Europe extend Ryder Cup lead before Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth hand USA lifeline

  • Rory McIlroy & Sergio Garcia beat Tony Finau & Brooks Koepka 2&1
  • Paul Casey & Tyrell Hatton beat Dustin Johnson & Rickie Fowler 3&2
  • Francesco Molinari & Tommy Fleetwood beat Tiger Woods & Patrick Reed 4&3
  • Justin Thomas & Jordan Spieth beat Ian Poulter & Jon Rahm 2&1
In charge: Garcia's impressive putt sealed a hard-fought first point on Saturday morning
REUTERS
Matt Majendie @mattmajendie29 September 2018

Europe extended their lead by two more points as a wave of blue again swept the Ryder Cup scoreboard at Le Golf National.

It was not quite the whitewash of Friday afternoon but three wins and a solitary fourballs defeat leave Europe 8-4 ahead going into the final foursomes.

‘Moliwood’ – the pairing of Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari – were again victorious this time 4&3 over Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed.

It extended their 100 per cent record and gave little choice to captain Thomas Bjorn but to pair them together again against Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.

Following a hat-trick of wins, it made Fleetwood the most successful Ryder Cup debutant since Sergio Garcia won his opening three ties as a rookie all the way back in 1999.

Aptly, Garcia’s Ryder Cup status still shines brightly, a monster birdie putt on the 17th sealing a 2&1 win with Rory McIlroy that had looked, at one point, like a formality before a stunning fightback by Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka.

There was a win for Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton over Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler 3&2 while the one minor European blip was a loss for Ian Poulter and John Rahm in a tight match with Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.

Any question marks that still remained in match one over Garcia’s wildcard pick were rapidly erased, the Spaniard now within just half a point of Nick Faldo’s Ryder Cup points record of 25.

Garcia’s ability to switch it on for this team event is truly remarkable and, in the case of McIlroy, addictive. Where yesterday in the fourballs, he could not muster a birdie, the Northern Irishman had four in his first six holes.

By the 8th, he and Garcia were four up, a lead they still held by 13 before Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback.

No pairing in Ryder Cup history had ever come back from four down on 13 to win but the Americans nearly pulled it off, winning the next three holes to swing the momentum.

But Garcia sunk a 20-foot putt on the 17th and, when Koepka, missed his own birdie effort, a first European win of the day was sealed 2&1.

McIlroy and Garcia
Getty Images

McIlroy said of his playing partner: “The fire and passion that he has rubs off on my very well.”

In match two, Casey and Hatton gelled together beautifully, the tone set by Casey carding five birdies in six holes to put the pair two up.

Fowler and Johnson had looked so good in the opening fourballs but just had not answer as, first, Casey fired and then Hatton, frustrated earlier by his putting not firing, finally clicked into life.

Fowler had a long putt to keep the game alive on 16 but it went wide paving the way for rookie Hatton and Casey, a decade after his last Ryder Cup appearance, start the celebrations.

Hatton joked afterwards that he had merely been trying to keep up with “a Casey express train on the front nine” while a tearful Casey added: “It’s been 10 years and I desperately wanted to be back on this team because I know how amazing it is.”

Fleetwood and Molinari continued their remarkable partnership for that third straight win. Reed has not looked comfortable all event while one wondered how much of a recurrence of a back problem was Wood suffering, such was his relative stiffness.

In a tight contest, the match went from all square at 10 to three up in blue colours three holes later courtesy of three straight Molinari birdies.

But it was Fleetwood that sunk the win with par as a Woods bogey on 15 meant a 4&3 European win.

In the final match, Poulter and Rahm had often appeared to be hanging onto the coat tails of Thomas and Spieth but kept themselves in the contest.

Rahm whipped up the crowd with birdie putt on 14 to almost level the match but Thomas did the same and cupped his ear to the crowd as if to silence them.

In the end, it proved a deserving win for the Americans to vitally end what had been eight straight victories for Europe.

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