The China Mail - Unbeaten Rahm sparks Europe to historic five-point Ryder Cup lead

Europe delivered clutch putting and impressive shotmaking under intense heckling from a raucous New York crowd to seize command over a humbled American squad which boasts 12 of the world's 23 top-ranked players.

The same Europe pairs that went 3-1 in Friday foursomes repeated the scoreline Saturday.

Spain's Jon Rahm sank a spectacular 49-foot chip from the rough while standing in a bunker to win the eighth hole and take the lead for good in a 3&2 victory with Tyrrell Hatton over Americans Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.

"It was an incredible moment," Rahm said. "But there's still so much golf ahead that I didn't let myself get too high."

Rahm's amazing shot was followed by a five-foot Hatton birdie putt to win 12 and a clinching three-foot Hatton birdie at 16.

"I fought hard," Cantlay said. "Just wasn't enough."

Rahm improved to 3-0 this week, 8-0 since 2018 in Cup pairs matches and 5-0 alongside Hatton.

"He's certainly a good partner to play with," Hatton said. "He pulls out some unbelievable shots at very special times."

None were more special than his effort at eight.

"I was honestly just trying to put it on the green, hopefully hit it somewhere online, somewhere with the right distance, and it came out absolutely perfect," Rahm said.

"It's a bit of luck involved but at least the ball was lying well and got really decent contact. It was very exciting."

- McIlroy snaps at fans -

World number two Rory McIlroy cursed out some hecklers and joined Tommy Fleetwood in staying undefeated by beating Americans Harris English and Collin Morikawa 3&2.

"Excited where the team is. We've got to keep our foot down," said McIlroy, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning April's Masters.

What the five-time major winner from Northern Ireland didn't like was chirping while he was trying to make a shot.

"I don't mind them having a go at us. That's to be expected. That's what an away Ryder Cup is," McIlroy said. "Whenever they're still doing it while you are over the ball and trying to hit your shot, that's the tough thing.

"Between shots, say whatever you want to me. That's totally fine. But give us the respect to let us hit shots and give us the same chance that the Americans have."

Fleetwood sank birdie putts of 30 and 19 feet to win holes and tapped in a three-footer at 16 to clinch victory.

"It's Rory McIlroy. I can play from a lot of the places where he hits it," Fleetwood said.

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and Norway's Viktor Hovland took a dramatic 1-up victory top-ranked but winless Scottie Scheffler and third-ranked Russell Henley.

"We battled hard out there. The guys we played against just played great," Scheffler said.

Hovland sank a five-foot birdie putt to win 14, taking the lead for good, and a crucial 13-foot par putt to tie the 17th and secure a half point.

"Pure instinct. I went blackout there for a couple seconds," Hovland said. "It was so big."

Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Cam Young beat Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Aberg 4&2.

"We've got some work to do, but we've got full belief that we can do it," Young said.

Donald, who guided Europe's 2023 win at Rome, is trying to become the first captain to win back-to-back Cups since English countryman Tony Jacklin in 1987.

The Europeans need 14 points from 28 matches to retain the trophy while the Americans must capture 14.5 points to take back the Cup. No road team has won since Europe's 2012 "Miracle at Medinah."

The Americans lead the all-time rivalry 27-15-2 but Europe lead 12-9-1 since the roster was expanded beyond Britain and Ireland in 1979.

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