The
Americans countered by taking the final contest of the morning fourballs and two
of the afternoon's alternate-shot matches. Phil Mickelson and David Toms came
from three shots down with four to play to halve the final match of the day against
Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer.
The
rally bolstered U.S. captain Curtis Strange's attempt to stem the Americans' slide
in the pairs events, which span the first two days of the three-day competition.
Europe, rated the underdog at the Belfry, has led after the second day in eight
of the past nine Ryder Cups.
Tiger
Woods lost both his games and has now won just three of 12 Ryder Cup matches.
Seeking to win
the trophy from a U.S. team that includes six of the world's top 12 golfers, the
Europeans secured the first point of the day when Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood
beat Davis Love III and David Duval by 4&3.
Garcia,
unbeaten in the 1999 contest at Brookline, Massachusetts, was overshadowed by
Westwood, whose ranking has tumbled to 148th from third last year. The Englishman,
who made his Ryder Cup debut in the victorious team of 1997, hit winning birdies
in three of the last four holes.
``There
are tough shots out there but education is easier with Sergio around,'' Westwood
said. ``The Ryder Cup is such a great format it can turn your game around.''
In
the afternoon, the pair combined again, this time to hand Woods his eighth defeat
in Ryder Cup matches. The match turned on the back nine after the world No. 1
missed 3-foot putts on the 11th and 12th holes.
In
the day's opening group, Woods played better with Paul Azinger as the pair shot
a 9-under-par 63 against Bjorn and Clarke. The Europeans responded with 10 birdies.
Bjorn clinched
three holes on the back nine after his pairing had trailed by a shot. And after
Azinger had pitched to within two feet at the final hole, the Dane sank an 18-foot
putt to halve it and complete a one-hole win.
``Ninety-five
times out of 100 we would have won,'' said Azinger, who has never been part of
a winning pair in the opening two sessions of a Ryder Cup. ``We played great,
but they were just fantastic.''
Montgomerie
and Langer, Europe's most experienced pair with a combined 16 Ryder Cup appearances,
beat Scott Hoch and Jim Furyk 4&3.
Mickelson
and Ryder Cup rookie Toms scored the Americans' only victory of the morning and
came from three shots down against Montgomerie and Langer to force the tie. They
beat Harrington and Niclas Fasth, also making his debut, by one hole in the fourballs.
The winner of
every match gets one point and if there's a tie, each team gets a half. The U.S.
team needs 14 points to retain the trophy, while Europe requires 14 1/2 points
to win.
The U.S.
leads the biennial Ryder Cup series 24-7, with two draws. Since the opposition
team was expanded from Britain and Ireland to all of Europe in 1979, the Americans
have lost four times.
