FOUR-BALLS US ½ EUROPE 3½
DARREN CLARKE AND MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ BEAT DAVIS LOVE III AND CHAD CAMPBELL 5 AND 4
Started with a rash of birdies from Europe — three in the first four holes. It killed America’s hopes and, more importantly, their resolve. Jiménez birdied the 2nd, Clarke the 4th and 5th to put Europe three up. They might as well have walked off there and then — the match was effectively over before it reached the turn.
COLIN MONTGOMERIE AND PADRAIG HARRINGTON BEAT PHIL MICKELSON AND TIGER WOODS 2 AND 1
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Woods was three under par after five holes, but Europe were still one up. Hal Sutton’s top pairing played like strangers, Montgomerie and Harrington were a proper team. When Mickelson holed out for a three on the 16th, it was their first birdie for nine holes. Sutton invested a lot in his pair and got it badly wrong.
SERGIO GARCÍA AND LEE WESTWOOD BEAT DAVID TOMS AND JIM FURYK 5 AND 3
Alas, poor Furyk. The hopes that he and Toms might have harboured were smothered in the first four holes, after which they were three down. From there until the end, that was as good as it got for the Americans. Europe were four up after nine and led by five when Westwood birdied the par-three 13th. An old Spanish-English alliance that worked again.
PAUL MCGINLEY AND LUKE DONALD HALVED WITH CHRIS RILEY AND STEWART CINK
With crowds and team-mates gathering, the closing stages of the tightest contest provided excitement and tension. McGinley holed a 13-foot putt on the 6th for the first birdie of the match and after the United States had drawn level again, Europe led for two more holes from the 13th. Europe would have loved a victory, but a half was the right result.
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FOURSOMES US 1 EUROPE 3
MIGUEL ÁNGEL JIMÉNEZ AND THOMAS LEVET LOST TO CHRIS DIMARCO AND JAY HAAS 3 AND 2
The first point for the United States — how they needed it. The Europe pairing of Jiménez and Levet never got going, committing the cardinal sin of losing four holes to pars, which asked no more of DiMarco and Haas than steadiness. After three holes Europe were one up: three holes later they were two down. It was easy for the Americans after that.
COLIN MONTGOMERIE AND PADRAIG HARRINGTON BEAT DAVIS LOVE III AND FRED FUNK 4 AND 2
The American pair had early chances to make a match of it but made only one of them. The Montgomerie-Harrington axis won the first hole but lost the third to make it all square. If Love and Funk dreamt of winning at that moment, they were sadly disabused as the Europe pair waltzed serenely through the rest of the match.
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DARREN CLARKE AND LEE WESTWOOD BEAT PHIL MICKELSON AND TIGER WOODS BY 1 HOLE
The American pair were three up after four holes but Clarke and Westwood edged ahead after 11. The United States levelled things again at the 17th and it was settled when Mickelson hit a horrendously sliced drive 40 yards off the fairway at the last. Europe won it with a bogey five to a double- bogey six to end an awful day for Mickelson and Woods.
SERGÍO GARCIA AND LUKE DONALD BEAT KENNY PERRY AND STEWART CINK 2 AND 1
García and Donald, combined age 50, played like veterans against Perry and Cink, combined age 75. Much of the preamble to the match involved the Americans having fun, but it was the Spanish-English combination who showed them what fun really was — and did so while playing dominating golf. The match consisted of 17 holes, but Perry and Cink won only three.