought.”

Later Thursday, after play was suspended because of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Poulter also quote-tweeted a tweet from Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard that reported him wearing the Majesticks shirt and wrote: “Rex, Sorry Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has sadly passed away. And you can’t help yourself and continue to throw pettiness out to the world. Show some RESPECT in these sad times. Give yourself a day off. #RIP Elizebeth. Just for clarification this is not my LIV gear.”

There were more LIV Golf thoughts. 

In February, a court will decide whether LIV golfers can play as they please on the DP World Tour, or be banned, as they are on the PGA Tour. But in an interview with reporters, including Hoggard and the Guardian, McDowell said the decision should neither wait till early next year, nor be decided by a judge. 

“Does it have to happen in a court of law?” McDowell said, as reported by the Guardian. “Let’s send 326 emails out and maybe two videos — one from the LIV players saying we’d love to support this tour eight, 10, 12 times a year, and then the other side of it is Keith Pelley’s statement this week.”

McDowell was referring to Pelley’s press conference on Wednesday, when Pelley talked at length on LIV Golf. When asked about the upcoming trial, Pelley said this: “As I said, I keep coming back to it, is that we are a members’ organization, and a members’ organization that has a membership handbook, and that is made up of rules and regulations. One of those is a conflicting tournament release. They requested a release. We denied that release, based on a plethora of reasons, and they decided to ignore that release and play and break the rules and regulations. And as a members’ organization, that’s not OK and that comes with consequences.

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“That’s really all I can say at this particular time.”

Rory McIlroy, who over the past year has become almost a PGA Tour spokesman, added more after his BMW PGA round. 

“I didn’t know he made the rules,” McIlroy said, according to the Guardian. “At this point we just have to go by the book. Again, if you abide by the rules and regulations of the tours, by all means you can play. But if you break those rules, actions have consequences. And you have to live by that, even if they are not actually doing that at the minute.”

Of course, there was also the golf.

Among the 18 LIV players, Abraham Ancer and Bernd Wiesberger were best, with rounds of four-under 68, which was four shots back of the lead. But the suspension presents a few scenarios. As of now, the DP World Tour said there would be no play on Friday, and “further updates on the resumption of play will be provided in due course.” 

But should the event possibly be canceled, the LIV-DP World Tour stir this week will be over — and no world ranking points will be awarded, which has been one of the key reasons LIV golfers are in the field. Another possibility is that the BMW is cut to three rounds — and 54 holes. 

That number, of course, is the amount of holes played on the LIV Golf series. And LIV is the Roman numeral for 54.

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The post Ian Poulter was again asked about being booed. Then he had questions of his own appeared first on Golf.

The post Ian Poulter was again asked about being booed. Then he had questions of his own appeared first on Golf.

The golfer-golf reporter flip-flop came Saturday, two days after TV mics picked up boos when Poulter was introduced ahead of his Open Championship first round at St. Andrews, though, afterward, he denied hearing any hisses. Poulter went on to make the cut, and after he shot a two-under 70 during the third round, the Englishman was asked about his crowd support. 

What followed was this exchange, which is shared in its entirety.  

Reporter: “Playing this course, the crowd, what’s the most, sort of support-wise, the most fun part of it?”

Poulter: “To be honest, every hole has been great. We’ve had, because of the way the golf course shapes itself, they’re kind of one side or the other side the whole way out and the whole way back in. You only allow them to come in around the loop, where they can kind of get in and have some food and stand in the stand. But the support’s been amazing.

“I mean, a lot of fans. I’m not sure of the numbers, but I would think it’s almost record numbers.”

Reporter: “Felt like you personally were getting a lot of crowd support. Was that something you noticed particularly? It must be quite welcome after people talking about you getting booed on the opening day?”

Poulter: “Are we still talking about it?”

Reporter: “I was walking with you today.”

Poulter: “Did you hear one bad comment?”

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Reporter: “No, I heard a lot of good ones. That’s why I’m asking.”

Poulter: “I’m asking you a question, did you hear one bad one?”

Reporter. “No.”

