Morning fourball: The rumour mill had murmured this big-hitting Brett Wetterich chap might possess the weaponry to damage the new-look "Spanish Armada". Poor Brett! Such high expectations placed on his rookie shoulders. As the nice Rolex clock on the first tee signalled 8.30am, his first shot in the Ryder Cup was like a misdirected missile into the trees down the right.

It was to become an all too familiar plight. All morning, Wetterich and his fourballs partner, David Toms, searched in vain for the impetus that could sink Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal. The match was to finish on the 16th green - a 3 and 2 win in favour of the Europeans - with "El Nino", aka "The Kid", assuming the role of inspirational leader. Garcia was quite superb, his ball-striking immaculate.

The first fairway he missed all day was on the 10th, at which stage he and Olazabal had moved into a two-hole lead and it was fitting they should finish birdie-birdie (both by Garcia) to close out the match. "We gelled beautifully," enthused Garcia of his first time pairing in a Ryder Cup with Ollie. Prior to the match, Ian Woosnam had compared Garcia to a Spanish bull. He obviously took it to heart, putting a headcover in the guise of a bull onto his driver.

Smacking a 297-yard drive down the first, Garcia laid down a marker. When he went on to roll in a left-to-right breaking birdie putt from the edge of the green, it gave them a lead they never relinquished.

Even the great and the mighty found time to savour Garcia's magic. The seventh hole, a treacherous par four that proved to be a watery grave for many players, saw Garcia hit a beautiful iron approach on to the green.

It proved to be a miserable debut for Wetterich. When Toms managed to hole a 30-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole, Wetterich went to high-five his team-mate and missed. When Garcia answered Toms' birdie with one of his own, the perfectly synchronised high-five Garcia and Olazabal exchanged was a thing of beauty.

On the signature 16th hole, Garcia's three-iron approached found the green. The noise he heard from the giant grandstand by the Liffey could have been heard in his native Castellon. "It made me shiver, I had goosebumps down the back of my neck," he said afterwards.

It had been an emotional return to Ryder Cup action for Olazabal after a seven-year absence. In the past, Olazabal was the younger partner in the original Spanish Armada with Seve Ballesteros. So, how did a return to Ryder Cup fare compare? "It's different. When you're 21 years old and you are playing your first Ryder Cup, you have your whole future ahead of you. You're just happy to be there, and really nervous. I was shaking like a leaf on the first tee at Muirfield (in 1978), playing alongside Seve. But the way you see it is different. Now, you know there's not many Ryder Cups in you, and you try to enjoy every minute of it."

On the 16th, with the point sown up, Olazabal put his arms around Garcia. "Today was a very special one," he said, "and the way Sergio played was awesome."

As for Wetterich? "I just didn't hit any good, quality shots. Hopefully, I can rebound from this."

Welcome to the Ryder Cup, Brett.

Garcia and Olazabal beat

Toms and Wetterich 3 and 2