91Èȱ¬

When I started following Boo (named after mate Boo Boo naturally) and local boy JB Holmes at the 4th, I fully expected .

But all was quiet, as Worksop's Lee Westwood drove Europe into a two-hole lead and the crowd to distraction.

One ice cream and an ill-considered text later, I plonked myself in the stand behind the 16th and watched - or rather heard - the tide turn.

First a faint chorus of "boooooooos" rang out from the distance. Weekley had birdied the 10th to square the match against Westwood and Soren Hansen.

Then the boos got louder when Boo drained a monster putt at the 12th to take the lead.

And so it went on. Boos and the new chant "Boo. S. A" erupting from every quarter of the course, whether the Floridian was in the vicinity or not.

By the time he and JB Holmes approached the 16th, the entire US team had assembled, wide eyed and beaming at greenside with Anthony Kim waving his like a giddy cheerleader.

When Weekley flighted the shot of the day to within two feet of a tough pin placement, the stand shook in appreciation.

That Boo and JB fluffed their lines, giving up their one-shot lead at the last, didn't matter. At least it doesn't matter yet.

Valhalla has unearthed an unlikely US hero.

"He's a normal guy. I'm a normal guy so that works," a man kitted out in a T-shirt saying "red, white and Boo" told 91Èȱ¬ Radio 5 Live.

While Mickelson grew into his role as team leader, Boo Weekley filled a void that has been missing in Team USA for a while.

On Friday, he became their firecracker and mascot.

It pains me to say this as a European when my team is trailing but the Americans badly needed one and so did the event as a whole.

Bring on the Boo show and let's hope Europe's firecracker rises to the occasion. If he does, we're in for something special over the weekend.