Poulter: “No, OK. So it’s amazing how we still talk about one person that’s 100 yards down the 1st, where there’s conveniently a microphone positioned way down halfway down the stand and some young guy says boo, and it comes over on the TV. And you all assume I’m being booed on the course.

“You just walked, [reporter] Phil Casey walked 17 holes on day one. He’s not here, but he was standing here the other day. And the 17 holes he walked, there was not one comment. There was not one boo. If you guys continue to write that there are people and there’s negative comments and there’s boos, then unfortunately that’s not a true reflection of exactly what happened.

“So it would be really nice if people like yourself, I don’t know your name.”

Reporter: “Andy.”

Poulter: “Andy, would actually write the truth, that we’re getting quite a lot of support out there on the golf course because it would just be nice. It would be a fair reflection of actually what’s happening, rather than this continual press of let’s lead down the path of players being booed who have joined the LIV tour. Let’s just say that, right? Fair, respectful, honest journalism would be great because it would be the truth.”

The questioning then changed. 

Were there boos for Poulter, who recently joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series? Yes, and even longtime pro turned analyst Sam Torrance noted that on the broadcast. Though, there were also cheers. 

Poulter’s response follows similar comments from Lee Westwood, another player who recently joined LIV. On Thursday, a reporter wondered if Westwood considered that this year’s reception could have been different, given Westwood’s departure for LIV, to which the Englishman responded: “No, I don’t think it had the potential. I think the media are stoking it up and doing as much as they can to aid that. I think the general public just want to go out there and see good golf no matter where it’s being played or who’s playing it.”

As for Poulter, he said Saturday he hasn’t been reading “any rubbish in the press this week, which has been unusual for me to not read it.”

“I’ve deliberately not read it, yeah, but just listening to some of the questioning is quite funny,” he said. 

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The post LIV Golf squabble reaches the courts: 3 players granted spots in Scottish Open appeared first on Golf.

The post LIV Golf squabble reaches the courts: 3 players granted spots in Scottish Open appeared first on Golf.

According to a release from the DP World Tour, the suspensions of Ian Poulter, Justin Harding and Adrian Otaegui have been temporarily stayed as their case works its way through the appeals process in U.K. courts. The trio of players were among those suspended and fined by the DP World Tour last month after they competed in the LIV Golf Invitational in London without a conflicting event release form. They will now be eligible to compete in this week’s Scottish Open.

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DP World Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley, who is at the JP McManus Pro-Am in Ireland this week, declined to give a detailed response on the matter while at Adare Manor, but he did say he was “disappointed by the outcome of [the] hearing.”

“It is important to remember, however, this is only a stay of the sanctions imposed, pending the hearing of the players’ appeal as to whether those sanctions were appropriate,” he added.

Pelley had previously announced suspensions from the Scottish Open (along with two other events the DP World Tour co-sanctions with the PGA Tour) for those who competed in LIV Golf events. He then issued a harsh response to those who threatened legal action.

Poulter, who is competing at the same pro-am, told the BBC earlier this week he was disappointed in Pelley’s decision and said he intended to “[fight] for his rights to play golf.”

“I feel disappointed, and offended that I’ve been suspended from playing golf on a Tour that I’ve played for 24 years,” Poulter said.

The DP World Tour will announce changes to the Scottish Open field later in the week, but the field size will now exceed the typical 156 players.

“We will make further comment on this in due course,” Pelley said. “But not during our time at Adare Manor.”

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The post Why the Southern Hills bunkers could pose huge problems at the PGA Championship appeared first on Golf.

The post Why the Southern Hills bunkers could pose huge problems at the PGA Championship appeared first on Golf.

The greens are devilish and errant approach shots are punished as they settle in a variety of collection areas. Canted fairways abound throughout the course, and flat lies are a rarity. Plus, the course is long; 7,556 yards to be exact.

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All those factors combine for a substantial test. But what might turn out to be the most difficult challenge players face this week is the bunkers surrounding the greens. As you watch the action on TV (or from the grounds in Tulsa), you’ll notice the sand is a bit discolored from what pro golfers typically face. Instead of pearly white sediment, these bunkers have a tinge of brown to them.

