Friday Morning Recap: Teams battle to a 2-2 tie

Two matches were won decisively, while two others went the distance before ending in halves in a compelling Friday morning session of four-balls that opened the 23rd PGA Cup. The end result was a 2-2 deadlock between two determined squads.

By T.J. Auclair, PGA.com Interactive Producer

Friday Morning Four-ball Matches

Match 1: Great Britain & Ireland's Paul Wesselingh and James Whatley vs. USA's Mike Small and Alan Schulte

Result: Halved

The first of the morning matches went all the way to the final hole at Reynolds Plantation's Oconee Course on Friday and was filled with excitement. GB&I got off to a quick 1-up advantage with a par at the first hole by long-hitting James Whatley -- a 24-year-old from Ilkeston, England, who is the youngest player in these 23rd PGA Cup Matches.

The Americans responded quickly when Indiana's Alan Schulte, runner-up of the 2006 PGA Professional National Championship, parred the third hole to square the match.

GB&I snatched a 2-up lead after Paul Wesselingh of Derby, England, birdied both No. 6 and No. 7. Both sides traded halves, until the Americans got it going at No. 12.

It was there at the 363-yard par 4 that Schulte made birdie to get the Americans to 1-down. Mike Small, winner of the 2005 PGA Professional National Championship, birdied the 13th hole to square the match and followed that with an amazing par save at the 14th hole to stay even with GB&I.

"Mike's up and down on 14 was tremendous," Schulte said. "It's a long hole. He caught a really big flyer. It carried and he was about 30 yards over the green down by the cart path with very little to work with. The green was sloping away from him and he hit a beautiful flop and made it from probably 20 feet and center-cut it. That kept us going."

GB&I stormed right back thanks to a birdie at the 175-yard, par-3 15th hole by Whatley to go 1-up again. It looked as though GB&I would head to the 17th tee with a 1-up advantage, but Wesselingh missed a three-footer for par at No. 16 after Schulte made par, squaring the match.

On the long par-5 17th hole, Schulte and Small seemed to be in serious trouble. Both players were on the green in three shots, but had lengthy birdie putts, while Wesselingh and Whatley were both inside of 10 feet for birdie.

Small saved the day for the Americans, holing his 20-footer to put the pressure back on GB&I.

"Mike is just a tour-quality guy," Schulte said. "I was just fortunate to be his partner."

When Whatley missed his birdie bid from 10 feet, all eyes were on Wesselingh and he made his five-footer to keep the match square with one hole to play.

"Paul and I know each other well, so I didn't have any doubt that he'd make that putt," Whatley said. "Paul and I are really good friends. We've played a lot of golf together having grown up in the same area. We play week in and week out trying to beat each other, so we know each others game well and I really enjoyed playing with him."

Whatley and Wesselingh each found the fairway with their respective drives at No. 18 -- a 466-yard beast of a par 4 that was playing into the wind. Schulte deposited his tee shot into the right fairway bunker, while Small found the right rough.

Whatley and Small both hit the green with their approach shots and after two putts from each player, the match ended with each side gaining a half-point.

"We have a really strong team," Schulte said. "Mike is playing really well, so I was glad to hook up with him. He started really well. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect as far as what their team was going to bring, but they've got some players, so I expect a lot of the matches to be close, tight and very competitive. This is a lot of fun to be a part of."

"It would have been a shame for either side to lose that game," Whatley said. "I guess a halve was the right result."

Match 2: Great Britain & Ireland's John Dwyer and Danny Taylor vs. USA's Ryan Benzel and Don Yrene

Result: USA wins, 5&3

Washington's Ryan Benzel, the youngest player on Team USA at age 28, admitted he was nervous teeing it up in his first PGA Cup on Friday morning. If that was the case, it sure didn't show.

The assistant professional from Seattle Golf Club drained a 25-foot birdie putt on the first hole to give the Americans a 1-up lead right out of the gate.

"That birdie calmed me down a little bit," Benzel said.

Danny Taylor quickly got GB&I back on track with a birdie at No. 2 to square the match. GB&I went 1-up with a birdie by John Dwyer at No. 5, but Don Yrene squared the match at No. 7 with a birdie.

Beginning at No. 9, the Americans got on a serious roll with five birdies over the next six holes -- one by Benzel and three by Yrene -- to go 3-up. Two holes later at No. 15, the Americans closed out the match for a 5&3 win.

"The win early was big for me," Benzel said. "Being the first matches that I've played, I was nervous going out early on. That stretch beginning at nine gave us a lot of momentum. Don and I were both hitting it tight on those holes. We both played really well. We were 7 under as a team best ball. We got hot and kept running with it."

Match 3: Great Britain & Ireland's Michael Nesbit and Craig Goodfellow vs. USA's Chip Sullivan and Ron Philo, Jr.

Result: GBI wins, 6&5

Great Britain & Ireland received the first point of the 23rd PGA Cup when the tandem of Craig Goodfellow and Michael Nesbit defeated Chip Sullivan and Ron Philo Jr. of the United States in convincing fashion with a 6&5 victory.

By making birdies on three of the first four holes, the team from Great Britain & Ireland took an early lead which led to a match where the American team never could capture any momentum or seize any opportunities. Craig Goodfellow, the long-hitting Englishmen who is the teaching professional at Carlisle Driving Range in Cumbria, England, was able to make an amazing birdie while standing in a fairway bunker on No. 6 with the ball perched well above his feet on the lip. From 140 yards out, his shot ended up about two inches from the cup.

"It was a good shot," Goodfellow smiled. "It kept our momentum going, just allowed us to continue playing without having to be too aggressive. Getting out to a nice lead early really helps. It's nice to not have too much stress, when your partner is playing so well, and you're hitting the ball solidly, and you have a comfortable lead early. We just really played good partner golf."

Nesbit echoed the sentiment.

"We were able to alternate holes it seemed. When Craig played one hole really well, I'd take the next, and then him, and then back. It worked out just right. It helps that we're good friends and we're very comfortable around each other. We just felt good from the start."

Philo agreed that the quick start by the Great Britain and Ireland team was pivotal.

"We never could quite get it going," he stated. "Take nothing away from them, they played great. But we didn't play as well as we could have, and when we did make some birdies, they found a way to drop them in, too."

Match 4: Great Britain & Ireland's Jon Bevan and Duncan Muscroft vs. USA's Tim Thelen and Lee Rinker

Result: Halved

In a match that saw many twists and turns and great shot after great shot, the final match of the morning four-ball session saw the GB&I team of Jon Bevan and Duncan Muscroft battle Tim Thelen and Lee Rinker of the United States to an all-square push with both teams earning half a point for their respective squads. The United States team held the lead for the majority of the match after an opening birdie by Rinker, but the team from Great Britain & Ireland birdied holes 9-12 to put the match back at all square.

The U.S. team took the lead again on No. 15 with another birdie by Rinker, but the team from GB&I birdied No. 17 to square the match and both teams made par on the closing hole to solidify the tie.

"Both teams made a lot of birdies," Thelen said. "Neither team made many mistakes so there was a lot of great golf there. Obviously, they're good players, otherwise they wouldn't be here. I think our team is really strong, we have another two and a half days left, we'll see."

The tie was appropriate in that the push meant the conclusion of the morning four-ball session ended with a 2-2 tie in total points.