Revisionist historians may one day attempt to situate Chaska, Minnesota, in the canon of monumental U.S. battles. They won’t succeed. Much like Pelayo’s vision of the Virgin Mary in northern Spain, encouraging him to reconquer Spain in the name of Christianity, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson or some other teammate will reveal that a visit from Arnold Palmer propelled them to victory on the morning of day one of this year’s Ryder Cup matches.

The 2016 playing, known as The Proof Is In The Task Force in some circles, got off to an unexpected alpha with a 4-0 sweep by Team USA in the morning foursomes. That’s right, the alternate shot event at which the Americans have traditionally, well, stunk, was their mother lode. Inexplicably, but not unexpectedly, the home squad then limped home to a 5-3 lead after the first two rounds of partner matches, thanks to an abysmal afternoon performance.

The difference was…we’re not telling. Not yet. Perhaps because we’re not sure of the reason. You have to read our five things we learned to learn the secret.

Team Europe Is Mentally Strong

"He's finding his range now!"#TeamEurope https://t.co/d3Gvh62dNs

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 30, 2016

Eight guys go out on Friday morning and lose four matches, and Europe doesn’t flinch. Back they come in the afternoon, in a format that favors neither team, and they throw their American counterparts a whupping.

Get Up Early And Stay There

When the student becomes the master…#RyderCup pic.twitter.com/Qh3rzfzb9H

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 30, 2016

It seems obvious, but it is never worth overlooking. In the a.m. rounds, 2 of 4 winning sides had secured leads that they would not relinquish by the 8th hole. In the afternoon, it was 4 for 4. Team USA failed to win more than one hole in two of four, second-round matches, while the European squadron captured a single hole in three of the four, first-round tilts. By far, the most entertaining match of the day was the foursomes battle between Rickie Fowler-Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy-Andy Sullivan. The Americans twice won three consecutive holes, while the Euros captured five holes on their own. When 11 of 18 holes are exchanged, that’s great golf and great television!

Major Champions In Every Pairing

We've all been here before. https://t.co/VIGWgCULNs

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 30, 2016

Despite being considered an underdog by many (they only won 8 of the past 10 Ryder Cup matches, after all), the Europeans have a pretty strong side. Each pairing in the afternoon rebound was powered by a major champion, or a world-class player who should be a major champion. U.S. Open, British Open, Olympic, Masters, and PGA all belong to the likes of Kaymer, Rose, Stenson, Willett, McIlroy. Most would confess that Sergio Garcia is too good to have not won a major, and he and his Iberian partner, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, formed yet another, indomitable Spanish pairing. This is not to say that the hometown opposition isn’t up to the Euro standard, just that the underdogs may be neither so under nor doggy as previously thought, club flips notwithstanding.

When a 5-3 lead is not a 5-3 lead

Did someone say comeback?#TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/HvN4quQQhL

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) September 30, 2016

If pundits had asked Captain Love III on Thursday evening if he would accept a 5-3 lead after Round 1, he might have nodded. If they had told him that his squad would be up 4-0 after the morning contests, and would crawl away 1-3 in the afternoon, he might not. Momentum was on the USA side at lunchtime, but the colonials could not persist, and the old world battled back to bring the tally nearly to square. If Team Euro finds its foursomes form on Saturday morn, the home squad could find itself in a customary, undesirable place…losing.

Make Every Putt On Every Green

Sneds stretches the lead to 4 #RyderCup #GoUSA https://t.co/4yksmIxqeg

— Ryder Cup USA (@RyderCupUSA) September 30, 2016

Hard to believe that you must, but the outcome of each of the eight matches on day one was decided on the putting surfaces. It was an extremely rare sight to see when four golfers walked away from a flag stick with no blood drawn. Putts were made by every featured actor, from every conceivable distance, to win and halve holes. They even chipped in from time to time, to add to the drama. These guys are good should be enhanced with the addition of putters or on the greens, or something to that effect.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll be watching every second of coverage this weekend to see how this all unfolds.