Steve Stricker's team continue to dominate at Whistling Straits and build commanding six-point advantage over Europe; USA only need 5.5 points over the final two sessions to secure Ryder Cup victory on home soil
Saturday 25 September 2021 18:34, UK
Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia’s epic comeback could not prevent Team USA from extending their lead during the Saturday foursomes at the 43rd Ryder Cup.
The all-Spanish pairing came back from three behind to defeat Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger 3&1 in the top match at Whistling Straits, the first time in 34 years a European pair have won a foursomes fixture after losing each of their opening three holes.
Rahm and Garcia's win was the only highlight in an otherwise frustrating session for Padraig Harrington's team, who lost the three other foursomes matches to leave themselves 9-3 behind and facing an even bigger mountain to climb in their bid to retain the trophy.
Dustin Johnson won his third match of the week as he partnered Collin Morikawa to a 2&1 victory over English pair Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton, while Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth battled back from three down to see off rookie duo Viktor Hovland and Bernd Wiesberger.
Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay then maintained their unbeaten starts with their 2&1 success over Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick, leaving Steve Stricker's team requiring just 5.5 points over the final two sessions to secure Ryder Cup victory in emphatic fashion on home soil.
Brooks Koepka and Daniel Berger lost to Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia 3&1
Berger holed a 10-foot birdie at the first and converted from half the distance to add another at the next, with a tap-in par enough to win the par-three third when Europe bogeyed the par-three.
Rahm won the fourth with a par when he pitched to kick-in distance but lost the next when he found water for the second day running with his approach, as Koepka made birdie, only for the world No 1 to hole from 10 feet at the sixth and cut the advantage to two.
Garcia holed a 15-footer for a winning par at the eighth and chipped at the ninth green to pull the contest level, with Koepka then rolling in from 15 feet to match Rahm's close-range birdie at the 10th. Europe moved ahead with an eight-foot birdie at the 12th and doubled their lead with a par at the next, only to lose the next when Rahm cleared the green with his pitch from the putting surface.
Koepka and Berger lost a row with two separate rules officials after failing to get free relief from a heavy lie at the 15th, although saved par, before the pair conceded the 16th and fell two behind when Garcia struck an incredible approach to leave no more than five feet for eagle. A par on the penultimate hole was then enough for a European victory.
Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa def Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton 2&1
Morikawa followed a birdie at the first by holing from seven feet to add another at the next, with Johnson chipping in from off the third green to extend their lead but losing the next when the American pair carded a three-putt bogey from long range.
Hatton rolled in a winning birdie at the sixth to cut the gap to two, only for Europe to lose the par-three next when Casey found sand off the tee and then fall four behind after Morikawa holed a 15-footer at the eighth.
Europe were four behind until Hatton made an eight-footer to save par at the 11th and Casey hit an incredible recovery from the bunker to scramble a winning four at the 13th, with Casey then holing out from 107 yards for an unlikely eagle at the par-four next to cut the lead to one.
Hatton missed from five feet on his way to a bogey at the 14th but holed an eight-footer to save par at the 16th to extend the contest, where a five-foot par from Morikawa secured another USA point.
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas def Bernd Wiesberger and Viktor Hovland 2up
Wiesberger made an instant impression by winning the first and rolling a 15-footer at the next to match Spieth's birdie, before knocking his tee shot to inside 20 feet at the third and set up a winning par to move Europe two ahead.
USA scrambled a par to halve the fifth, despite Spieth finding the water with his approach into the par-five, as Wiesberger extended Europe's lead with a five-foot birdie at the next before he and Hovland bogeyed the par-five seventh.
The European lost the ninth with a bogey and found themselves back all-square when Spieth nailed a 25-foot birdie at the 10th, with the American pair losing the 11th after both failing to get out of the bunker but restoring their lead when the visitors made back-to-back bogeys from the 14th.
Thomas' impressive approach into the 16th set up an eagle for Spieth and, despite USA conceding the next hole, their point was confirmed when Wiesberger found with his approach into the last.
Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay def Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick 2&1
A topsy-turvy contest saw Cantlay birdie the second but lose the next when Westwood made a seven-foot par, with the Englishman holing a 12-footer to halve the fourth and Fitzpatrick then winning the fifth via a five-foot birdie to move Europe ahead.
Schauffele holed a 30-footer to win the seventh and Cantlay followed an eight-foot par-save at the eighth to rattle in a 25-footer at the next to put USA one ahead at the turn, before moving further ahead when Europe started their back nine with successive bogeys.
Westwood reduced the gap after Fitzpatrick's impressive tee shot at the 12th but Schauffele fired his approach to leave a tap-in birdie for Cantlay at the 15th, with a 20-foot Westwood birdie at the next as USA claimed the win on the penultimate hole.
Can Europe avoid a record-breaking defeat on American soil? Watch the 43rd Ryder Cup throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports' dedicated Ryder Cup channel.
