U.S. exults in early Ryder Cup lead

Americans enjoy best first round since 1979

LOUISVILLE, KY. -- Perhaps the U.S Ryder Cup team just needed to find a reason to believe.

On Friday, it found several.

The Americans found Justin Leonard, who had never won a full Ryder Cup point before Friday, and Hunter Mahan, who infamously said earlier this year that he wanted no part of the matches.

They found Phil Mickelson a partner in 23-year old Anthony Kim, who provided energy, emotion and enthusiasm.

They found a cheerleader in Boo Weekley, a last-minute bit of magic from Chad Campbell and a way to negate Sergio Garcia.

Ultimately, the Americans found themselves with a 5 1/2-2 1/2 lead entering today's second day of matches at Valhalla Golf Club, their first lead at the end of any day since Leonard holed his famous Cup-clinching putt nine years ago, the last time he played in the Ryder Cup.

"It's a novelty, isn't it?" said European Lee Westwood, who halved both of his Friday matches.

It was a dream start for an American team accustomed to nightmares in this event.

"We know the Europeans are going to come out fighting, they always do," Mickelson said. "We need to keep doing what we did [Friday]."

The Americans won three of four available points in the morning's alternate-shot format, helped by an 18th-hole birdie set up by Campbell's 5-iron approach shot to win one match. The U.S. then tacked on another 2 1/2 points in the afternoon as they seized their biggest first-day lead since 1979.

"We're in a happy spot," U.S. captain Paul Azinger said. "But we know it's not a sprint, it's a marathon."

The Mickelson-Kim and Leonard-Mahan pairings contributed the bulk of the American points Friday, giving Azinger's team an emotional center and two automatic pairings this morning.

In the case of Mickelson and Kim, they led only three of the 36 holes they played and faced 3-down deficits in both matches.

Still, they ground out a halve with Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson in the morning, then chased down Harrington and Graeme McDowell for a 2-up win in the afternoon.

Mickelson, looking more emotionally engaged than in previous Ryder Cups, dropped the crushing blow on Harrington and McDowell when he holed a 35-foot birdie putt at the 17th to put the Americans 1-up while Kim was lining up his own shorter birdie putt.

"Anthony's a little upset that I stole his thunder," Mickelson kidded afterward. "But that's the kind of banter we're having, roughing each other up, having a lot of fun."

No one may have had more fun than Leonard and Mahan, a pairing of Texans that Azinger liked since his team came together last month.

Leonard, who expected to be a Ryder Cup regular but failed to qualify for the past three teams, said he realized this week how much he missed being part of the team.

Mahan, meanwhile, more than demonstrated the veracity of his public apology for his comments critical of the event, calling Friday "the best day of my life."

After rallying from a quick 2-down deficit to beat Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia in the morning, Leonard and Mahan were 9 under through 15 holes in scalding Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez 4 and 3 in the afternoon.

"The Ryder Cup ... produces spectacular golf," European captain Nick Faldo said. "This takes golfers to levels where they've only dreamed before. You produce exceptional golf, simple as that."