Europe sweep US to race to 4-0 Ryder Cup lead

Venue: Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Rome Dates: 29 Sep - 1 Oct
Coverage: Live radio commentary on BBC Sounds, live text updates on BBC Sport website and daily highlights on BBC Two

Europe made the perfect start in their quest to regain the Ryder Cup by making a clean sweep of Friday's opening session to lead the United States 4-0.

It is the first time Europe have led after the opening session since 2006.

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton won the top match and their 4&3 win was equalled by Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg.

Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka were 2&1 winners, while in the bottom match Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood also came through 2&1.

To illustrate Europe's dominance, they did not trail in any match and won 22 holes to 10 by the US.

It is the first time Europe have opted to play the alternate shot foursomes in the opening session since their previous home defeat, back in 1993. Captain Donald said earlier in the week that the stats pointed him in that direction.

And how right he was.

The atmosphere was electric 30 minutes before the first balls were struck as 5,000 fans packed into the stand surrounding the first tee, with thousands more lining the fairway on both sides all the way up to the first green.

There were predictable pantomime boos for American world number one Scottie Scheffler as he and his good friend Sam Burns emerged on to the first tee. Less savoury was the lone voice bellowing "you stink, Scottie" just as he was addressing his ball. A stain on an otherwise exemplary morning for Europe.

Hovland set the tone with a chip-in birdie on the first and his rookie playing partner Aberg, who only turned professional in June, birdied the next to put them two up against Open champion Brian Harman and Max Homa.

Up ahead, Rahm, who played imperious golf, birdied the third and fifth holes and then almost holed his tee shot on the short seventh to set up a birdie as they went two up on Scheffler and Burns.

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood embrace on the 17th green after completing the foursomes clean sweep for Europe

Skipper Donald, who had watched all his players tee off the first, punched the air in delight as he watched on a big screen as that first Rahm birdie disappeared into the hole.

Meanwhile, Ireland's Shane Lowry and Austrian debutant Sepp Straka holed five birdies as they raced four up after nine against Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa.

In the bottom match, a Fleetwood pin-seeker on the fourth left McIlroy with a simple birdie chance to turn the leaderboard completely blue.

Patrick Cantlay then put his second shot from the middle of the fairway into a pond to gift the Europeans a two-hole lead.

Even when Europe were out of position, they found a way. Rahm chipped in to tie the 10th and that momentum saw them take the next two holes as they went four up with six to play and comfortably closed out the win.

Aberg, who is the first player to appear in a Ryder Cup without playing in a major, was showing no signs of nerves, as he holed a 15-footer to win the ninth and he knocked in another on the 14th as he and Hovland ran away with their match.

Fowler and Morikawa briefly threatened a comeback, winning two holes out of four from the 10th, but a Straka par putt on the 15th restored their three-hole lead with three to play and they halved the 17th to win a third point.

And the sweep was completed when McIlroy and Fleetwood overcame a nervy ending to edge out Xander Shauffele and Cantlay.

American Cantlay birdied the 14th to bring them back within one hole, but Fleetwood responded with a 20-footer to win the next.

However, a wayward drive from the Englishman at the risk-and-reward driveable par-four 16th left his playing partner embedded in the bank of a pond. Hole lost.

But Fleetwood atoned at the next, holing the three-foot match-winning birdie after McIlroy had hit a pin-seeker to equal the one that Fleetwood had produced on hole four that had set them on their way.

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