Saturday afternoon foursome results

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The 2007 Masters champion struck at the first hole by chipping in for birdie, but Westwood and Donaldson squared the match with a birdie at the par-5 2nd. The Americans won two holes at the 4th and 8th, only to give each one back at the next. Johnson got the U.S. back to 1-down at the driveable par-4 14th by calmly holing for eagle. But a birdie at the par-5 16th put them back to 2-down, with no recovery.

With the victory, Lee Westwood became tied with the great Arnold Palmer for fifth in career Ryder Cup points at 23. Only Sir Nick Faldo (25), Bernhard Langer (24), and Billy Casper and Colin Montgomerie (23½) remain ahead of Westwood, with the Sunday singles matches ahead tomorrow.

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Indeed, Spieth and Reed proved to be the only pair standing in the way of a European sweep on this afternoon. The two teams were all-square after the 5th, but Spieth and Reed won the 6th with a European bogey and then their own birdie at the 7th.

After trading wins at 9 and 10, however, Rose and Kaymer righted the ship. At 12, Rose calmly saved par following an American miscue. At the par-4 15th, Reed missed a par-saver by two inches to give Kaymer the hole and to square the match.

But what happened at the par-5 16th hole shocked the Americans — and ultimately may prove to be the favorable turning point for Europe in this 40th Ryder Cup. Rose pulled his approach left and Kaymer somewhat foozled his third, giving Rose a long uphill putt for birdie, which he left four feet short. From a difficult spot in the right-side bunker, Reed blasted to about 12 feet, but Spieth pushed his birdie putt to the right. Kaymer surprisingly pushed his par-saver, then refused to concede a two-footer for par to Patrick Reed.

Kaymer's on-the-spot tactical move worked; at 5:14 p.m. BST, Reed's two-foot putt lipped out right to left, leaving him hunched over in despair for several seconds:

With a glorious scoring opportunity gone, Reed walked stunned to the par-3 17th with the match still all-square — and the atmosphere of the match irrevocably changed. Interestingly, Spieth's tee-shot at 17 just barely cleared a mound fronting the green, sliding to a stop just five feet from the flagstick. And when Rose's par-saver lurched left, he conceded the two-putt and gave the Americans another 1-up lead.

At the 18th tee-box, still steaming and visibly angry over his miscue at the 16th green, Reed unleashed a vicious drive, which came to a stop well down the left side of the fairway. But Kaymer, still smelling proverbial "blood in the water," calmly struck his tee-shot and put it five yards beyond Reed's drive. With a 1-up lead and a half-point guaranteed, Spieth then dumped his second into a green-side bunker — as did Rose. Reed, from a somewhat precarious angle, blasted to about 15 feet — hole high, but from a tricky angle. Also in the sand, Kaymer fared better, blasting to just six feet.

With his putter finally in his hands, Spieth pushed his 15-foot birdie attempt to the right. From six feet, Rose rammed home his six-foot birdie attempt to win the hole and capture the half-point that may wind up being the ultimate doom for the Americans on Sunday.

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McDowell and Dubuisson took advantage of an American bogey at the par-5 2nd, grabbing a 1-up lead with a birdie of their own — and never looked back. At 10 and 5-down, Walker was able to match Dubuisson with tee-shots to 18 inches at the par-3 10th, resulting in matching conceded birdies. Fowler then birdied the 11th to get back to 4-down. But Walker could not save par at the 13th, leaving the Americans dormie — 5-down with five to play. And although they matched birdies at the 14th, time ran out on the tired duo.

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Through Saturday, September 27