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2018 Ryder Cup Live Blog: Follow Saturday’s matches at Le Golf National

By GOLF WIRE
September 29, 2018
Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy put a charge into the action Saturday morning.

The 2018 Ryder Cup is approaching the halfway point at Le Golf National in France. You can follow Saturday’s afternoon matches below with our Ryder Cup live blog.

The U.S. team jumped out to an early lead Friday morning, but the European team stormed back and won the afternoon session in a 4-0 sweep. The European dominance continued Saturday morning as Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia led them off by beating Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau. Tyrrell Hatton and Paul Casey earned their first wins of the event against Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.

Friday’s foursomes session was Phil Mickelson’s first match of the event, and it did not go as planned. Playing alongside Bryson DeChambeau, the two Americans lost 5 and 4 to Garcia and Alex Noren. Look for Mickelson and DeChambeau to play together again Saturday afternoon.

Follow all of the Saturday foursomes action from Le Golf National below. The live blog kicks off at 8 a.m. ET.

RYDER CUP SATURDAY LIVE BLOG

(ALL TIMES ET / REFRESH THE PAGE FOR THE LATEST UPDATES)

FULL RYDER CUP SCORES | STAFF PREDICTIONS

12:11. That’s it from my end, folks! Check in with GOLF.com the rest of the night as we wrap up all the action from Saturday and preview Sunday. Thanks for following along.

12:05. Here’s that finish from Spieth. It’s not over justttt yet:

11:59. Well, that was a heck of a loud finish. Spieth with a chest-beating putt at No. 15 to finish. Poulter-esque! That’s a 4&3 finish in favor of the U.S. side. Here are the point totals for each team through Saturday:

11:52.  This, from Noren, wasn’t quite enough:

11:48. 

11:45. Now Webb makes his birdie putt up at 16, taking it from 10-4 to 10-5. Looks like it’ll be 10-6 soon, too…Spieth pours in a birdie at 14.

11:43. 

11:40. Noren just stuffed it at 15 to get back to 3 under, and a minute ago nearly slam-dunked it at 16! Still a chance in that match.

11:38. Holy smokes. Stenson just cruised in a 10-footer for par. Koepka missed from closer than that. Hard to believe. The European sides are pouring in putts like crazy! And the Americans are burning edges.

11:37. Wow. Hard to believe that it’s official: Fleetwood/Molinari beats Tiger Woods 5&4. Three times that duo has taken it to him this week.

11:37. All four of these matches could close within about 10 minutes. D.J. just hit a sketchy chip at 17, and Koepka will have that for par. Stenson facing a par putt too.

11:35. Simpson and Watson are looking to close things out at 15 with a long par putt, while Molinari could close out DeChambeau/Woods with a birdie putt here.

11:33. Here was that shot from Simpson:

11:29. Justin Thomas, on the other hand, pours it in at 14 to go 4 up. Only one match close now, really.

11:28. DJ in the thick stuff at 17. Rose in the fairway. Advantage Europe.

11:25. Things are moving very quickly out here! Match by match updates:

-Match 1: Europe faces 10 feet for par to stay 1 up through 16…and Stenson drains it. That was huge.

-Match 2: A kick-in eagle for Simpson/Watson! Yowza. 4 up through 13.

-Match 3: 4 up in Europe’s favor over Woods/DeChambeau. 5 to play.

-Match 4: Spieth/JT still 3 up, now playing No. 14.

11:17. Oh, my. Bryson’s tee shot wobbled into the rough and Woods just took a LASH at it from there with some sort of karate-kick followthrough. Great shot, though. Twenty or so feet left.

11:15. Rose, from about 10 feet: he missed it! 1 up now going to the final three.

11:08. Let’s check in from the Loop of Doom. Good lord! Koepka to about a foot at 15, pounding it through the wind. This finishing stretch is sick for alternate shot. But wait — Stenson just hit it to just a little further away! That could well be a birdie, too.

11:04. Cancel the comeback! Tommy Fleetwood is fist-pumping and hair-flipping at No. 12. Birdie for Europe and back to 4 up.

10:55. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are now 3 up after this:

10:51. Hmm. Interesting! Tiger pours in another birdie putt. Still 3 down, but it’s at least a conversation now…

10:47. Bryson just hit it in tight at 11. And here’s that birdie from 10, while we’re here.

10:45. Birdie for Rose. Back to 2 up in the first group out. That’s massive, if Europe can win there.

10:41. Birdie for Woods! And a miss for Fleetwood. Not exactly a barnburner, but that’s their first bird of the round. Back to 4 down.

10:38. Yikes. Missed kick-in for Justin Thomas on No. 9; he misses for birdie and they halve the hole. Still 2 up, but let’s see if that one comes back to haunt ’em.

