Two chip-ins from a suddenly revitalised Ian Poulter rescued Europe’s lead in the 40th Ryder Cup on another dramatic morning at Gleneagles.
Poulter’s sudden revival from a difficult two days helped he and Rory McIlroy win a half in the bottom game against Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker as the Saturday fourballs went with the same score as on the first day, the USA taking two and a half points to Europe’s one and a half.
Earlier, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson set a record-setting pace to win a third point in three matches, but they were split for the afternoon for Stenson to rest his long-term back problem.
Poulter’s intervention came in a match that seemed to be slipping away from the Europeans as the duo had fallen behind Walker and Fowler with three to play.
The man who came into the Ryder Cup with the best record ever in the competition had played only a peripheral role for a second day, but he pitched in for a birdie four at the long 16th which prevented the European duo from going down dormie two.
Then at the short 17th, with both Walker and Fowler toiling for a par, the Englishman holed a similar length pitch for a second birdie to bring the match back to all-square.
A half in birdie fours up the last was enough to ensure the point was shared, elaving Europe a point ahead for the final foursomes session.
Earlier, Rose and Stenson made it three from three as a partnership in an astonishing, record-shattering match with Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar.
With Watson roused from his first day funk and the steady Kuchar a better partner for him than the struggling Webb Simpson, the Americans fought their way to a two-up lead after six holes.
However, then the crazy scoring really began. With Rose taking the lead and Stenson coming in when required, the European pair birdied every single hole from then on, 10 in a row all the way to 16th where Rose’s 7th birdie of the contest finished the match 3 and 2.
The Europeans were 12-under for 16 holes, a Ryder Cup record in fourballs. Kuchar and Watson were nine-under, the cumulative 21-under score also being an all-time record.
But it was a precious point for Europe as the USA dominated the middle two matches. Hunter Mahan was seven-under for 15 holes carrying Jim Furyk to only his second fourballs win in 11 tries at the Ryder Cup, beating Lee Westwood and Jamie Donaldson 4 and 3.
And the two young Americans controversially left out yesterday afternoon, Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, again prospered, turning an early two-down deficit into a 5 and 3 crushing of Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer.