European captain Nick Faldo already hitting the panic button: benches Westwood and Garcia for Saturday Ryder Cup foursomes

LOUISVILLE, KY – U.S. Captain Paul Azinger is sticking to his guns Saturday morning, going with the same lineup that earned him three points in Friday’s foursomes.

European captain Nick Faldo is doing his best impression of an over-caffeinated Wall Street day trader with his irrational, panicky pairings for Saturday morning. With the pairings having just been announced, Faldo is benching both Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood.

Together, Garcia and Westwood have made up one of Europe’s best pairings over the years. Apparently America’s first lead after Day 1 since 1995 will cause you to throw your veterans under the bus.

To top things off…this should rile up Europe even more: Ian Poulter and Justin Rose will play their third straight match. At least give Faldo credit for not caving to the criticism that he’s been “Too England, not enough Europe".

Azinger’s captaining of the U.S. team thus far has been a thing of beauty. He made all his Friday picks before the match even began. That has to calm your players down, knowing they aren’t auditioning to play in the afternoon round. Their job is to just win one match at a time. Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan will go for the Hat Trick tomorrow versus an interesting Graeme McDowell/Miguel Angel Jimenez pairing. You have to wonder where the chemistry is there.

Maybe Nick Faldo is benching Westwood in the morning for his “Boo Hoo Hoo". The hypocritical Euro has apparently forgotten what it’s like for the U.S. squad across the pond.

“The crowd’s been very polite,” said Weekley, who also said he doesn’t plan on toning it down any. “Over there, when we miss a putt, they cheer.”

I was mostly following the Mickelson/Kim vs. Harrington/McDowell matches tonight and didn’t hear any cheering over a European mishap. To be frank, I was expecting much more rudeness from American fans than there were. Kudos to the Louisville faithful. They’ve found the perfect mix of courtesy and raucousness.

As for Faldo, the European press is circling the wagons as we speak.

Stay tuned to WorldGolf.com tomorrow morning for more on Day 1 of the Ryder Cup.

Nick Faldo is already feeling the heat after the Europeans won just one match on Friday.