Europe lead the United States 5-3 at the end of today’s play at the Ryder Cup in Paris.
Europe
5
–
3
USA
- Friday foursomes results
- Stenson & Rose beat Johnson & Fowler 3&2
- McIlroy & Poulter beat Watson & Simpson 4&2
- Garcia & Noren beat DeChambeau & Mickelson 5&4
- Molinari & Fleetwood beat Thomas & Spieth 5&4
- Friday fourballs results
- Rose & Rahm lose to Koepka & Finau 1up
- McIlroy & Olesen lose to Johnson & Fowler 4&2
- Casey & Hatton lose to Spieth & Thomas 1up
- Molinari & Fleetwood beat Reed & Woods 3&1
4.39pm:McIlroy and Poulter put another European point on the board with a 4&2 win over Watson and Simpson.
That was closely followed by a 5&4 win for Garcia and Noren, which put Europe into a 4-3 overall lead.
It left Molinari and Fleetwood the only match left out on course with a four-hole lead playing the 14th.
Their match did not last much longer, with Molinari holing a short birdie putt at the next hole for a 5&4 victory.
Europe’s first foursomes whitewash, and the first since the Friday fourballs at The Belfry in 1989, turned around the overall score as they finished the day 5-3 ahead.
4.35pm: But it was Rose who put the first point of the afternoon on the board, making it 3-2 to the USA, with a par at the 16th to win 3&2.
The victory was achieved with the European pair level par for their round, such were the Americans’ difficulties.
“I had a little chat with Rory in the team room after a tough loss this morning so to turn it around was important,” Rose told Sky Sports.
“Rory said ‘Put some blue on the board and give me something to chase’. Job done.”
4.13pm:Fowler chipped to two feet at the 12th to get back to four down and a birdie from Johnson at the next took another hole off Europe’s lead.
Noren hit into the water on the 10th and when Mickelson’s approach finished 10ft from the hole they pulled one back, with another coming at the next when Europe could not make par.
Behind them Fleetwood and Molinari’s three-hole lead was restored when Spieth and Thomas made a hash of the par-five ninth and they went further ahead when America bogeyed the next.
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Watson’s downhill par putt at the 12th slid past and Poulter tidied up to get back to two up, with McIlroy’s brilliant escape from the bank of a pond setting up a birdie for his partner, who celebrated going three up by thumping the badge on his chest.
A duffed chip by DeChambeau put Garcia and Noren six up with six to play.
3.50pm:Noren came up short on the eighth but Garcia’s recovery chip to five feet gave his partner a sight of a par putt and that proved to be enough as the Americans could only manage bogey, putting Europe six up.
The United States players’ games were falling apart with Johnson’s missed par putt at the 11th dropping them to two down.
It set up the very real prospect of a first European whitewash since the Friday fourballs in 1989 at The Belfry, although they have never achieved the feat in foursomes.
Poulter’s tee shot at the 11th finished eight feet from the hole but Watson put his inside that and Simpson pulled one back with only their second birdie of the day.
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Fleetwood’s missed par putt on eight handed a hole back to the Americans as the lead was cut to two holes.
But ahead of them Garcia and Noren were on target for a record win after reaching the turn seven up with a birdie at the ninth.
3.25pm:Fleetwood holed a 15-footer for par at the fifth but with Spieth having driven into the rough the Americans could only bogey and Europe went two up.
Another bogey for the Mickelson-DeChambeau pairing put them four down through six holes, with no birdies to their opponents’ three.
Fleetwood found his putting range in the afternoon with a curling 12-footer at the sixth taking them three up.
Garcia holed a 12ft birdie at the seventh as they, incredibly, went five up against the misfiring Mickelson and DeChambeau.
Watson missed a six-foot par putt having made a mess of the long ninth and Poulter and McIlroy turned two up having won four in a row.
Johnson’s short putt for a half at the 10th burned the edge of the cup to give Stenson and Rose a four-hole lead.
2.53pm: Molinari and Fleetwood, in the last group out against Spieth and Thomas, birdied the par-five third to go one up.
A par at the fourth was enough to put Stenson and Rose three up, while McIlroy’s first birdie of the day from eight feet finally arrived at the par-four sixth to get back to one down.
They were level when Simpson could not hole a 15-foot par putt at the seventh.
Garcia had two putts from 18ft to go three up at the fifth but needed just one, leaving Europe up in three and all-square in one.
When Simpson’s par putt lipped out at the short eighth, McIlroy holed his from four feet to go ahead and give Europe a 4-0 overall lead in the foursomes.
2.15pm: In the afternoon foursomes America drew first blood when Ian Poulter – in the second group out – drove into the water at the first, allowing Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson to win with a par.
Simpson holed a long birdie putt at the third as they went two up, while in the group behind Alex Noren’s short putt meant he and Sergio Garcia won the second hole after Americans Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau could manage only bogey.
Mickelson hooked an iron off the third tee into a small pond on the left, leading to a bogey six, but rookie Noren holed his birdie putt anyway.
Henrik Stenson and Rose, Europe’s first foursomes pair, went one up when Johnson and Fowler could only bogey the fifth and then birdied the next for a two-hole advantage.
1.41pm: US captain Jim Furyk was pleased with the way the morning had gone, telling Sky Sports: “I was real excited with the guys. I didn’t get to see everyone because some guys were still on the golf course.
“We wanted to get more groups on the golf course (in the afternoon).”
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1.12pm: “We are only halfway through the day so you have to keep going but, for me, I could talk about Fran all day,” Fleetwood told Sky Sports.
“It was pure class. To have a partner like Fran is amazing.
“Those last few holes and the pressure you feel, you can see the leaderboard, and us being together that is the Ryder Cup, that feeling on 15 and 16.”
Molinari added: “We both played very well. We had a couple of moments when we had to reset, start again and get the crowd going a little bit and we need to get some points back this afternoon.”
12.52pm: Thomas was full of praise for his partner, who carded six birdies in total.
“We did so well that first nine, 10 holes. We both had looks. For the most part he was tearing it up and it was enjoyable to watch,” Thomas told the Golf Channel.
With Woods and Reed both failing to find the 17th green, Molinari birdied from 15ft to win the match 3&1 and put Europe’s first point on the board as the morning fourballs finished 3-1 to the holders.
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12.44pm: Woods, who is being rested for the afternoon fourballs, found water at the short 16th, but Reed’s ball clung to the fringe of green without getting wet.
That allowed Fleetwood to hole a monster putt across the green for birdie and Reed could not follow him in as Europe went two up with two to play which guaranteed the hosts at least half a point.
With Casey in trouble Hatton hit it to within 15ft at the 18th but could not hole his birdie attempt and Spieth holed his short par to win one up and make it 3-0 USA.
12.25pm: With the match all-square Rose went for the flag at the 18th but overshot into the water, and with Rahm having to chip out of the rough, America put both their approaches into the centre of the green.
Koepka two-putted for par and Rahm could not hole his curling 20-footer for the half as America put their second point on the board.
“We made the turn two down and I said one hole at a time,” said Koepka, who were not up in the match until the final green.
At the par-four 15th Molinari and Reed put their approaches into the water, and with Woods having to lay-up out of the rough, Fleetwood flirted with the lake but stopped his ball 10ft from the pin and putted in from the fringe to go one up.
11.50am: America have won the first point of the 42nd Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Paris.
Rory McIlroy and Thorbjorn Oleson have suffered a 4&2 defeat to Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson.
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Johnson and Fowler should have put the first point on the board for the United States when the world number one, with his partner out of the hole after going in the water, hit his approach close at the 15th but he missed the birdie attempt.
That left them three up with three to play and a 4&2 victory was duly confirmed when Johnson hit it to six feet at the short 16th and the hole was conceded.
“We believe in each other, we know we are both playing well,” Johnson told the Golf Channel.
“We did a really good job of both not being out of the hole and that is what you have to do in team golf.”
Spieth and Thomas ended Europe’s run with a birdie at the 15th to restore their one-hole advantage.
Back-to-back birdies from Molinari returned them to all-square.
Finau enjoyed a huge slice of luck when his tee shot at the short 16th hit the sleepers guarding the lake and looped high into the air to land three feet from the pin for a kick-in birdie and they returned to all-square.
11.19am Reed chipped in for birdie at the 10th as they went two up, although back-to-back birdies for Casey got him and Hatton to within one of Spieth and Thomas, who had played brilliant golf with seven birdies in their first 10 holes.
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