Tommy Fleetwood admitted to being “a little bit emotional” after he and Francesco Molinari became the first European pair in Ryder Cup history to win all four matches as Europe established a 10-6 lead at Le Golf National.
Fleetwood and Molinari’s victory followed a 2 and 1 win for Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose over Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, while Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson beat Sergio Garcia and Alex Noren 3 and 2 and Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were 4 and 3 winners against Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter.
Open Champion Molinari and last year’s Race to Dubai winner Fleetwood recorded a thumping 4 and 3 victory over Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed in the morning, before extending their perfect Ryder Cup record in the afternoon with a 5 and 4 foursomes victory over Woods and Bryson DeChambeau in the afternoon.
“A little bit emotional right now – we’re only on Saturday,” Fleetwood said. “We were really, really good this afternoon.
“We played really solid, we played really well. The piece of history together – it’s very special.”
Molinari added: “We came here to do a job, and it wasn’t to go in the records books or anything like that, it’s about the team, it’s about getting to 14 1/2.
“We’re getting closer, but those points we’re going to need tomorrow, we’re going to have to fight hard for them. It’s not going to be easy.”
The 10 – 6 lead leaves Europe on the brink only needing 4.5 points to claim back the Ryder Cup and the singles matches have shown up some great showdowns.
Rory McIlroy will kick off when he faces Justin Thomas in the opening singles match at 11am.
Bjørn has opted for four-time Major winner McIlroy to get that charge under way, with Paul Casey out second against Brooks Koepka.
World Number Two Justin Rose then faces Webb Simpson in the third game out, before Jon Rahm takes on Tiger Woods.
Tommy Fleetwood’s bid to complete a perfect Ryder Cup haul of five points on debut sees him face Tony Finau in match five.
Ian Poulter tackles World Number One Dustin Johnson before Thorbjørn Olesen makes his rookie singles appearance against Jordan Spieth.
Sergio Garcia faces Rickie Fowler, with the Spaniard knowing victory would make him Europe’s all-time highest Ryder Cup points scorer.
Phil Mickelson stands between Francesco Molinari and a five-point haul, before Tyrrell Hatton takes on Patrick Reed.
Bjørn has opted for Swedes Henrik Stenson and Alex Noren to anchor the session, with Bubba Watson and Bryson DeChambeau their respective opponents.
The stage is set for an epic day of action especially if early momentum swings towards the American pairings. Europe overturned a 10 – 6 deficit at Medinah in 2012 so today is by no means a formality.
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