Ross Fisher and Padraig Harrington pushed the Europe team to a 7-6 advantage when they defeated Jim Furyk and Dustin Johnson 2 and 1 in fourballs Sunday. Earlier, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald completed a crushing 6&5 win over Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker on Sunday to earn the first point of the unfinished third session for Europe at the weather-hit Ryder Cup.
Four up on the Americans overnight after nine holes in their foursomes match, Westwood gave the British duo a major lift when he drained a 40-foot birdie putt at the 10th before they went on to seal victory on the 13th green.
It was the biggest defeat of Woods’s Ryder Cup career and gave Westwood his sixth win over the world number one in seven encounters at the biennial team competition.
That put Europe 6-5 behind holders the United States overall but the home team were leading in all the other five matches on the course with huge galleries roaring them on.
“I thought that putt Lee holed on 10 was magnificent,” Donald told reporters. “It was amazing to see that go in. To go five up gave us a huge boost and hopefully will help the team.
“It was nice to go out there and show they are beatable,” he added, Woods and Stricker having won their first two matches this week.
{{/usCountry}}“It was nice to go out there and show they are beatable,” he added, Woods and Stricker having won their first two matches this week.
{{/usCountry}}Westwood and Donald were five under after 13 holes in the alternate-shot format.
Blue numbers
With blue numbers dominating the board overnight at a soggy Celtic Manor, European captain Colin Montgomerie had urged his team to maintain momentum on the third day and his players were delivering. Northern Irishmen Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, in the second match, were three up on Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan after 12 of their foursomes.
Peter Hanson and Miguel Angel Jimenez were one up on Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton after nine.
Italians Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, the first brothers to be paired together at the Ryder Cup since Charles and Ernest Whitcombe in 1935 were one up on Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar after eight holes. In the bottom fourball match, Britain’s Ian Poulter and German Martin Kaymer were three up on Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler after eight.
For the first time, the Ryder Cup will have a Monday finish following this week’s rain.