Ryder Cup Live: How day one is unfolding

Current score: Europe 3.5 United States 2.5

Friday fourballs:

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson bt Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson 5&4

Rose missed a good birdie chance on the first but the European pair soon went in front as Stenson holed from 10 feet on the second and Watson missed from half the distance. Rose birdied the fourth to double the lead and the home duo could have been comfortably in front after a string of missed chances before eventually going three ahead on the ninth.

Those missed chances were not proving costly however with the American pair failing to make a birdie in the entire match and Rose holed from 25 feet on the 10th to extend the lead further. It was only a matter of time before the first point went on the board and Rose sealed victory with a birdie on the 14th.

Match score: Europe 1 United States 0

Stephen Gallacher and Ian Poulter lost to Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed 5&4

European captain Paul McGinley felt Poulter’s big personality made him the ideal partner for Gallacher in his Ryder Cup debut on home soil, but the wild card duo never recovered from a shaky start. Gallacher found a fairway bunker off the first tee and Poulter found sand with his approach before missing from three feet for par to lose the hole.

Poulter holed some testing putts to stay just one behind until birdies on the sixth and seventh from the American pair took them three ahead. Gallacher had a wonderful chance to reduce the deficit but missed from five feet for birdie on the eighth and three birdies in a row from the ninth put the rookie US pairing an amazing six up. A par on the 12th was enough to give the European pair their first win of the day but that merely delayed the inevitable and Poulter leaving a putt to keep the match alive on the 14th short summed up a miserable day.

Match score: Europe 1 United States 1

Thomas Bjorn and Martin Kaymer halved with Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker

Kaymer labelled Bjorn his mentor after the Dane took him under his wing when vice-captain in both 2010 and 2012, the pair keen to play together ever since Kaymer’s US Open victory sealed his place in the side. It looked an inspired move when the pair birdied three of the first four holes to move three up, but Fowler won the fifth and Walker holed a bunker shot for an eagle on the par-five ninth to get just one down.

It was Bjorn’s turn to produce a bit of magic on the 13th, chipping in from short of the green for a birdie to restore a two-hole cushion, only for Walker to respond by doing likewise on the 16th to get back to one down. Kaymer missed from 10 feet for birdie on 17th to secure victory and was left to regret it when Walker was the only player able to birdie the par-five 18th to snatch half a point.

Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia lost to Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley 1 hole

US captain Tom Watson predicted the final match could be a “barn-burner” but there were only occasional fireworks after McIlroy and Mickelson exchanged birdies on the first. Garcia holed a brilliant bunker shot on the fourth to put Europe ahead, but bogeys on the seventh allowed the Americans back on level terms.

Birdies on the ninth and 10th put Mickelson and Bradley two up, but they made a mess of the 11th and 13th to squander their lead. Mickelson missed a short par putt to lose the 15th but Bradley hit a superb fairway wood to the next and holed from 10 feet for an eagle before Mickelson’s birdie on the 18th sealed a hard-fought victory. As in the second match, neither of the Europeans were able to birdie the closing par five.

Afternoon Foursomes:

Jamie Donaldson and Lee Westwood beat Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar 2 holes

Having bogeyed the third to go behind, Westwood’s 15-foot birdie at the short sixth and a Donaldson par saw a two-shot swing in as many holes. Another Westwood putt, this time from eight feet, at the 11th put Europe two up and Donaldson holed a crucial 12-footer at the next for a half after Furyk had hit his approach close.

Donaldson messed up his approach to the par-five 16th which allowed Furyk to birdie and cut the lead, but then Kuchar duffed his chip into the final green, giving Europe three shots to get up and down from a greenside swale, and when Donaldson putted it up the American’s conceded.

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson beat Hunter Mahan and Zach Johnson 2&1

A good start from Europe saw Rose birdie the first and sixth but that lead was wiped out in the space of the next two holes. Johnson birdied from five feet and then Rose missed a short one which meant Europe three-putted the subsequent green to drop back to all square. Rose, from 25 feet, and Mahan, from eight feet, traded birdie putts on the 11th and 14th before the United States’ game began to unravel.

Mahan missed a six-foor par putt at the 15th, where Europe did well to get up and down from the back of the green, and then the American raced one past the hole from the back fringe of the 17th green. With Stenson having rolled his birdie attempt to within two feet, Johnson needed to hole out to keep the match alive but failed and Rose knocked in to make sure.

Rory McIlroy/Sergio Garcia v Jimmy Walker/Rickie Fowler

Victor Dubuisson/Graeme McDowell v Phil Mickelson/Keegan Bradley