Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari helped salvage something for Europe from an absorbing, fluctuating morning as the USA seized the early initiative in the 42nd Ryder Cup at Le Golf National.
Amid the turbulent ebb and flow of the morning fourballs, the visitors, aiming to retain the cup they won two years ago, opened up a 3-1 advantage heading into the afternoon foursomes.
But it could have been worse for Thomas Bjorn’s side over the course of a few hours which illustrated the capricious nature of the matchplay format. Just before 11 am, Europe were up in three of the four matches. About half an hour later they were down in three and facing another opening whitewash which derailed their campaign at Hazeltine in 2016.
Having lost the top three matches, Fleetwood and Open champion Molinari managed to overhaul a two hole deficit with eight to play against Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed to plunder a much needed point.
Europe still face a major task, though, and the insipid performance of Rory McIlroy generated plenty of concern particularly when he was sent out again for the second session. McIlroy was the only player not to make a single birdie during the fourballs as the Northern Irishman and partner Thorbjorn Olesen lost 4&2 to Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler. The European duo won just one hole when Olesen's par on the eighth proved enough to give them the lead. But they managed just one birdie from then on as they slumped to a sorry defeat.
Justin Rose and Jon Rahm twice enjoyed a two-shot lead over Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau in the opening match, but were pegged back to all square when Finau's water-bound tee-shot on the 16th hit a wooden sleeper surrounding the hazard and bounced up to within three feet of the hole.
And when Rose found the water with his approach to the 18th, the American duo were able to make a regulation par to pull off an unlikely victory.
Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton fell three down to Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas when Spieth made five birdies in the first seven holes, but the English pair fought back superbly to get back on level terms after 13 holes, only for Thomas to crucially birdie the 15th and hold on for victory.
Molinari and Fleetwood were also in danger of suffering defeat when they lost three holes to par on the front nine to trail by two with eight to play, but Molinari birdied the 11th and 12th, Fleetwood repeated the feat on the 15th and 16th and Molinari finished it in style with another birdie on 17.
Bjorn must have been tempted to leave McIlroy out of a session for the first time in his career, but kept faith with the Northern Irishman for the afternoon foursomes, pairing him with Ian Poulter in match two against Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson.
Rose and Henrik Stenson were reunited in the opening match against Johnson and Fowler, with Sergio Garcia and Alex Noren taking on Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau and Molinari and Fleetwood in the final match against Thomas and Spieth.
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