European Ryder Cup stars Lee Westwood and Luke Donald were all smiles after shooting a better-ball 59 - 13 under par - on the first day of practice at Medinah.
It enabled them to dish out what Westwood called “a proper drubbing” to Justin Rose and Ian Poulter.
“I said there would be lots of birdies,” commented Donald, who as a Chicago resident for the past 15 years knows the Medinah course well and on a recent visit saw how little rough there was.
That was American captain Davis Love's idea, but Peter Hanson of Sweden was another to enjoy himself, carding six birdies and an eagle as he and Francesco Molinari beat debutant Nicolas Colsaerts and Martin Kaymer.
Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell look even more likely to stay together after beating Paul Lawrie and Sergio Garcia.
With predictions of noisy crowds for the match, Kaymer said: “To be honest, it was still fairly quiet out there.
“I was expecting a little bit more, a little bit louder, but maybe they were only for the American players.
“Last time I played it was loud and a lot going on in Europe, so I didn't know anything different. That's why I was a little surprised.”
Westwood and Donald in particular look certain to play all five matches for Europe and they are 8/1 (
Bet365) and 6/1 (
Paddy Power) respectively to be their team’s top points-scorer in the Ryder Cup.
McIlroy is the favourite in this market at 11/2 with
Blue Square.
