Mark James had plenty to smile about during the first day of play.

After all, everything James did on Friday came up sevens. He hit on 20 and got 21. He put everything he had on black and the ball landed just where he wanted it to. He was even the best lounge act in the greater Boston area after the matches.

James put Ryder Cup inexperience together -- Miguel Angel Jimenez-Padraig Harrington in the morning -- and got points with it. He put the future of European golf -- Sergio Garcia -- and the future as it is known only in a galaxy far, far away -- Jesper Parnevik -- together and got points in both sessions. He got 1½ points from Colin Montgomerie, whose record in big matches in America is about as good as Gene Mauch's.

Even what James couldn't control went his way. He watched the world's top two players -- Tiger Woods and David Duval -- play 36 holes each and score the same number of points as Mark O'Meara, who didn't tee a ball. He watched Phil Mickelson shoot what amounted to a 63 (with a few conceded putts) with his own ball in the afternoon four-ball matches -- and lose when he missed a 6-footer on the 18th hole.

The Europeans were one Davis Love III 30-foot putt away from leading the Ryder Cup 6½-1½ after the first day.

The mood in the European camp? Pick your adjective, but make sure it's a step up from ecstatic.

"I would say they're somewhat chaffed," said a deadpan James after the matches. Asked what "chaffed" meant, he said, "Pleased."

But one look at James and his team said otherwise. As James discussed the day, his players were headed to waiting cars to return to the team hotel. They flipped golf balls, golf gloves, tees -- everything but clubs -- to the adoring European fans.

"It comes down to who knocks a couple of putts in at the right time, and we were fortunate enough to do that today," said Darren Clarke, who went 1-1 with Lee Westwood.

"It was a good day for us, but it's only one day out of three," said James. "There's no complacency in the camp. It was a day's job well done."

Montgomerie and British Open champion Paul Lawrie got the Europeans off to a huge start, burying Duval and Mickelson 3 and 2 in the first match of the day. And when Garcia-Parnevik earned the first of the pairing's two points, the Europeans were assured of no more than a draw in the morning. They did better than that when Jimenez and Harrington halved with Love and Payne Stewart.

Only Clarke and Westwood lost, but they would return to do damage later in the day, beating Duval and Woods in a tight match that ended in near-darkness. They were joined in the afternoon by Parnevik and Garcia and Jimenez and Jose Maria Olazabal, who won, while Montgomerie and Lawrie halved with Love and Justin Leonard only when Love made a 30-foot putt on the 18th and Montgomerie missed a 6-footer to tie.

James was one happy captain as he held court with the media. Among his gems: