Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson cruise to victory
Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson have been good friends on and off the field, their friendship might be crucial for the Americans’ success in Chicago.
Zach, who is playing in his third Ryder Cup, and Dufner, a rookie, asked Davis Love III to pair them up. Love responded to their call and the duo delivered. Johnson and Dufner teamed up to defeat Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari by 3&2.
“I think we’re a good match,” Dufner said. “I just felt comfortable pairing with Zach”.
“We’re not flashy players,” said Johnson, the Iowa native. “We want the ball in the fairway. We want to keep it below the hole. We play the percentages. We’re both good putters”.
The Europeans started of brightly, they won the first hole but their joy was short lived when Americans levelled things up on the 2nd. Lee and Molinari then, once again, took the lead. By the end of the eighth hole, they were 1up.
Things, however, changed dramatically from the ninth hole onwards. At the ninth, the Americans equalled the score when Dufner sank in a 15-foot putter.
Normally Jason is not the guy who shows emotion but the moment putt went in, he fisted in the air, smiling.
“It looked like it was going to hang on the edge,” Dufner said. “I almost felt like the roar of the crowd and the anticipation of the putt missing actually willed the ball into the hole. That was a pretty good moment there”.
At the 10th, Dufner responded again, sinking a 10-foot birdie putt to give the Americans the lead. From there on, there was no turning back.
“That shifted the match our way,” Dufner said.
On the 15th and the 16th hole, the Americans birdied, where as the Europeans bogeyed to surrender the match with two holes to play.
It was an emphatic victory by the rookie, Dufner and Johnson. Jason inspired everybody with his putting and, more importantly, he made crucial putts at the right time.
Gunning down the likes of Lee Westwood and Molinari will boost up the confidence of the Americans, especially for the rookie Jason Dufner.
Davis Love III did not name any of the two for the four balls, but they will surely be featuring on Saturday after their stunning performance on Friday.
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