IRELAND: GOLF - Final warm-up for the players before the Ryder Cup gets underway
- 00:01:39
- ITN Source
IRELAND: GOLF - Final warm-up for the players before the Ryder Cup gets underway
The 36th Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States opened in bright sunshine at the K Club near Dublin, Ireland on Friday (September 22). World number one Tiger Woods drew gasps from the packed galleries when he found water with his opening shot at the K Club on Friday. Woods pulled his three-wood well left off the first tee but playing partner Jim Furyk split the fairway off the tee before striking a superb second shot to within six feet of the flag to set up a birdie. That put the Americans one up on Europe's Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington, who both parred the first hole in a mouth-watering clash in the opening fourball matches. In the second match out, Briton Paul Casey and Swedish rookie Robert Karlsson were level with Americans Stewart Cink and first-timer J.J. Henry after matching pars at the first. Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal face David Toms and another rookie Brett Wetterich in match three while Masters champion Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco bring up the rear against European wildcards Clarke and Lee Westwood. Organisers have decided that preferred lies -- when players can lift, clean and replace their ball on the fairway -- will be in operation for the fourball encounters following the torrential rain that swept across the K Club earlier in the week. Holders Europe have won four times in the last five matches in the biennial competition. The heavy rain which has fallen on the K Club course this week prompted Ryder Cup officials to bring in preferred lies for the opening fourballs on Friday. "We will have four experienced referees, led by the European Tour's John Paramor, with the four matches to take a close look at the amount of mud on the balls and the amount of disturbance to the flight of the ball," chief referee Andy McFee said in a statement. McFee added that a decision would be made later on whether to retain the preferred lies option for the afternoon foursomes. According to the rules on preferred lies, a ball may be lifted without penalty and cleaned. Before hitting it, the player must mark its position. Having lifted the ball, he must place it on a spot within six inches of and not nearer the hole than where it originally lay.
ITN Source | September 22, 2006
