Louisville, Ky. ? Phil Mickelson won as many points as his last two Ryder Cups combined. Justin Leonard had never won a match in any Ryder Cup until two blowout victories at Valhalla.

And the most stunning turnaround Friday might have been all those celebrations. Finally, the Americans had all the fun.

Boo Weekley revved up the crowd, Anthony Kim set a record for high-fives, and the Americans delivered four big comebacks to take a 51â2-21â2 lead, their largest margin after the opening day since Europe first was included in the Ryder Cup in 1979.

One of the few bright spots for Europe was Lee Westwood, who tied Arnold Palmer by running his unbeaten streak in the Ryder Cup to 12 matches. Westwood and Soren Hansen birdied the last three holes in the final fourballs match of the afternoon, the final birdie enough to earn a halve against Weekley and big-hitting J.B. Holmes.

In a surprising move, Faldo decided to bench Westwood and Sergio Garcia for this morning’s foursomes. Neither has ever missed a Ryder Cup match – 27 straight for Westwood, 22 straight for Garcia. Combined, they have a 27-5-8 record in team play.

In the opening match, Mickelson and Kim trailed by three holes with six to play until winning three straight holes and earning a halve against double major winner Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson. Down by three after four holes in the afternoon, Kim gave them their first lead of the day with a 7-foot birdie on the 14th, and Mickelson dropped in a 20-foot birdie on the 17th that led to a 2-up victory.