The slightly different color makes for a gorgeous scene, but the different sand also presents a unique challenge for golfers. As Ian Poulter pointed out on Instagram on Wednesday, the “coarse fine gravel type sand” makes it immensely difficult to control spin when coming out of the bunker.

“There’s tiny little rocks that can get between the blade and the ball,” Poulter told GOLF.com. “And if you do get a little rock, the ball can come out super fast. No spin; side spin. So it just makes it a little interesting.”

This might seem like much ado about nothing to our weekend warriors hearing Poulter’s gripe, but for the best players in the world, even the smallest things can have a huge impact. One tiny rock can be the difference between birdie and bogey — and that can decide the championship.

Worse yet, there’s no change in technique that can guard against the tiny rocks in the sand. It’s all up to chance.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Poulter said. “It’s just guesswork. You’ve just got to play it normal and hope you don’t get the tiny little stone between the blade and ball. It’s impossible to predict.”

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The post Why Ian Poulter sprinted No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass (and why it was brilliant) appeared first on Golf.

The post Why Ian Poulter sprinted No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass (and why it was brilliant) appeared first on Golf.

How much did we love his 17th hole, which he played in two shots — at a dead run? Let us count the ways.

1. He logged some extra rest

Why the run? Poulter’s main motivation for sprinting off the 17th tee and up to the island green was to finish his round. When play is halted for darkness, the groups on course can elect to finish the hole they’re currently playing — as long as at least one player has teed off on that hole.

So Poulter hit his tee shot at 17, ran to the green, holed his putt, grabbed driver, ran to No. 18 and teed off into the impending darkness. He even got up-and-down for par at No. 18. Instead of waking up in the wee hours to get back to TPC Sawgrass in time for a drizzly early-morning finish, Poulter was instead able to sleep in and relax on Friday, all but assured he wouldn’t play a single hole on a turbulent Friday.

That’s a good investment.

2. He set a pace-of-play gold standard

There’s never a bad time to set a good example. Take notes, kids (and, more to the point, other PGA Tour pros): You can play fast and well!

3. He got the good weather

Thursday evening was glorious in Ponte Vedra. Sunny. Calm. Soft. Even as darkness fell, it was much preferable to the unknown of a wet Friday morning. Sure, it looks a little desperate — but I actually think it was the right call.

4. He helped out his playing partners

Poulter was a hero to his playing partners, too. While Jhonnatan Vegas and Pat Perez moseyed up 17, Poulter was surging up ahead. They got to finish out their rounds, too, but didn’t have to break a sweat in the process.

And it worked! Perez even finished with a birdie at No. 18, the toughest hole on the course. Hopefully.

5. He gained strokes

Did we mention that Poulter hit one of the best tee shots of the day at No. 17? Like a good three-point shooter coming off a screen, Poulter quick-shotted a short iron to 3 feet, 7 inches. And like an Olympic biathlete, he steadied his heart rate as he approached the green, poured in the birdie putt and was off to the 18th.

It was the highlight of Poulter’s day, capped off a stretch of three birdies in five holes and bettered his score to one-over 73, in striking distance of the cut line — whatever day that cut will come.

His partners fared even better. The group played 17 and 18 at a collective two under par, Perez posted two-under 70 and Vegas posted three-under 69. Good times.

6. He scored some bonus cardio

At the end of a long day at work, the best thing you can do is blow off a little steam. And doctors say even 60 seconds of high-intensity training can offset lengths of inactivity.

7. He gets to watch Formula 1

Poulter made his off-day plans clear: The latest season of Drive to Survive, Netflix’s Formula 1 show, came out on Friday morning. He’ll be posted up watching.

“When you’re half man half mattress and you love Drive to Survive. A little speed golf sorts both out,” he tweeted along with Thursday’s video.

But it gets better: Poulter actually predicted this confluence of running up No. 17 and binging Drive to Survive nearly a month in advance. That’s because he’s done this before! In the third round of the 2011 Players, Poulter was playing alongside Dustin Johnson and running out of daylight. He sprinted down the 17th, two-putted for par, hit over the group in front of him at No. 18 and finished before the horn.

