How the final-day matches were won at the Ryder Cup
By Keith Jackson at Le Golf National
Last Updated: 30/09/18 8:01pm
Europe survived a few nervy moments to clinch a resounding seven-point victory at the 42nd Ryder Cup, and here is how the singles action unfolded ...
Justin Thomas bt Rory McIlroy 1up
Thomas struck the first blow when he holed from 20 feet for birdie at the first with McIlroy just six feet away, and the Northern Irishman misread the chance to fall one behind.
But Thomas ran into bunker trouble on the next two holes and McIlroy suddenly had the lead, which doubled when the American bogeyed the fourth.
Thomas responded with two birdies in three holes around the turn before McIlroy's par at the 13th was enough to edge back in front, but he could not follow Thomas in for birdie at the long 14th.
The top match remained level until the last, where McIlroy pushed a three-wood into a plugged lie in a fairway bunker, left his first escape in the sand, and thinned his third shot - his ball catching the bank and trundling into the water, forcing him to concede defeat on the fairway.
Paul Casey halved with Brooks Koepka
Casey endured a torrid start when his bunker escape from a plugged lie at the first raced past the pin and into the hazard, but he hit back with a huge birdie putt for a win on the next green.
Koepka went back in front with a birdie at five before Casey turned the match in his favour with back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10th, only for Koepka to reply at the 12th.
Casey handed the lead back to the three-time major winner with a scrappy 13th, but the matchplay specialist held his nerve to roll in a clutch birdie putt at 17 before just missing out on another at the last, with Koepka making two brilliant par-saves on each of the final two holes.
Webb Simpson bt Justin Rose 3&2
Rose looked out of touch with his putter early on and fell two down after four before pulling a hole back at the next and matching Simpson's three at the sixth.
Further errors from Rose gifted the Players champion the next two holes, although he did give himself hope of a late comeback when Simpson faltered at the 13th.
But the world No 2 missed a great chance at the 14th and got into further bother at the next before Simpson followed him in for the winning birdie at the 16th.
Jon Rahm bt Tiger Woods 2&1
Rahm was pumped up after clipping a wedge to three feet at the first to start with a winning birdie, and a par was enough to double his lead at the seventh.
Both players were struggling to find fairways and greens, but Woods then produced a moment of magic with a delightful long-range second to the ninth which he converted for a rare eagle.
Woods holed another good putt to level the clash at the 12th, but he handed the initiative straight back to the Spaniard with back-to-back bogeys.
Rahm missed a short putt at the 16th to gift a hole back, but his nerve held as he knocked a superb second to five feet at the 17th and nailed the putt to prompt wild celebrations.
Tony Finau bt Tommy Fleetwood 6&4
Fleetwood got off to a nervy start when he found water at the first and lost the second to par, but he got back on track with a pair of birdies to level the match.
But two more efforts handed back a two-hole advantage before Finau reeled off three consecutive birdies to storm into a five-up lead at the turn.
Fleetwood's third birdie at the 10th clawed one back, but Finau responded at the next and went on to record the biggest margin of victory for the week, completing a 6&4 win at the 14th.
Ian Poulter bt Dustin Johnson 2up
Johnson had found water a number of times over the first two days, and that trend continued early in his clash with Poulter when his tee-shot at the second landed in the hazard.
Poulter birdied the fourth to go two up before the world No 1 pulled one back at the next and levelled at the sixth when Poulter bogeyed, only for the Englishman to go back ahead with a par at seven.
Some scrappy play from both after the turn, as well as a monster putt from Johnson at 11, left an intriguing tussle all-square with five to play until Poulter birdied 14 and Johnson rinsed another ball at 15.
Johnson nailed another huge putt from 50 feet at 16, but Poulter held firm and sealed a superb win with a birdie at the last before launching into his traditional chest-thumping celebrations.
Thorbjorn Olesen bt Jordan Spieth 5&4
The forgotten man of the European team produced an excellent performance from the off against Spieth, who contributed to his own downfall with a number of early mistakes.
Olesen went ahead with a birdie at the second before being unable to match Spieth's four at the third, but the American then bogeyed the next three holes.
The young Dane birdied eight and nine to soar five-up by the turn and, despite losing the 10th to par, Olesen refused to buckle and earned his first ever Ryder Cup point with a birdie at 14 for a resounding 5&4 victory.
Sergio Garcia bt Rickie Fowler 2&1
History was made in match eight as Garcia held off an erratic Fowler for the point which made him the highest points scorer in Ryder Cup history.
A birdie-par start gave Garcia a two-up lead early before Fowler hit back to win the third, and the next five holes were halved in par before Fowler hacked his way up the ninth and lost the hole with a bogey-six.
The American chipped-in for an unlikely birdie at the 13th, only to take another six at the next, but he won a bizarre 15th with a bogey, driving into water after Garcia dumped his second into the drink.
But Fowler found more water from the tee at 16 and Garcia made no mistake this time, and the Spaniard's par at 17 capped a historic win, and took him past Nick Faldo in the all-time points list.
Francesco Molinari bt Phil Mickelson 4&2
Molinari added to the list of records at the 42nd Ryder Cup as he became the first European to record five victories out of five with a comfortable 4&2 win, completing a miserable week for Mickelson.
An early win for the Italian looked on the cards when he raced three up after five and needed only one birdie in the process as Mickelson struggled to keep his ball on the straight and narrow.
Mickelson did manage a birdie at six to limit the damage, but he followed it with an immediate bogey before Molinari made a mess of the ninth and turned just two up.
The veteran left-hander somehow reduced the deficit to one with a birdie at the 11th, but he bogeyed 12 and couldn't match Molinari's birdie at the long 14th.
Mickelson could possibly have hit his final shot in a Ryder Cup - and it was a shocker as he dumped his tee shot to 16 into the water to hand Molinari the win which secured overall victory for Team Europe.
Patrick Reed bt Tyrrell Hatton 3&2
The self-styled "Captain America" finally delivered a performance worthy of his nickname after a good-quality tussle with the English rookie.
Reed's second birdie of the day at the fifth took him one up before Hatton replied at the next, but his bogey at the seventh - the only blemish for either - gave the lead back to the Masters champion.
The lead doubled when Reed birdied the ninth and he converted an excellent tee shot at 11 to go three clear. Although Hatton pulled one back with a good three at 13, Reed wrapped up a 3&2 win with another birdie at the 16th - his fifth red number of the day.
Henrik Stenson bt Bubba Watson 5&4
Watson had produced some great golf alongside Webb Simpson, but his form deserted him in the singles while Stenson helped himself to six birdies in a thumping 5&4 win.
The Swede birdied the third and fifth either side of a Watson concession, and the lead remained three at the turn after they traded birdies at six and seven.
Stenson consolidated his commanding position with a great two at the 11th, and a winning par at the next lifted him five clear before he completed another big win with a birdie at 14.
Alex Noren bt Bryson DeChambeau 1up
The European celebrations were in full flow long before Noren completed a one-up win in sensational style at the last, and the anchor match was one of the best of the day.
Birdies at the third and fifth lifted DeChambeau two clear before Noren responded at the seventh and ninth to level the clash going into the home stretch.
The pair traded birdies at the 13th before Noren hit one of the shots of the day, an outstanding hybrid to three feet at the 14th which set up a winning eagle.
The Swedish rookie preserved his lead until the final hole, when it looked likely that DeChambeau would salvage a half after a stunning second in close.
But Noren sparked jubilant celebrations when he matched the American's birdie with a perfect 45-foot putt, a fitting way to end a momentous day for European golf.