"After his 'Fleetwood Mac' reunion ended in perfect harmony as he and an on-song Tommy Fleetwood thumped Collin Morikawa and Harris English 5&4 in the morning fourballs, he was engulfed in a thrilling fourballs battle where drama was never far away. It came down to the last putt where the Irishman was millimetres away from giving his side a 6-2 first-day lead. Instead he and Shane Lowry had to settle for a half against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay."
""Obviously right now, I'm disappointed I didn't hole out for a full point," McIlroy said on the 18th green. "But it's been a great day for Europe. We have come out of the gates really strong like we wanted to. "Yeah, we should be really proud of ourselves. "We would have absolutely taken this last night if you had told us we would be 5.5-2.5 up.""
"But there was controversy on the 11th hole as McIlroy appeared to gesture towards someone in the crowd as he walked off the 11th green. He and his partner Lowry had just gone two up when he responded to an unknown comment from the crowd. That did not take the shine off the day for McIlroy, who was able to reflect on a strong start for Europe, even though his missed putt on the 18th hole stung."
Europe led the United States 5.5-2.5 after the opening day at Bethpage Black following strong performances in the fourballs. Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood produced a dominant 5&4 morning victory over Collin Morikawa and Harris English, while McIlroy and Shane Lowry halved a dramatic afternoon match with Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay after McIlroy missed a final putt that would have given a full point. McIlroy appeared to gesture toward a spectator on the 11th after an unknown comment, and Robert MacIntyre confronted a crowd member over a weight-related remark on the 17th tee.
Read at Irish Independent
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