So on Feb. 16, Poulter tweeted that footage, paired it with the release of Drive to Survive’s fourth season, and ultimately the universe made it happen just so.

For all of golf’s statistical advancements, there are a few frontiers still to conquer. Strokes Gained: Sleeping In. Strokes Gained: Happily Watching Netflix. Strokes Gained: Relishing in the Suffering of your Peers Who are Playing in the Rain. Strokes Gained: Mojo.

I appreciate a man on a mission. And given the weather forecast, his may not be the last strange race to the finish this weekend.

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The post ‘We just play a silly game of golf’: The emotional reason why Ian Poulter honored Ukraine appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘We just play a silly game of golf’: The emotional reason why Ian Poulter honored Ukraine appeared first on Golf.

During the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Englishman wore a blue polo and yellow slacks, the colors of Ukraine, which 5,500 miles away, continued to defend itself from an invasion by Russia. Poulter, known best for both his Ryder Cup success and the emotion shown in achieving it, said after his round he dressed in the colors “in respect to those suffering.”

“Yeah, I think it’s hard, when you flick the news on right now and obviously you see the devastation that’s going on around the world and you feel for the people in Ukraine,” he said. “Just wearing a similar color today in respect to those suffering over there is the least I can do. 

“Just everyone’s probably thinking of all those families that are affected right now.”

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When asked what made him think of doing it, Poulter said it was hard not to think of the conflict that began a week ago. He appeared to be the only golfer over the past two tournaments to honor Ukraine.   

“You wake up in the morning and you want to read the news, and you go home at night and you want to read the news,” he said. “I’ve got quite a few clothes in the closet, so I found a couple of colors that I think would kind of give them a little bit of respect.

“Hopefully, just the thoughts and prayers for the families out there.”

A reporter then asked Poulter: “The idea that you’re out here playing golf, it’s tough with what’s going on in the world?”

“It just seems like every time you think there’s light at the end of the tunnel, something else comes along,” he said. “It brings it into perspective pretty quickly. We just play a silly game of golf while others are in the world suffering.”

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Poulter, at about a little after 4 p.m. local time, was one-over for his round with two holes to go, four-under for his World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba tournament and on the cutline for the weekend. 

Poulter, at about 4:30 p.m. local time, was two-over for his round with no holes to go, three-under for his World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba tournament and done for the week. 

Then he picked up his iPhone. 

Poulter, for about the next 24 hours, in an epic social media rant, wondered how he was left only to an epic social media story rant.

“Sometimes sport throws you interesting scenarios today was one of those,” Poulter wrote on his Instagram story at about 5:30 p.m. local time. “Non comital to a shot turns what was a great tournament into packing bags and heading home. What looked like a T10 heading into the weekend. Never have I been so disappointed with the outcome of today. I have to evaluate WHY and move onwards. Poor focus is usually the culprit. But WHY ??????”

Poulter’s tournament unraveled on the 515-yard, par-4 16th at El Camaleon Golf Club, where he took a penalty after his second shot, and one after his fifth, and marked himself down for a quadruple-bogey eight. On the next hole, the 386-yard, par-4 17th, he was penalized after his second shot and finished with a bogey. He parred the 18th, but he had gone from eight-under on the 16th fairway to three-under on the 18th green. 

And then the posts came. About two hours after his first one, he wrote on his Instagram story: “Distractions Distractions Distractions Distractions Distractions Distractions Distractions Distractions Distractions.”

After a night’s sleep, he wrote: “Well a good nights sleep normally shrugs a snowman off but it didn’t. Could still be a little warm under the collar today. Still disgusted with the finish yesterday. Time to be more ruthless I feel.”

Three hours later, Poulter posted a picture of his scorecard — with smoke coming out of the eight and a picture of a snowman. An hour after that, he wrote: “I will never except a mistake as a mistake there is always a reason. I know the reason I’m just furious it still happens 24 years in. Mirror, Punch bag, still learning.”

And then he was done. On Saturday afternoon, Poulter shared a picture of his flight home.  

Poulter’s five Instagram story posts:

1/5

2/5

3/5

4/5

5/5

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The post ‘We actually played quite well’: McIlroy, Poulter impressed by U.S. blowout appeared first on Golf.