10:35. Hey folks, Dylan Dethier checking in over here. I’ll take you home the rest of the way! Here’s where things stand:

-DJ/Koepka 1 down to Rose/Stenson

-Watson/Simpson 3 up over Garcia/Noren

-Woods/DeChambeau 5 down (!) to Fleetwood/Molinari

-Spieth/Thomas 2 up over Poulter/McIlroy

10:31: Tiger Woods has missed another 5-foot putt. This was for par, and barely touched the hole. Tommy Fleetwood makes his five footer, because of course.

10:25: No matches are close right now. A bit anticlimactic. But as we know, this event gets crazy and quick.

10:20: A lot of treading water right now. One thing is certain: Tiger is struggling.

Rose/Stenson v. DJ/Koepka: Europe 2 up

Garcia/Noren v. Watson/Simpson: U.S. 4 up

Molinari/Fleetwood v. Woods/DeChambeau: Europe 4 up

Poulter/McIlroy v. Spieth/Thomas: U.S. 2 up

10:04: Webb Simpson for birdie! He and Bubba Watson are now 4 up through eight. DJ and Koepka are just 1 down.

9:55: Here’s a little bit for you stats nerds out there. 3-1 would be HUGE for the Americans.

9:51: Dustin Johnson makes a three footer to halve the hole. Meanwhile, Poulter misses a par putt. Current standings:

Rose/Stenson v. DJ/Koepka: Europe 1 up

Garcia/Noren v. Watson/Simpson: U.S. 2 up

Molinari/Fleetwood v. Woods/DeChambeau: Europe 3 up

Poulter/McIlroy v. Spieth/Thomas: U.S. 1 up

9:44: This is NOT the Tiger Woods we saw win at the Tour Championship last week. Tries a hero flop from off the green and it cost he and Bryson another hole. They’re 3 down through six.

9:41: Spieth drops a bomb! His birdie brings the final match of the session back to all square against Poulter/McIlroy.

9:38: Rory missed the green with his approach on 5. Justin Thomas follows him by finding the center of the green.

9:33: Bubba Watson makes a short birdie putt to get one back for him and Webb Simpson. They move to 2 up over Sergio and Noren.

9:31: Rory put the Euros in trouble off the tee, and it cost him and Poulter. Spieth and Thomas make a par to win a hole.

9:23: Current standings

Rose/Stenson v. DJ/Koepka: All square

Garcia/Noren v. Watson/Simpson: U.S. 1 up

Molinari/Fleetwood v. Woods/DeChambeau: Europe 2 up

Poulter/McIlroy v. Spieth/Thomas: Europe 2 up

9:19: Alex Noren drops an 8-foot par putt to bring him and Sergio back to just 1 down.

9:15: Rory pumps his driver FOREver right. A slight advantage for JT/Spieth.

9:13: Meanwhile, one thing is going right.

9:09: Rory McIlroy makes a clutch 6-footer for birdie and shouts back at the crowd. He’s HYPED.

9:05: Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson just haven’t been the world-beaters they were on the PGA Tour this season. They’ve got firepower, but this course doesn’t require it as much as the Tour courses.

9:00: One match all square. One for the Americans. Two for the Euros. Both those matches for the Euros are 2 up.

8:57: Bryson and Tiger not exactly off to a good start. Likely to bogey the par-5 and lose another hole.

8:52: Ian Poulter misses his birdie putt (Rory gave him 13 feet). Justin Thomas misses his par putt and that match moves to 2 up Europe.

8:46: Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are back out in the afternoon. Facing Poulter and McIlroy, they are 1 down after losing the first hole. Molinari finds the hazard on the second and….Bryson DeChambeau follows him straight into the drink.

8:40: Bryson misses, so he and Tiger stay 1 down. Meanwhile, DJ and Koepka are in big time trouble. That match likely coming back to all square.

8:35: Tiger hits his approach into the 2nd just 10 feet shy of the hole. Should be a good birdie look for Bryson. They are 1 down.

8:28: Garcia and Noren somehow screw it up and halve the hole with a 6.

8:23: Bubba Watson hit his approach into the 2nd green into the water. So did Alex Noren. Monkey see, monkey do. Then Webb Simpson did the same and Sergio Garcia won the battle by barely making it over.

8:18: The leaderboard is looking red early here in the afternoon. Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson began with a birdie and are 1 up over Sergio Garcia and Alex Noren.

8:12: Stenson/Rose and DJ/Koepka halve the second hole. On to the third. U.S. 1 up.

8:05: Afternoon just kicking off. Henrik Stenson misses a shortie for par and DJ/Koepka are 1 up after one.

7:54: Justin Thomas’s birdie on 17 wins a point for the Americans. One they badly needed. That’s 8-4 Europe through 12 matches.

7:43: Afternoon session pairings are out. Phil Mickelson is the noteworthy player absent. Tiger Woods is taking his place in the pairing with Bryson DeChambeau.

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