Azinger cautious despite fine day
Paul Azinger congratulated his players on a first American opening-day Ryder Cup lead for 13 years but warned there was still a long way to go at Valhalla.
The United States captain saw his team compile a 5 1/2-2 1/2 over three-time defending champions Europe at the end of the first day's play in Kentucky, the first time since 1995 at Oak Hill that the United States has led after the first day.
"Well, clearly we haven't led in a long time, so we're real happy about that," Azinger said after his side had won the closing fourball matches session 2 1/2-1 1/2.
"We also know how good Europe are, so we're just going to try to get a nice rest and go out and play well on Saturday.
"We're in a happy spot. I mean, it's better than it being the other way, that's for sure. But like I said, we're not even to the halfway point yet.
"My hope is these guys can go back and get some rest and play some ping-pong or go to bed, whatever. It's not a sprint; it's a marathon.
"We've been here since Monday practising, or Monday night, doing stuff, and it's a long week. We've got a long, long way to go, and we know how good they are."
Azinger paid tribute to the six debutants on his team, with captain's pick Hunter Mahan recording two victories alongside Justin Leonard and Anthony Kim winning 1 1/2 points in tandem with Phil Mickelson.
"I put a bunch of rookies out there, and they did real well. I'm real proud of them all.
"It could have gone either way. The guys, there were some nice comebacks today. They just played really well. Everybody kind of stayed on point, stayed in the present, and just kept going."
