Day 2: Going Nowhere Fast

The other match also looked winnable for the U.S. Jimenez was paired with Jos� Mar�a Olaz�bal, who had been playing poorly. Crenshaw was expected to send out Jeff Maggert and Hal Sutton, winners of two of three matches and clearly the best U.S. team, but he decided to play a hunch. He benched Maggert in favor of Leonard, even though Maggert had come through with two huge strokes in the morning foursomes against Lawrie and Montgomerie. Maggert had holed a lengthy birdie putt at the 17th to give his team a one-up lead, after which he dashed across the green, pumping his fist. Then at the 18th, after Sutton had driven right down the middle, Maggert had staked a seven-iron to within a foot to close out the match for the Americans.

Crenshaw's decision to bench Maggert was a curious one, but Maggert was too much of a team player to argue. "I really believe it takes a lot out of you to play five matches," he said. "I thought maybe I held Hal back a little bit Friday afternoon in best ball because I wasn't striking the ball that well. It was Ben's decision. I would've played if he'd wanted me to, but I wasn't disappointed that I didn't. Definitely not."

Crenshaw's hunch didn't pan out. Leonard was awful on the greens, and the Americans trailed most of the match. Only Sutton's heroics at the end, when he hit it close at 16 for birdie and saved par at 18, salvaged a half point. The match was typical of Crenshaw's luck and the Americans' basic problem. "Other than Hal, it's hard to say we've had anybody who's really been dominating," Maggert said. "Who are you going to put in? Whoever plays just has to play better."

On Saturday, no American played well enough.

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