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Ian Poulter stood overlooking the scene, listening to the “U-S-A” cheers cascading from concession to concession.

“And they’ve only been drinking for an hour!” he exclaimed. “Imagine what it’ll be like this afternoon.”

He was likely off by about four hours, but the point stood: The crowd was loud and only getting louder, jubilant after jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the morning session. Poulter and partner Rory McIlroy had been selected to anchor Team Europe‘s morning wave, but they ran into the American buzzsaw of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, lost the first five holes and ultimately lost 5 and 3.

The Americans made birdie on three of the first five holes, sprinting out to the largest lead of the day. They birdied their final four holes, too. In between, the European team sprinkled in a few birdies of their own. Afterward, they could only shrug their shoulders.

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“Yeah, the start wasn’t great,” McIlroy said. “But I don’t know if anyone could have beat Xander and Patrick today. They played really good, four birdies in a row [to finish]. Geez, yeah, they played great. All you can do is praise them for the way they played.”

Poulter was typically expressive as the match went on, fist-pumping birdie putts at 12 and 13 and looking like he might tear his shirt when his must-make birdie try just missed at 15.

“A shame because we actually played quite well,” he said. “You know, they have played exceptionally good golf in foursomes. It’s not nice to get off to that start, 5-down through five. Not easy to come back, and they finished the match off.”

The American duo said the storied veteran duo was exactly the matchup they wanted.

“We want those kind of matchups,” Cantlay said. “I think I speak for Xander a little bit here, but that’s what it’s all about. We were excited when we saw that pairing, and all the pressure is on them. They’ve seen it all and they are expected to maybe have a little veteran edge, and I was really glad we got that pairing.”

They didn’t fight fire with fire, sticking with stoicism instead. It was plenty effective.

“I think everyone who knows us, especially when we play, we don’t talk a whole lot,” Schauffele explained. “So he’ll walk ahead or I’ll walk ahead and we just kind of give each other looks, and that’s enough to build on momentum. We are similar in that sense and I think that’s very helpful when competing.”

The most surprising thing about the dominance of Cantlay and Schauffele was that they didn’t run it back for the afternoon session. Instead, captain Steve Stricker split them up, sending Cantlay out with Justin Thomas and Schauffele with Dustin Johnson.

Based off their morning, though, it’s a safe bet we’ll see Schauffele-Cantlay out again in Saturday foursomes.

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“I don’t think it really matters,” Berger said. “We have to go out and play, and whoever it was, whether it was their strongest team or whatever, we have to play good golf.”

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That’s true, of course, but also true is that guys often do care who they face — they’re just reluctant to disclose it publicly. Which is why Patrick Cantlay’s comments Friday morning were so refreshing. Minutes after Ryder Cup rookies Cantlay and Xander Schauffele soundly defeated Euro stalwarts Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter, 5 up — part of a resounding 3-1 foursomes session win for the Americans — Cantlay was asked if he could have dreamed of a Ryder Cup debut like this.

“Yeah, it’s exactly what we wanted,” he said. “We want those kind of match-ups. I think I speak for Xander a little bit here, but that’s what it’s all about. We were excited when we saw that pairing, and all the pressure is on them. They have seen it all and they are expected to maybe have a little veteran edge, and I was really glad we got that pairing.”

It showed, starting with a birdie at the 1st and 1-up lead that Cantlay and Schauffele would quickly build to a stunning 5-up lead when Schauffele buried a 11-footer for birdie at the par-5 5th. “Best start I could imagine,” Cantlay said. “Xander rolled in that putt on 5 and then we were rolling. I’m really glad we kept our nerve and kept our foot down.”

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McIlroy and Poulter clawed back to 3-down through 11 but it wasn’t to be. With two more birdies at 14 and 15, Cantlay and Schauffele closed out the match, 5 and 3.

“Yeah, they are rookies, but they are not rookies,” McIlroy had said of his opponents on Thursday evening. “I think they are very experienced players. … It’s going to be a great match. Poults and I just need to go out there and play our game and if we do that, we’ll put some points on the board.”

Alas, Cantlay and Schauffele had another plan in store.

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