Geoff Shackelford

Alex Myers on the 5&4 win by Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed over Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher that fueled a strong USA start. Most interesting was Spieth's bold statement suggesting a certain Team USA view of Poulter.

"I think everybody on the team wants Poulter and we were able to have him first," Jordan Spieth said.

Larry Fine of Reuters recounts the silencing of Europe's "cup wizard" and notes this from Patrick Reed about not getting to play the afternoon.

"It was very, very quiet out there compared to what I think Patrick and I expected in the first round of a Ryder Cup over here, and that's the goal," Spieth said.

"Whenever you feel like you're playing really well...I felt like in alternate-shot, him and I would have been great to go back out and take the momentum of what we just had done," said Reed.

"But at the end of the day, Captain Watson, he picks pairings for a reason."

As it became apparently the winning duo was not playing again in the afternoon, the outrage was strong in part because Spieth revealed Watson said strong morning play would get them a look for an afternoon tee time. However, because of timing issues, to play the young Americans would have meant benching Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley who beat Europe's top team of Garcia and McIlroy.

Jason Sobel reports that Spieth and Reed expressed their displeasure with Captain Tom Watson for benching them.

“They were very upset with me for not playing them this afternoon,” Watson admitted. “I said, ‘I know you're going to be mad at me, but you'll be playing tomorrow, for sure.’”

John Strege with the roundup of second-guessing on social media by the likes of Dave Stockton and Peter Kostis.

It did not take long for criticism to surface, only moments after U.S. Captain Tom Watson chose not to send out victorious rookies Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed in the afternoon foursomes on the opening day of the Ryder Cup.

Hank Gola noted Johnny Miller's criticism.

The move brought wholesale criticism, including from NBC’s Johnny Miller.

“The way that Reed and Spieth played, they should be playing this afternoon,” Miller chirped. “Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson, they need a guide dog. They’ve been all over the golf course, whereas Reed and Spieth shot 6-under this morning, I think, the best of anybody.

Monty piled on at Sky, questioning how Mickelson and Bradley could be sent back out even after pulling out a win over McIlroy-Garcia.

They wanted to play and I was amazed that they didn’t play in the afternoon and Mickelson and Keegan Bradley did.

“Phil and Keegan got out of jail first up [to beat Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy 1 up] but they are not a foursome pairing as they don’t hit enough fairways.”

“I now fear for this American team without Mickelson playing his best – and I wonder who is going to be the team leader out on the course.

“With Phil struggling and no Tiger Woods, nobody is really pulling out ahead here and going: ‘Come on lads, we can do this’, and that’s why I think Europe are firmly in the driving seat.
“If America don’t win Saturday’s first session, I think Europe will win this Ryder Cup.”

Watson addressed the topic right off the bat in his press conference and follow-up stories will be added as they are posted.

Update on 2014-09-26 21:18 by Geoff

**Gene Wojciechowski praises Tom Watson's pairing of Reed and Spieth and says the captain should have "doubled down" in the afternoon, with an excellent piecing together of everyone's statements that displays a potential crack in team unity. Or just young guys being honest.

It was a mistake by Watson. And it was a mistake even before Team USA failed to win an afternoon match and trailed 5-3 going into Saturday's play.

"I thought at the time it was the best decision not to play them," Watson said.

Fair enough. But what were the reasons for the decision?

"I won't go into those," he said.

"Huh?" squared.

And Spieth's understanding that the morning results would determine the afternoon pairings?

"I take the blame for that," Watson said.

Rex Hoggard says the "hyper-analysis" of the situation is premature and unfounded, then pretty much declares the emphasis on experience in picking players and making pairings to be outdated thinking. He even suggests picking Watson was a mistake because of his age.

But the PGA went with Watson – who at 65 was a dramatic break from the traditional captain’s mold – when they probably should have gone the other way on the generational scale.

One could imagine on Friday afternoon Billy Horschel stewing because Watson sat him for the afternoon session. But Watson didn’t pick Horschel, who would have been another energetic rookie. He also didn't pick Chris Kirk. Instead he opted for the “experience” of Webb Simpson, Hunter Mahan and Bradley, who combined to go 1-3-0 on Friday.

Experience didn’t deliver on Day 1, it was the rookies who produced two of America’s three points. It was the energetic indifference of youth that kept things from getting out of hand.

Watson talking after:

If America should prevail in the 2014 matches, no doubt European Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley will be unfairly blamed even though he didn't hit a single shot. In the match autopsies look for his ties to the hotbed of subversiveness known as San Diego to be pointed to as signs that the Irishman should never have been chosen in the first place. We Americans will push back by noting that McGinley is a great guy and well-rounded class act because of his time in San Diego.

Golf Channel's Live From has been running a nice feature on McGinley's time in America, narrated by Rich Lerner. And be reminded of what Ashworth clothes and late 80s cool looked like. So, so puffy in hindsight! And that's just the hair.

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