GLENEAGLES, Scotland -- A tried and true axiom for Ryder Cup success is playing the 18th hole better than the opponent. It is seemingly obvious, given the nature of the competition and the fact that getting to that stage means the match is in doubt.
The truth is, the last hole of Ryder Cup courses has been a sore spot for U.S. teams of the recent past, especially two years ago at Medinah. That's where the Americans captured the final hole just one time throughout the competition that turned into an excruciating loss.
They doubled that success rate on Friday morning.
Jimmy Walker and Phil Mickelson turned out to be the early stars, making birdies at Gleneagles' par-5 18th to help the U.S. to a 2½ - 1½ lead after the Friday four-ball portion of the competition.
Walker's birdie gave him and partner Rickie Fowler a half point against Martin Kaymer and Thomas Bjorn in a match in which they fell behind on the first hole and were never tied until Walker made his putt.
Mickelson capped an up-and-down day for himself and Keegan Bradley against Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia, taking a 1-up victory in the final match.
For much of the session, it appeared the U.S. would trail 3-1, with the rookie tandem of Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth taking down Ian Poulter and Scotland's Stephen Gallacher 5 and 4 after Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson were trounced by the same score against Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.
But Walker hit a clutch shot, and Mickelson and Bradley rallied from 1 down with 3 to play.
"What seems to be happening to Europe is what seemed to plague the U.S. for the last four or five [Ryder Cup] matches," said Sky Sports analyst and former tour player Jay Townsend. "They're just not finishing."
The same could be said for the U.S. at times during its Ryder Cup frustration. Two years ago, 13 of the 28 matches went to the 18th hole. The U.S. won just 1, tied seven and lost five.
Just getting a half point on holes that were lost could have made all the difference in a 14½ to 13½ defeat. Even in winning the Ryder Cup in 2008, the U.S. was 2-4-4 at the 18th.
"Jimmy Walker getting the ball up and down from right over here to there ... that showed some guts," said U.S. captain Tom Watson, referring to Walker's 18th-hole birdie that squared the match.
"And of course Phil Mickelson making birdie to win the match. It was an ebb-and-flow match. The whole early morning was pretty much an ebb from the United States' standpoint, and then we got some flow."
Fowler and Walker were 3 down after four holes, cut the lead to 1 by the ninth, then fell 2 down after Bjorn chipped in for birdie at the 13th. But Walker birdied the last two par-5s, the 16th and 18th, to get that half point.
"We kept giving ourselves good looks," said Walker, a Ryder Cup rookie. "We were in good shape. It turned out [a] half point is what we got."
"We had chances to close it out," Bjorn said. "But in the end, that's what the Ryder Cup is all about. You've got to stand up and do it."
Mickelson and Bradley took a 2-up lead through 10 holes but squandered it with three bogeys -- a huge no-no in best ball -- to fall 1 down with three holes left.
But Bradley rifled his second shot to the par-5 16th to within 5 feet and made the eagle putt, then both McIlroy and Garcia botched the 18th, allowing the Americans to win when Mickelson got up and down for a birdie.
"We didn't have our best stuff there," said Mickelson, who is playing in his 10th Ryder Cup. "You saw it on the back nine, it was tough conditions, but we gave a few holes away, and we were able to keep the match close.
"The eagle that Keegan made on 16 was just huge because it gave us a huge momentum boost coming down the stretch. Even though we fought it for a few holes, we were able to hang in there until it turned, and those shots that Keegan hit on 16 were just stupendous."
Bradley described it as "like you're drinking 500 cups of coffee at once. It's just a blast. I'm having the time of my life again."
Winning the 18th hole has a way of producing that kind of energy at the Ryder Cup.