Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia withstood a late fightback in a 2 and 1 win over Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau to trigger a sustained European charge in yesterday’s morning fourballs at the Ryder Cup as the hosts stretched their lead over the US to 8-4.
McIlroy looked a shadow of himself in Friday’s opening fourballs as the US swept the first three matches, but he and Garcia formed a reliable partnership as Europe matched a Ryder Cup record with eight consecutive match wins.
They equaled the longstanding mark from 1967, when the US thrashed Britain and Ireland in an era before the inclusion of players from continental Europe.
“They have done well again this morning, I have to say. We keep going. We keep going till the end,” European captain Thomas Bjorn said.
The Northern Irishman, who failed to card a single birdie alongside rookie Thorbjorn Olesen in Friday’s 4 and 2 loss, reeled off four on the front nine to seize control over Koepka and Finau.
A late wobble allowed the Americans to close to within one, but a fired-up Garcia drained a birdie putt on 17 to seal victory and become the second-highest points scorer in Ryder Cup history with 24.5.
“We enjoy each other’s company, but we love coming out here, and the fire and the passion that he [Garcia] has, it’s infectious and it rubs off on me pretty well,” McIlroy said.
Paul Casey arguably delivered the standout performance of the morning, picking up birdies at five of the first six holes on the Albatros course to set the tone for his and Tyrrell Hatton’s 3 and 2 defeat of Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler.
Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood used a flurry of back-nine birdies by the Italian to beat Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed for the second time in as many days.
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