Watson and Simpson crush Lawrie and Hanson
28 Sep 2012 - 22:18:26
Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson scored a crushing 5 and 4 win over Europeans Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson in the first of Friday afternoon's Ryder Cup fourballs.
Poor putts from the European pair allowed the Americans to win the first two holes and when Simpson sunk an 18-footer for birdie at the fourth they were already on the way at three up.
The situation became even more dire for Lawrie and Hanson as birdies from Watson won the sixth, seventh and eighth to put the Americans a stunning six up.
At that stage they had birdied seven of the first eight holes, the exception being the second, and they won that with a par.
It was nearly seven up by the turn, but Simpson's birdie putt slipped by.
It was a lost cause for Lawrie and Hanson down the back nine, although they managed to stay out on the course a while longer with a birdie from the 43-year-old Scot at the 11th.
The coup de grace came at the 14th hole when Watson was the executioner as the Americans finished at 10 under par.
Watson, whose caddie urged the crowd to make noise as he hit his tee-shot at the first, was winning his second Ryder Cup cap, while US Open champion Simpson was one of four rookies in the US team.
Scotland's Lawrie was back in the Europe team for a second cap, 13 years after winning his first, and was playing for the first time with Swede Hanson, a second time Ryder Cupper.
