The Latest: Lefty has to go righty
CHASKA, Minn. (AP) The Latest on the Ryder Cup (all times local):
9:15 a.m.
Lefty can play right-handed, too.
That wasn't an ideal situation for Phil Mickelson, of course, though he didn't have much of a choice. Mickelson and Fowler already were 1 down to Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan when Mickelson hooked his tee shot out-of-bounds on the par-5 sixth hole. Fowler nearly did the same on his tee shot (the third shot), except it stopped next to the fence.
Mickelson's only choice was to flip around a wedge and play it right-handed. It squirted left toward the gallery. They didn't finish the hole.
Europe was 2 up through six holes in that match.
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8:55 a.m.
Some morning fog and chilly Minnesota temperatures are making an already long Hazeltine course play even longer in the early going at the Ryder Cup.
Temperatures hovered around 50 degrees as play got underway on Friday. The heavy air kept the tee shots a little shorter and the fog blanketing the course made the greens wet and slow on the first few holes.
Europe's rookie Thomas Pieters wore a stocking cap to stay warm. His partner, Lee Westwood, had a short par putt rim out to allow Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar to go 2-up after two holes.
The American leadoff pair of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed had little difficulty acclimating to the chilly weather. Spieth rolled in birdie putts on Nos. 2 and 3 while playing off of Reed, who is wearing short sleeves, to take a 2-up lead on Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose.
Forecasts call for sun and the temperature climbing to 70 degrees.
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8:15 a.m.
The Ryder Cup is known for its euphoric atmosphere, and Hazeltine is holding up its end of the bargain.
The first tee has taken on the energy of a rock concert, with the DJ blasting Prince's ''Let's Go Crazy'' before the sun had risen to fire up the home crowd. Thousands packed into the grandstand, with the American chants of ''USA! USA!'' drowning out the familiar European ''Ole! Ole ole ole!'' song.
A brief video tribute to the late Arnold Palmer was played before the first group started as the partisan American crowd chanted ''I believe that we will win!''
The colorful gallery included a group wearing red, white and blue Team USA hockey jerseys with Viking horns in homage to the local NFL team. Two spectators wore large, pink cat masks in the front row.
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7:45 a.m.
The 41st Ryder Cup is off to a rollicking start at Hazeltine.
With a rowdy gallery serving as the backdrop, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed led things off for the Americans against Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose for Europe, which is looking for its fourth straight Ryder Cup victory.
Reed hit the first tee shot for the United States, which has lost eight of the last 10 in the biannual showdown. The first matchup was all square after the first hole.
The other matchups in the morning foursomes were Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler against Europeans Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan, Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson against Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer and Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar against Lee Westwood and Thomas Pieters.