- Associated Press - Saturday, September 29, 2012

MEDINAH, ILL. (AP) - There was no way Nicolas Colsaerts was going to top his dazzling debut at the Ryder Cup.

He didn’t even come close.

Colsaerts was on the losing end of both matches he played Saturday. It was quite a comedown from Friday, when the big Belgian made an eagle and eight birdies to upset Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in fourballs and single-handedly keep Europe from being swept.

“It’s a big difference,” Colsaerts said after he and Sergio Garcia lost 2 and 1 to Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson in the morning foursomes. “You don’t feel that proud when you lose a point.”

Especially with how it was lost.

As unflappable as Colsaerts was in taking down Woods, he was that clumsy in the alternate-shot match against Dufner and Johnson. After Garcia gave the Europeans a chance with a gorgeous chip-in on the 16th hole, Colsaerts splashed his tee shot on 17. Garcia tried to console him as they walked to the green, but Colsaerts could barely lift his head.

The Americans had a 30-footer for birdie, and Johnson knocked it to a foot to clinch the match.

“We get to one with two to go, and all of a sudden we have a decent chance to go to 18 and get something out of it,” Colsaerts said. “It’s just one of those moments where you need a few Ryder Cups under your belt.”

He fared better in the afternoon, as he and Paul Lawrie took Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar to the 18th hole. But Colsaerts came up short once again, missing a 10-footer that would have given the Europeans a half-point.

“It’s very frustrating because there was a lot of putts that looked very good and you don’t make them,” Colsaerts said. “So yeah, it’s kind of painful.”

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MAKE SOME NOISE: Wonder no more what would happen if the crowd screamed in the middle of a golfer’s backswing. It’s happened two days in a row at the Ryder Cup by design, signaling what might be the start of a new tradition.

U.S. golfer Bubba Watson got things off to a raucous start Friday afternoon, stepping onto the tee box and waving his arms like a cheerleader, exhorting fans in the packed grandstands to get on their feet and yell. As the wall of noise closed in, Watson addressed his opening drive and crushed it down the middle of the fairway. The roar got even louder.

The moment so energized players on both teams that when Watson did the same thing on his opening tee shot Saturday morning, Europe’s Ian Poulter encouraged the crowd to keep howling and promptly followed suit.

“It was ridiculous. A special moment,” Poulter said. “It’s an amazing amphitheater to stand there and hit that first tee shot, even when it’s quiet.

“I knew Bubba was going to do it today,” he added, “so why not join him?”

Why not indeed? Considering how many players on both sides embraced the bedlam at No. 1, it will be interesting to see whether any players will try to pump the crowd up before teeing off in their singles matches Sunday.

Though he’s been an emotional lightning rod for the U.S. team during the first two days, count American Keegan Bradley out.

“Personally, I’d probably miss the ball,” he said.

___

PRESIDENTIAL PRIVILEGE: The Americans’ big day got the presidential seal of approval.

Former Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush were at the Ryder Cup on Saturday, joining U.S. captain Davis Love III to watch some of the fourball matches. While the elder Bush and wife Barbara were easily recognizable, riding in a cart with small American flags fluttering, the younger Bush blended in with Love’s squad.

He even wore the same blue-and-white striped shirt that was the U.S. team uniform Saturday.

“There’s nothing like the Ryder Cup in my view,” said the elder Bush, who has been to every one since Valderrama in 1997.

The presidents said hello to players from both teams between holes, and Tiger Woods got a pep talk from the elder Bushes.

“We know him and like him,” the elder Bush said. “We just told him to keep going.”

___

CURIOUS CHOICES: One of the boldest shots of the Ryder Cup came from Jim Furyk. He was 2 down in the opening foursomes match when Furyk, one of the shorter hitters for the Americans, hit driver on the par-4 15th to the front of the green. That forced Graeme McDowell to hit driver, and he went in the water, losing the hole.

Bubba Watson made a strange choice Saturday. He and Webb Simpson were 2 down on the 15th. Ian Poulter smartly laid up with an iron. Watson, his team needing a birdie in the foursomes match, chose to lay up. They halved the hole in pars. They won the next hole with a bogey but never caught up.

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THE 13TH MAN: Blame the partisan galleries at Medinah, the leadership of Phil Mickelson, excitable rookie Keegan Bradley’s spectacular play, or even the businesslike duo of Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner. All have played a role in Europe’s mounting deficit heading into the final day’s singles matches.

But Graeme McDowell thinks there’s one other factor in play.

“This golf course, it’s about momentum. If you’re seeing it on the greens, you can really get it going with the putter,” he said. “And if you’re not … “

If you’re not, you’re in for some misadventures. McDowell and teammate Rory McIlory were strong on the greens in their opening match, beating Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker 1-up, but the Northern Ireland duo has struggled since. They were beaten Friday afternoon by Mickelson and Bradley, then again Saturday morning by Furyk and Snedeker before splitting up.

“We’re in a hole,” McDowell said. “These guys, there’s blood in the water and they are up for it.”

___

UP IN THE AIR: Bring back the sky Tweets!

Rather than being annoyed by the series of pro-European messages written in the sky Saturday, U.S. captain Davis Love III is hoping Irish bookmaker Paddy Power does them again Sunday.

“We texted back and forth about it … and decided, `Hey, it’s working good for us, we keep winning holes,’” Love said. “I’m just disappointed that they stopped, because if they’d have kept doing it all afternoon, maybe our roll would have kept going.”

Paddy Power asked fans to Tweet messages via the GoEurope hashtag, and a fleet of sky writers “painted” the best ones above Medinah. Some were supportive (“Do it for Seve” and “We Believe”), others were clever (“Rory’s Gonna Getcha”) and others were, well, off-color.

But they were all in good fun, Love said.

“As long as it wasn’t the other side,” he said. “Once we asked around and figured out who was doing it, then we understood.”

The Europeans got a chuckle out of the messages. McIlroy even had someone grab his phone so he could take a photo of the “Gonna Getcha” message.

___

DIVOTS: Keegan Bradley became the first rookie since Sergio Garcia in 1999 to win his opening three matches. Garcia went on to halve a fourth match, and then lost in singles. Bradley is the first American rookie to go 3-0 in team matches since Loren Roberts in 1995. Roberts had three partners at Oak Hill _ Jeff Maggert, Peter Jacobsen and Corey Pavin. … Bradley and Phil Mickelson have been so dominant this week that at one point, they won seven consecutive holes _ the last four holes of a foursomes match Friday morning and the opening three holes of their fourballs match that afternoon.

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