The United States takes a 5-3 lead into day two of the 2012 Ryder Cup, and the match-ups for the Saturday morning foursomes are as follows (tee times are local):
7:20 USA: Webb Simpson & Bubba Watson Vs. EUR: Justin Rose & Ian Poulter
7:35 USA: Keegan Bradley & Phil Mickelson Vs. Lee Westwood & Luke Donald
7:50 USA: Jason Dufner & Zach Johnson Vs. Eur: Nicolas Colsaerts & Sergio Garcia
8:05 USA: Jim Furyk & Brandt Snedeker Vs. Rory McIlroy & Graeme McDowell
Simpson and Watson have earned their foursomes slot thanks to a dominant performance in the Friday afternoon fourballs, when each player posted five birdies as they thrashed Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson 5&4. Simpson and Watson got the momentum rolling in the Americans' favour on Friday, and US captain Davis Love is hoping this pair can do the same today.
They take on the proven pair of Poulter and Rose, who beat Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker 2&1 in the Friday foursomes.
Bradley and Mickelson have established an electric partnership, winning two points together on Friday, and they will play the season European duo of Westwood and Donald, although Westwood struggled on Friday.
Dufner and Johnson beat Westwood and Francesco Molinari in foursomes yesterday, and they will now take on a new European pair, with Garcia teaming up with the star of the Friday fourballs, the rookie Colsaerts.
The final foursomes match sees a repeat of Friday's opening group, with Snedeker and Furyk hoping to reverse the one-hole defeat inflicted on them by Northern Ireland's McIlroy and McDowell.
Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar will sit out for the home side, while Hanson, Molinari, Lawrie and Martin Kaymer make way for Europe.
"We don't want guys to be worn out," said Love on the decision to leave Woods and Stricker out of the morning session. "We need Tiger and Steve in the afternoon and we need them on Sunday. It's a team effort, and I think everybody's happy with where we're going because we had a very good day today. It's not about Tiger, Steve, Bubba or Webb, it's about this team trying to win. We are all excited about the day we had today, and we will go and try to have another one tomorrow."
Jose Maria Olazabal remained resolute.
"The first two matches are going to very tough," he said. "We have Webb and Bubba, and Keegan and Phil, but I have tried to put all our guns out for tomorrow morning. We have to change the momentum and we need to have a great day, both in the morning and the afternoon. That is what we are aiming for."
Article courtesy of Mercedes-Benz, the official car of the 2012 Ryder Cup
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