Publications
Partners
Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines - European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn insisted the battle for the trophy was far from over after his team claimed an 8-4 lead going into Saturday's afternoon foursomes.
Europe, bidding for a sixth successive home win, trailed 3-0 after dropping the first three matches of the competition, but matched a Ryder Cup record as they stormed back with eight wins in a row.
After getting on the board in Friday's fourballs anchor match, a sweep of the foursomes was followed by three more victories in Saturday's fourballs.
"They have done well again this morning, I have to say. We keep going. We keep going till the end," said Bjorn, whose team equalled a 51-year record with their memorable run of success.
They equalled the mark of eight consecutive matches won by the US team in 1967 against Britain and Ireland in an era before the inclusion of players from continental Europe.
Only the combination of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas denied them the outright record, with a 2 and 1 win over Ian Poulter and Jon Rahm in the concluding fourballs.
"We keep pushing, nothing's won. We're just at the halfway stage. There's no big happiness. There's still a determination and work to be done," said the Dane.
Bjorn has stuck with the same four couples that whitewashed the Americans in Friday's second session as the hosts attempt to drive home their advantage at Le Golf National.
"We've got an afternoon session ahead of us that's going to be tough, 16 really good golfers on the golf course this afternoon," he said.
"We were very successful in the foursomes yesterday, and I had to go with that set of pairings for this afternoon.
"We switched them around a little bit to match them with where they are at fitness and strength at the moment, so we go with that.
"Now we look forward to getting out there this afternoon. It's a good group of guys, but we are also up against a team that's very strong."
Results after Saturday's opening session of the 42nd Ryder Cup between Europe and the United States at Le Golf National:
Europe 8 United States 4
Morning Fourballs
Rory McIlroy/Sergio Garcia (Europe) bt Brooks Koepka/Tony Finau (USA) 2 and 1
Paul Casey/Tyrrell Hatton (Europe) bt Dustin Johnson/Rickie Fowler (USA) 3 and 2
Francesco Molinari/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) bt Patrick Reed/Tiger Woods (USA) 4 and 3
Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (USA) bt Ian Poulter/Jon Rahm (Europe) 2 and 1
Friday's results
Afternoon foursomes
Henrik Stenson/Justin Rose (Europe) bt Dustin Johnson/Rickie Fowler (USA) 3 and 2
Rory McIlroy/Ian Poulter (Europe) bt Bubba Watson/Webb Simpson (USA) 4 and 2
Sergio Garcia/Alex Noren (Europe) bt Phil Mickelson/Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 5 and 4
Francesco Molinari/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) bt Justin Thomas/Jordan Spieth (USA) 5 and 4
Morning fourballs
Brooks Koepka/Tony Finau (USA) bt Justin Rose/Jon Rahm (Europe) 1-up
Dustin Johnson/Rickie Fowler (USA) bt Rory McIlroy/Thorbjorn Olesen (Europe) 4 and 2
Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (USA) bt Paul Casey/Tyrrell Hatton (Europe) 1-up
Francesco Molinari/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) bt Patrick Reed/Tiger Woods (USA) 3 and 1
